Play and sport are part of being in community. They give us a relaxing setting in which we can create friendships that are fun. Even working out to maintain health is beneficial to helping us engage the community. But this cult of the body, when physical perfection becomes the elusive and consuming goal, is a beast of a very different nature. It’s a vanity and pride that stems from an ethic that values the individual before all else; in a way, through this sort of practice, the individual becomes estranged from the community.
It’s not surprising, then, that often more people can be seen in the gym than in church on Sunday. Both groups are seeking to defy death – one through the perfection of their own bodies, the other through the broken Body and spilled Blood of Christ. Fanaticism for fitness does bring to life the words of St. Paul, however, and that does give us advice we would all do well to practice, if we hope to live: