Did you ever realize that the
same four words that were used by the Lord Jesus to
proclaim salvation are also used by some to promote
abortion? "This is my body." The same simple words
are spoken from opposite ends of the universe, with
meanings that are directly contrary to each other.
Scripture tells us that on the
night before He died to save all those who would
believe in Him, the Lord Jesus took bread, blessed
it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying,
"This is My Body, which is given up for you." He was
pointing to what would happen the next day, when He
would give that same Body on the cross. He
sacrifices Himself so that we may live. He gives up
His Body so that He can destroy the power of sin and
death. As a result, He welcomes us into His life,
into His Kingdom. He makes us members of His Body!
On the other hand, abortion
supporters say, "This is my body. So don’t interfere
with it! It’s mine, so I can do what I want, even to
the point of killing the life within it. All is
secondary to my dominion over my body." In fact one
abortion supporter has written, "I say their
(pro-lifers’) God is worth nothing compared to my
body" (Michelle Goldberg, "Rant for Choice," in
University of Buffalo student newspaper, 1995).
"This is my body." Same words,
different results. Christ gives His body away so
others might live; abortion supporters cling to
their own bodies so others might die. In giving His
Body, Christ teaches the meaning of love: I
sacrifice myself for the good of the other person.
Abortion teaches the opposite of love: I sacrifice
the other person for the good of myself!
"This is my body." If, indeed,
our body is ours, then let’s ask the next question:
Why? The answer is so that we can give our body, our
life, our self, away in love to one another and to
God. Christ declares, "Do this in memory of me." He
calls us to do what He did, and that is precisely
how we reverse the dynamic of abortion. Mom and Dad
must say to their child, "This is my body, my life,
given for you," rather than, "This is my
body, my life, so go away!"
Human happiness and
fulfillment are never found by pushing other people
out of the way. They are found when we push
ourselves out of the way: The Word of God says in
Jn. 15:13; "Greater love has no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,"
and Romans 5:8 says that Christ
"died for us while we were yet sinners"
In this way Jesus proclaims
that life finds its center, it’s meaning and it’s
fulfillment when it is given up.
We too are called to give our
lives for "the least of these", and thus to realize
in the fullness of truth the meaning and destiny of
our existence.
"This is my body." It is no
accident that the same words are used for such
different purposes. A spiritual conflict rages here.
We win, in our own lives and in the world, by living
these words in giving up self to life-giving Love.
Having been inspired by this
brochure, the Christian singer DANA has written a
song, "This is My Body." For info about how to
obtain the song and the video, contact Gospel of
Life Ministries at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY
10314, Tel. 888-PFL-3448, Fax 718-980-6515, Email
info@Gospeloflife.com
, Web site
www.Gospeloflife.com .
Rev. Frank Pavone is founder
of Gospel of Life Ministries and president of the
Pro-Life Religious Council in Washington, DC. The
purpose of Gospel of Life Ministries is to bring
Evangelical and Catholic Christians together to
defend life from abortion, euthanasia and suicide
and to build a Culture of Life.
Gospel of Life Ministries
hereby grants permission to copy and distribute this
brochure.
Contact Gospel of Life
Ministries at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY
10314, Tel. 888-PFL-3448, Fax 718-980-6515, Web site
www.gospeloflife.com.
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