Third Sunday After The Epiphany
For the first time, chronologically, in the New Testament the metaphor of “the body” is used to portray the church. Dating to the early fifth century BCE, the image of the human body, as a way of speaking about societal unity, was typical. Paul uses the image to speak about the unity of the single body with its many members and to speak about the many and different members complementing one another in the one body. Paul identifies baptism as the means of incorporation into the single body of Christ, as verse 13 notes, whose members include Jews and Greeks, slaves and free persons. Rather than distinctions of ethnicity and class, the diversity of spiritual giftedness within the church is the principal focus of Paul’s attention when he describes the church as the one body of Christ.
The image of the body counters the apparent claims of those who speak in tongues and place undue emphasis on that spiritual gift they have received at the expense of those who have received other gifts. Paul emphasizes that just as the body is composed of various members including the hand, the eye, the ear, and the less honorable members of the body – all of which belong to the one body and without which the body would not function as it should – so the church is composed of various members, each with his or her own gift.
Paul follows up his lively description of the body image by identifying apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, administrators, and those speaking in tongues – a non-exhaustive list, as was noted last Sunday – as representative of the different spiritually gifted figures in the church.
In Paul’s mind, the community is connected. Unless it is, it is not and cannot be authentic. So what does it mean for the church to be a connected community? Bottom line answer: we are connected and therefore we need each other. To deny that is to deny a basic foundational principle in biblical Christianity.
I’ve never understood loners. Don’t misunderstand me. I like my space and I need my space. My personality, however, lends itself to being both extroverted and introverted. My Myers-Briggs score indicates balance. I love being with people – in small groups, large groups, and in one-on-one situations. At the same time, I appreciate solitude and am one of those persons who enjoys being alone. But I don’t want to go it alone and I’m indebted to those who go it with me and that includes you. By the way. There is nothing wrong with being an introvert just as there is nothing wrong with being an extrovert.
A connected community – the church – realizes she is one body with many parts. The imagery of the body is profound. The body, itself, is profound. I’m certainly no expert on the human body, but I do know a few things about it. Excluding individual cells and small blood and lymph vessels, there are about a dozen or so major organ systems containing hundreds of parts. There are roughly 206 bones in a human body! And throughout it is connected. Yes, there are issues with the body. There are conditions like arthritis, plantar fasciitis, cataracts, being over-weight, etc. Yet bodies are still amazing. The body of Christ is amazing, too.
One body. One church. Many parts. Many members. Each part of the body, each member, is unique, special, and different. Each may have a problem or two, and those problems can be fixed. Not all function the same way, but we are all one. How cool is that? Really cool! One body with many parts! The body of Jesus Christ!
Thank God! Thank God!
Join us for worship this morning at 8:45 a.m. and/or 11:00 a.m. at Garden Lakes Baptist Church in Rome, GA where I am the Senior Pastor. Bible Study is at 9:45 a.m. and there is a class for every age.
