Delivered January 27, 2013
Our
newest grandchild was born January 7. As the first baby of the year in
Sandwich, that means her photo will be at the front of the town annual report
next year. I am always amazed by the birth of a child and holding a tiny infant
with her delicate hands and feet. The words of Psalm 139 (NIV) comes to mind: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well.” The human body is an amazing. The
apostle Paul uses the human body as a metaphor for the church. On this Sunday
of our church annual meeting, I thought it appropriate to preach on this
powerful image of the church as the Body of Christ. As I pondered this
well-known passage of scripture, a number of elements impressed me.
1. The
first is UNITY. That is the apostle’s main point. He stresses the oneness of
the body and the church. He starts off the passage: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of
that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit
we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” He proclaims the
oneness of Christ, and the Spirit, and therefore of the church as the body of
Christ. Oneness is where he starts thinking about the church are our
relationship to it. It tends not to be
where we start. We usually start asserting our individuality and therefore our
separateness. American churches are more accurately described as a collection
of individuals rather than one body. Our society is dominated by the exercise
of individualism, and therefore that is the way we tend to see our connection
to the church.
The
first century biblical mindset – both Jewish and Christian – was first of all
one of corporate identity. A good example of this is a verse a couple of
chapters later in this book in I Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Paul
sees us as in Adam and in Christ. The ancient NT writers saw all human beings
as one in Adam. Our nature and destiny is tied to this primordial and
archetypal human. We are all part of one human race. We are all connected. Physically
we are connected biologically and genetically. We have our ancestors’ DNA. And
we are all connected spiritually simply by being born in this human condition.
Some people struggle with the concept of original sin. It is simply the
corporate dimension of sin. It means that we are all in this together. Sin
affects and infects us all.
Paul says
that we are likewise all connected in Christ. Elsewhere he describes Christ as
the second Adam. He says in that same chapter 15:45 “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a
life-giving spirit.” We are connected to Adam physically; we are born like
Adam, sin like Adam and die like Adam. We are connected to Christ spiritually
by faith. And therefore share his death and eternal life. We are crucified with
Christ and we are raised with Christ. This all has to do with oneness. There is
a oneness in human experience and in Christian spiritual experience. I believe
that this is more than just a literary metaphor that the apostle is employing
to make a point. The body metaphor points to a oneness in our experience. When
we experience oneness in Christ, it changes the way we see ourselves, the
church and the world.
We are
one with all other humans, regardless of where they live or even when they
live, regardless of their ethnicity or political governance, or religion or
economic status. We are one with the seven billion people on the face of this
globe, and the billions who have come before us and the billions who will come
after us. As believers in Jesus Christ we are also one in Christ with all who choose
Christ. We have no choice about being one with humanity. We do have a choice
about being one with Christ. The church is to be a model and example of this unity.
As I said, there is an experiential aspect of this. Maybe this is where my contemplative
mystical bent comes in, but this is more than a metaphor for me. My intuition –
which I understand to be one of the faculties of the human spirit – tells me that
I am much more than an individual. In fact my individuality feels insignificant
to the point of feeling irrelevant and even nonexistent when compared to the
unity of the human race and unity in Christ. This little blip in time and space
called Marshall Davis comes into existence and goes out of existence. But who we
really are in Christ will not die when our bodies dies. This is eternal life apprehended
by faith in Christ and experienced in the Holy Spirit. I could go on and on
talking about this, but I have more points to make about this passage.
2. The
second point the apostle makes is the MANY. He says in verse 14 “For in fact the body is not one member but
many.” Then he goes on to talk about the diversity in the many different
members of the body. The one and the many are the two balancing points of this
passage of scripture. It is true that we are all one, but it is also true that
we are many different parts of this one. One human race but seven billion
different parts, each one unique and precious in God’s sight. One universal
Church composed of millions of different individuals who call Jesus Lord. I
don’t feel like I need to spend so much time on this point, because we know
this sense of individuality. I will pick up some aspects of this later under
other points.
3. The
third point is the connection between the one and the many. I will call this the
sense of BELONGING. He says in verse 15-16
“If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it
therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye,
I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?” He goes on in
verse 20-21 “But now indeed there are
many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need
of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” There is a need to belong.
Loneliness
is one of the problems of our American society. This is becoming more acute as
one person households increase in American society – both for older persons and
younger persons. Consequently many people feel isolated and separated from
others. Everyone needs a place where they feel like they belong. Family is one
place where people get this sense of belonging. It is our primary biological and
social link to the human race. Family is very important in life. And yet we
jeopardize it all the time. I tell people repeatedly when I am giving advice
and counsel not to mess up family relations. People always regret it. Do
everything you can maintain good family relations. Bite your tongue. Shut your
mouth. Keep your opinions to yourself. Forgive those who offend you. Forgive
and you will be forgiven. Do everything you possibly can to keep your family
intact – to keep marriage together, and keep a close connection with your kids
and your parents and grandkids. Those are the ones who will be there for you when
you really need them. The same with friends. Maintain and nurture friendships.
That is
what the church is about – spiritual family and friendships. Church is
spiritual community. It has an added dimension different than any other
relationships because we are connected in the Holy Spirit through Christ. God
and Christ and the Holy Spirit are what we have in common with each other here
in this church. It might be the only thing we have in common. We are very
different people. We might be on different sides of political or social issues.
