Episodes
Sunday Sep 21, 2014
All Important
Sunday Sep 21, 2014
Sunday Sep 21, 2014
A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC, September 21, 2014, the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 12-27
The Body of Christ has AIDS… I don’t remember who was preaching or exactly when I heard that statement from the pulpit, but it was near the height of the epidemic. I’ve never forgotten it. And I’ve never forgotten the point: “Just as the body is one and has many members…so it is with Christ…If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.” (1 Cor. 12:12, 26b) The Body of Christ has AIDS. It is my body and your body that has AIDS, because we are one body… Now, granted, the church struggles and often fails to actually live out the vision of compassionate communal life that Paul describes and that could be our powerful and countercultural gift to the larger world. But the metaphor of the church as the Body of Christ provides opportunity to reckon with all the implications of what it means to be deeply, truly, interconnected, each one of us a part of a whole, members of ONE body.
Not only does this image of the church as the Body of Christ reinforce our interconnection and the ways that the suffering of others becomes our suffering, but it also highlights the ways that real difference is required for the body to be whole. No matter the overall state of the body in question, there will always be a multiplicity of roles and functions working together to make up that body. An eye is not a hand and a foot is not a head, but all are part of the body’s design. And so there are differences in the Body of Christ—REAL differences. That means that the Body of Christ is part Republican and part Democrat, part Liberian and part Salvadoran, part Texan and part New Yorker, black, white, male, female, gay, lesbian, straight, poor, rich, young, old. You get the point. We are all in here—with all our own particularities and uniqueness. Paul’s metaphor emphasizes the idea that unity and diversity are not incompatible but are, in fact, absolutely necessary. We NEED one another. We are not only interconnected, we are interdependent. This wisdom is not limited to our own tradition, but manifests and is understood in the world in all sorts of ways—yin and yang, anima and animus, Gio Gonzalez and Wilson Ramos, the African concept of ubuntu, and things like Myers-Briggs that highlights not only the diversities and interdependence of different people, but also the beautiful diversities within our own selves.
Now all of this is fairly elementary—though extraordinarily important. And, while a relatively simple concept, living into the vision of interconnection and interdependence is not always easy. In fact, the section of Paul’s letter we read today is addressing the disappointing fact that there were some in the Corinthian church who believed that their particularity, their spiritual gifts, set them apart, made them more important than others. Church folk were using their gifts in ways that stirred the pot, alienated others, and caused disunity—can you imagine such a thing? As we saw last week with James and John vying for prime positions in Jesus’ cabinet, it is a particularly consistent temptation among us humans to muck things up by believing and acting as if we are “all important,” as if it is all about me. Paul’s response is not to deny that there are persons who have particular gifts, skills, or strengths. Instead, Paul emphasizes that there are a variety of gifts, that all of those gifts are “activated” by God, and that the gifts are given “for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:4-7) For the common good… Over the years, I have often, only half-jokingly, said that much of my work as a pastor is encouraging folks to “use their powers for good.” Because it is true that sometimes folks use their strengths and skills not only to show off or set themselves apart, but also for the purpose of tearing others down instead of building them up, for creating further dissension instead of for the purpose of finding creative solutions to problems. What do we call cells within a human body that are out of control and that are attacking their own body?… Sometimes folks use their powers for harm. And to be clear, there are times when, for the sake of justice, some dissension needs to be sewn and persons need to be called to account. My point—and, I think, Paul’s point—is not that we are to avoid conflict at all costs, but rather that if our actions are motivated by anything other than love, peace, justice, and reconciliation then we might want to check ourselves. And honestly, we need to check ourselves anyway; we don’t generally see ourselves that clearly and so can be easily deceived in our estimation of our intentions and of our gifts. Prayer and regular feedback from trusted friends are required to see even “dimly” what is real. Paul alludes to our limited vision in the well-known next chapter of this letter, 1 Corinthians 13. His primary point, however, is that no matter what your “powers” or how you use them, if you don’t have love then you’ve got nothing.
