Putting It All Together

I Corinthians 12:12-31 (New Revised Standard Version)

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.  Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 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.” On the contrary, 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, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

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How many here this morning are familiar with the term “internet troll”? For those who aren’t familiar with what an “internet troll” is, an internet troll is a person who leaves caustic comments on the internet with the sole intent of being provocative or abrasive. Patton Oswalt, a comedian, known for his own aggressive style of comedy, was the recipient of an internet trolls comment this past week. Instead of returning the favor, Patton Oswalt looked through the commenters Twitter feed and saw that he had a Go Fund Me page to help raise money to cover expenses from an emergency room visit. Oswalt donated $2,000 to his online heckler and encouraged his followers to give as well… The man who had thrown harsh criticism at Oswalt wrote back thanking him, and that going forward he would take to heart the impact that his words have on others.

These are the kind of stories we need as we look around and find that the things that divide us seem to stand out more than the things that bring us together. Of course each of us have things that we are passionate about and things that we care deeply for, but as we are reminded by the Scripture reading this morning, we are united together in one body, the body of Christ, and as we represent the various parts of the body of Christ we cannot turn our backs on our brothers and sisters who also offer vital gifts and talents that contribute to the Kingdom of God. We are all apostles, we are all disciples, we are all stewards of this created world and tasked with making sure that gifts we have been given are not hoarded, but instead shared with all.

This morning’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is part of a more extensive section, where Paul is seeking to correct the Church in Corinth in regards to how it viewed spiritual gifts. We don’t often talk about spiritual gifts in our churches today so it might be premature to ask you what is your spiritual gift. But in the passage, this morning, things like speaking in tongues, spiritual healing, and other phenomena were essential parts of the early Church. The problem that arises out of this passage is that the Church in Corinth began to cultivate a disproportionate liking for some spiritual gifts over others, essentially ranking the gifts that God has given to each and every one of us… Perhaps then the Church in Corinth is a place where we can shed ourselves of pride and arrogance, and rediscover what it means to be connected to something that goes beyond ourselves.

I find the human body to be quite fascinating, not only because it is so complicated, but because it also captures what is at heart our reading this morning. Our lungs don’t tell our red blood cells, “Hey… You just gotta learn to distribute your oxygen better... I can’t keep giving you a ‘free ride.’ Learn to save, so you won’t need to keep coming back.” Our bodies don’t work that way, and neither is the community in which Christ has called us to live in. If we treat others as being less, then we are no better than one part of the body telling the other that, “I have no need for you.” We know that we have been called to participate, to belong to something higher, but that doesn’t mean we are immune to falling back into familiar ways, ways that exclude others, implies that divide the body of Christ instead of putting it back together.

In case you’ve forgotten how it is we are bound together, all you need to do is look at the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. As I’ve mentioned before, it is the waters of baptism where we are claimed by Christ and where we are connected with the collection of saints who have come before us. Also, we only have to look at the Lord’s Table to see how we are brought together in one community. In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we are called to sit at the table with one another, a table where we break bread and drink from the cup of salvation where we remember what Christ has given to us so that we may provide to others. It is a sacred calling, a vocation, and it should be powerful enough make you stop and think about how often, if at all, you’ve stopped to appreciate the talents and offerings of those around you.

The spiritual gifts we have received from God are not only for our own consumption or for our own personal enjoyment. What we find that we only have to open the pages of the Bible to see that Jesus calls us to seek out faith continually and to be active in our walk with God, Jesus, and one another. As we are reminded by Jesus’ own words, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) Our spiritual gifts of compassion, love, grace, discipleship, forgiveness, teaching, and caring are meant to be paired with hearts that are humble and willing to serve and look for God in both the light and in the darkened corners of the world where we dare not go. Taking this into consideration, perhaps belonging to the body of Christ is not as easy as we thought it would be.

It should go without saying that there are a lot of things that try to stop us from participating in the body of Christ. There are the old hurts and pains from broken or fractured relationships… There are fears that the future that we have hoped and worked for will not pan out the way we wanted them too… And then some molehills miraculously become mountains either by our own doing or by the inexplicable forces of nature. When we find that the effects of hate and negativity try to tear us away from the body of Christ, may we remember that since we belong to the body of Christ, we have a place to seek strength and encouragement from those around us? The collection of Christ is an edifying place, where iron sharpens iron, where the most durable parts support the weak and visa versa.

Putting it all together means each of us has a role to play in the Kingdom of God. Each of us has a place and a value and a talent to offer, that benefits all who are part of the body of Christ. At times it can feel like trying to do a puzzle with a group of friends, and some of those friends decide that it would be fun to hoard the pieces for themselves. We know that’s not how you do a puzzle, we know that the eye cannot say, “I have no need for you,” and that the ear cannot say, “I do not belong,” because we do have a need for one another, and because this body of Christ is meant to be a place where all people belong, whether we want to acknowledge them or not! Putting it all together means that you and I have to hear the call… We have to listen to the voice of God speaking to us, calling us to live in a manner that is honorable, loving, and compassionate.

Our diversity, the gifts of our talents and stories, is what makes up the body of Christ. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, “As it is, there are many members, yet one body.” The unity, the oneness, of the body of Christ relies on the diversity of its members. And while each of the parts of the body of Christ may be different from one another, they each function in a way that maintains and strengthens the various components. The importance here is that no community, no organization, no church, can survive unless it possesses a diversified symmetry. This picture painted by Paul might be comparable to that of a kaleidoscope… All of the various parts come together to form an object, but the diversity of components results in a luxurious experience because each piece offers something unique and different.

Remember that you, that we, are the body of Christ, and together we represent individual pieces. So how will you live your life in a way the reflects this diversity, this unified community we have been called to live in with one another? Because let's not fooled ourselves into thinking that our faith doesn’t ask for something in return… If we seek to be a member of the body of Christ, then the body of Christ is going to lay some claim to our lives as well. We cannot go through life, thinking that we can overcome all the challenges of this world alone. We cannot go through life thinking that our one part alone can carry everyone else… We need to work together, we need to come together, otherwise why else would we come seeking to be a part of the body of Christ? God has appointed each and every one of us with a task. So may we live into that task, building up and strengthening one another as we together put together the community that God desires.  Amen.