We might have no other common interests besides Christ. We might never be
friends with the people around us here if we were put in any other social
setting. But we belong to each other because we belong to Christ. There is an
immediate spiritual connection with someone who worships and serves the same
Savior. We can travel the world to foreign countries, but when we go into a church
anywhere in the world we feel that connection. The worship style may be
different and the language different, but there is a sense in which we still
belong to each other. Years ago I and my son Ernie had the opportunity to visit
friends in Istanbul Turkey. My friend was the pianist at the English-speaking
church there. They were without a pastor and they asked we to preach. It was an
amazing experience to preach in a foreign Muslim country. I felt an instant
spiritual connection to those people in that church because we were one in
Christ. We belonged to each other.
The
church is a spiritual family. We are the family of God. When the church
operates well it rivals the closeness of the social family – biological,
adopted, by marriage or the extended family. When church really works the way
it is supposed to work, we feel we really belong. The problem is that in
America it doesn’t often work well. Churches are more likely treated by people
as temporary arrangements, easily parted from for all sorts of reasons. But at
its best churches are where we experience a deep sense of belonging.
4. The
next point that the apostle makes is USEFULNESS. The apostle Paul develops the
idea that every part of the human body has a particular purpose, and they all
work together. So it is in the church. We all have a function. It is up to each
of us to identify and fulfill that function. It is not just about being on
boards and committees. Some people thrive in that type of structured
organizational setting and some people don’t. That is alright. There is a place
for that. Even the apostle Paul at the end of our passage lists certain offices
and ministries of that first century church. Verse 27-28 “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God
has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations,
varieties of tongues.” But these might not be your gifts and your place is
not as an officer or board member. In that case it is important that you find
out what it is your place of usefulness. That is mostly up to you. You can’t
wait for someone to tell you what your place is or wait to be asked to do
something. That might never happen. You might be asked to do the wrong thing,
in which case you should say, “No.” You are the one who knows what your
interests, passions and abilities are. Use them. If you need my help, let me
know what your gifts are and I will connect you to where you can be useful. The
best work of the church is not that done by boards and committees and reported
in minutes or reports. It is done as the natural function of being a member of
the body of Christ.
The
important thing is that every person feels useful. No one here is a fifth wheel
or a spare wheel. I recently inspected the spare tire in my van. It is as flat
as it can possibly be! That is because it is a year 2000 Chrysler and I have
never used it! That is what happens to us. We go flat if unused. No one is
unneeded in church. There are no spectators in church. I know that goes against
the entertainment model that has become so dominant in American churches. Going
to church is like going to a concert or a lecture for many people. But the
truth is you aren’t the audience here. God is the audience. We are here to serve
him in worship and in ministry beyond this hour. We are the Body of Christ, the
Spirit of the living Christ is in us. The Holy Spirit desires to glorify God in
and through us. Christ desires to live his life and do his ministry on earth
now through us. Again, this is not just a metaphor. I really believe and
experience Christ in me and in expressing himself in ministry to this broken
world. It is up to us to be the hands and feet and voice and arms of Christ. No
one is going to make us do this or perhaps even ask us to do this. God asks us
to do it, and that makes it our responsibility to respond by using our talents
and spiritual gifts and natural abilities and interests and passions to the
glory of God.
5.
Another aspect mentioned in this passage is HONOR. I could also use the word
respect. He says verse 22-24, “those
members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of
the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor;
and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts
have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part
which lacks it.” I think that humility comes in somewhere here also. People
can be judgmental and opinionated. We are all arrogant in our own way. I
certainly am. When I am thinking most clearly about myself I am most aware of
how prideful and arrogant and judgmental I am. I don’t know how anyone puts up
with me. I can barely put up with me! So I try to compensate by intentionally
being respectful. I try to treat everyone with honor and respect. People they
deserve at least that much. If God loves them and Christ died for them, then
they deserve by honor and respect. Everyone deserves to be treated well. Church
is one place where this has to happen. We need to treat everyone as if they
were Christ – because spiritually they are in Christ and part of the Body of
Christ. Those we disagree with strongly, even those who don’t like us and who
do things and say things we don’t like, need to be treated with respect and honor.
6. The
last aspect he mentions in the body of Christ is COMPASSION. Verse 25 “that the members should have the same care
for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it;
or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” The word
compassion literally means “to suffer with.” That is what we are called to do
as members of the body of Christ. The metaphor of the human body is helpful
here in this analogy. If we stub our toe, we don’t look dispassionately at the
toe and remark, “See how that toe is turning red and blue and swelling up and
bleeding. I wonder if something is wrong with it, and whether I should do
something.” No, if we stub our toe, we jump around and yell and do what we can
to alleviate the pain. We suffer with our toe. The same if we hit our finger
with a hammer or have a toothache or a migraine headache. When one part of our
body hurts, we hurt as a whole person. So it is in a church. It should be a
natural response for us to pay attention to and minister to the parts of the
body that hurts. That is not just my job as pastor; it is way too big for one
person to do. That is the business model of the church. That you pay me to do
what you don’t want to do, don’t have the time to do, or the emotional energy
to do. The Biblical spiritual model is that it is the whole body’s job to care
for each part of the body. Conversely when one part rejoices, all rejoices. I
see our sharing and prayer time in the worship service as part of this
compassion in action. When you hear someone share something that resonates with
your soul, then that is the Holy Spirit speaking to you to follow up on that.
Don’t wait for a program or board or me as pastor to do what the Holy Spirit is
asking you to do. God calls us all to be ministers, each in our own way.
We are
the Body of Christ. This is a powerful spiritual reality and experience. May we
live as one body and each of us individually members of it.
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