While calling those who exalt themselves to get some perspective and to adjust their behavior, Paul also provides a word of hope and encouragement to those who may not be so sure they are of any value. He writes, “the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor.” (vs. 22) What is Paul talking about? The “less honorable” members of the body are those that are clothed, covered up, perhaps out of shame. By analogy, this would represent those of lower standing in society—the poor, the vulnerable, the needy, the ones no one sees. In the culture of the time, it would have been common practice to treat those of higher standing in the society with special favor. And this isn’t foreign to us. Just think about the special treatment folks of political, ecclesiastical, athletic, or pop cultural “rank” receive in our world. The radical teaching of our faith tradition is that, in the Body of Christ, every single part of the Body is “indispensable,” each member is valued and honored and, beyond that, those of “lower social standing” are lifted up as especially valuable. (Perhaps we might rethink who gets a plaque on their pew?) Even knowing this, it’s difficult sometimes to keep from comparing ourselves to others, or believing that only some roles and functions truly matter. In preparing for this morning, I came across one commentator who shared this conversation between his wife, Jill, and a good friend: [Jill said] “When I look at what other people accomplish, I can’t help thinking about all those other things I should be doing: working to stop the death penalty, saving starving children, reading the best books, having informed opinions.” Sandie paused a moment to ponder Jill’s concerns, and said, “All those things are important, but we’re all part of the body of Christ, and we have a role, however small. So what if you’re the nose hair? You’re there for a purpose. You may not have any idea what good you’re doing, but that’s still your job: to be a nose hair in the body of Christ.”[i]
Perhaps it isn’t encouraging to think about the possibility of being a nose hair in the body of Christ. But the point, of course, is that every part of the body is there for a purpose and plays its own, important role in sustaining life and health. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the flashy and visible roles, that we forget that much of the transforming power of God’s love happens in humble, small ways and places that most folks never see or think about—not in the Board room but in the Sunday School classroom, not at the podium but in the phone call that comes at just the right time. Both the communion that happens at the Eucharistic Table and at the kitchen table are part of God’s feeding ministry, both playing crucial roles providing nourishment for the Body of Christ. It may be that the most important and impactful conversations of your life are not the ones shared before a camera, but the ones shared as you tuck your child into bed.
A great deal of peace and joy come into your life when you stop comparing yourself—your gifts, your strengths, your passions, your interests, your “accomplishments”—with those of others. It is true that the Body of Christ has AIDS and that there are starving children, pressing social ills that need attention, and more. But it’s not all up to you to care for it all. It is up to you to be YOU, to do your part. Give thanks and provide prayer and support for those in the Body whose gifts and passions lead them to care for things that may be beyond your own capacity or interest. Give thanks for those who have what you might consider “sexier” gifts than your own. But then also give thanks for your own particularity, your own gifts, your own passion—and use those powers for the common good. If your passion is prayer, pray. If it is feeding people, do that. If it is giving, give. If it is the life of the mind, then study and teach. If your passion is play and fellowship, throw parties! Lord knows it is difficult work to discover, acknowledge, accept, and integrate all the different parts of who we truly are. But that is your primary spiritual work: to shed anything—any undue pride or timidity, any self-aggrandizement or self-limiting, any lies that others have told you or that you have told yourself—that would keep you from being and becoming more and more of who you truly are. Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams says, “Each human being called into existence by [God] exists as a distinct part of a great interlocking web of identities. Each is a unique point in this great net…And to talk about God as your creator means to recognize at each moment that it is [God’s] desire for you to be, and to be the person you are. It means [God] is calling you by your name, at each and every moment, wanting you to be you.”[ii] Only you can be you in the world. Only you can be you in the Body of Christ. Just as you need all those others who are so very different from you in order to be whole, to be humble, to be wise, all those others need YOU. You’re not all-important. I’m not all-important. But WE are all important. Thanks be to God.
[i] http://www.ekklesiaproject.org/blog/2013/01/a-nose-hair-in-the-body-of-christ/#sthash.jU1iCw9f.dpuf
[ii] Rowan Williams, A Ray of Darkness, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 1995, p. 149.
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