Body Parts And Pride
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Reading
Series I, Cycle A
It sometimes happens that small parts of the Bible seem to become dated, especially when they echo particular periods of time. When these small portions are brought up later, they seem out of touch with the modern world. The lesson today might serve as an example of this phenomenon.
When we read the lesson it sounds almost as if it should be a part of the '60s. Early on, there is a comment about not conforming, then something about transforming by renewing your minds, and finally, the ending about everybody working together. It all sounds as if it would fit right in if we were watching a nostalgic television special about the good old days of the 1960s. While it is uncanny that something written almost 1,900 years before the time the words seem to suit can evoke memories of a period only forty years ago, it is an unfortunate mistake to consign these words, along with other faded sayings of those days, to the collection of discarded remnants from that time.
These words are quite pertinent for our situation today, and they should carry a lot of meaning for us. It is worth our while to make the effort to listen carefully to what is being said in our lesson this morning. After all, it isn't as if the issues Paul speaks about have ceased to afflict humanity.
Consider, for example, a man who was promoted to a position that had the title of vice--president. The man was exceedingly proud of the new position and developed the annoying habit of speaking of himself in the third person. Many of his sentences began like this: "Your vice--president would appreciate ..." or "Your vice--president says...."
Finally, the man's wife was so tired of this behavior that she told the man, "Vice--presidents are a dime a dozen. Why, down at the supermarket they have a vice--president in charge of prunes."
Furious, the husband demanded that his wife prove her statement. She called the supermarket and asked for the vice--president in charge of prunes.
"Which kind," came the reply, "fresh or dried?"
It sounds like that husband needed to listen to Paul's advice in our lesson today: "I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think." In fact, it sounds like advice that could at one time or another apply to all of us.
This isn't the only part of the lesson that is not dated, but is still applicable to our situation today. The last portion of the lesson is a listing of various roles in the church that Paul suggests as important in the life of a congregation. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all the roles that will ever be needed in every congregation. For example, many congregations have found individuals knowledgeable in the operation of electronic equipment to be quite useful in spreading the good news, but Paul doesn't mention specifics, such as webmasters in establishing and maintaining websites. This does not mean such individuals are not important and quite helpful. Nor does it mean that Paul was less than we might think because he didn't mention specific roles useful in the church 1,900 years after he wrote these words.
It does mean that the list here is not meant to include every specific role the church might ever need. Rather, this is a generalized list of some of the more important roles necessary in the life of the church. This list of roles is mentioned to support an idea that is even more important. In the life of the church, the concept Paul expresses here is more important. That concept of the roles is mentioned to support and to serve as an example for others.
The concept is something that has become known as the Body of Christ. Paul's insight here is that the Body of Christ can be compared to a human body, especially in the fact that a human body has a multitude of parts and all of the parts need to work together for the good of the whole body. If the commercials are correct, the human body consists of at least 2,000 parts. And they need to work together for a person to live in a healthy way.
It sometimes happens that a human body has difficulties with a particular part. Some newborns need an immediate blood transfusion to ensure their survival. The blood they are born with is unable to work with the rest of the body, and it must be replaced.
This example must be taken carefully. It is an extreme example of the importance of the various parts of the body, both the human body and the Body of Christ, working together. It is not an endorsement of any efforts to replace parts of the church that don't seem to be working together.
A better understanding might be that of the effort many people make to attain a well--proportioned body. Exercise, diet, and other activities all have a part to play. Further, as most people are aware, doing some unfamiliar activity often leads to the comment, "I'm using muscles I didn't know I had." If this is the case, you will likely be aware of them in the next few days, when the newly--discovered muscles are quite sore.
Perhaps what the Body of Christ needs more than replacement of the parts that aren't working is an exercise that puts all the parts of the Body to work, particularly the parts that aren't working very hard.
Rather than trying to drive out the more difficult parts, it is important to remember that we are all parts of the Body of Christ, and we all have different functions. Paul puts it this way: "For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another."
In one body we have many members, in one church we have many members, in one group we have many parts. It is this fundamental truth that underlies the list of the parts Paul offers. There are times when we seem to expect people in the church to be good at everything. It can be humbling to realize that not everyone is good at everything that needs to be done around the church.
This is even more difficult when we realize that in many congregations the people who are likely to volunteer for an activity in the church are the same people time after time. This issue is so significant that one rather frustrated leader in the church once commented that most churches would be stronger if they were significantly smaller. He theorized that the first third of a church's membership was committed, the second third was the outer fringes, and the last third was already out of the church. The loss of the last third would likely result in a more active congregation.
While this perspective might sound rather harsh, it does have some truth in it. But we must be very careful not to push this idea too far. Consider the story of a young man who desperately wanted a part in his third--grade play. He confided his desire to his mother, and she considered her son briefly. She realized that, in all honesty, he was not particularly likely to be awarded a part. So, on the day when the parts were announced, she made sure to be at school to cheer up her son after what she strongly suspected was going to be a sad experience. To her surprise, the young man came out of the doors of the school with a big smile and bursting with pride. Before she could say a word, he announced, "I made it. I've been chosen to clap and cheer."
Not all members in the church have the same function, and we must be very careful to value the functions of all members. One of the most important functions, perhaps, is the function of attending worship weekly, the people who clap and cheer in the church, as it were, the ones who form the congregation, who fill the pews, who are present to worship. It seems so simple, so basic, that sometimes we don't realize how important a function it is.
A youth once commented that he always knew who he would see in church on Sunday morning. And he then gave a list of ten families and individuals he could count on seeing each time he was in church. Even without realizing they were doing it, these people were ministering to the youth simply by being present for worship. A ministry of presence. Nothing particularly flashy, perhaps nothing to brag about; simply, merely coming to worship. Not only a basic function, but also a function of great importance.
It is important to note, this is not a ministry that must be based on what a person gets out of being present for worship, but a ministry of providing a witness to others in the congregation. By being consistently in worship, people are establishing a witness that worship is an important part of life. This is a ministry and a witness that is essential in a congregation, but it is easy to overlook.
The same is quite true of all the functions Paul lists. They share a tendency to be important even when they appear innocuous and common. This aspect of these gifts should remind us that Paul does not list these gifts in any particular order, certainly not in any order of importance. Rather, Paul lists gifts that are the bedrock of a healthy congregation, those things that will certainly be found wherever the church is found.
Think about the list. Prophecy ... Ministry ... Teacher ... Exhorter ... Giver ... Leader ... Compassionate.
There are all important functions, all important gifts, that will be found in a healthy congregation. Some of these things happen more publicly than others. Leaders are usually known by many other gifts when they fill that role. Exhorters, which we might also know as speakers, are often noted as they are those speaking to others. Teachers, of course, have students. Ministers, both ordained and lay, are well--known by those to whom they minister.
But many of these functions are also quite unobtrusive for some people. Givers, of course, are often anonymous. Teachers, ministers, and the compassionate are also often found working in obscurity, unknown to many others. These are important functions, important work, and often they are done quietly.
But, as we are all part of the Body of Christ, all the functions work together for the health of the body. That can be a difficult concept - the Body of Christ. Paul says, "We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another." It sounds so simple, such a natural image, something we should grasp with very little interpretation. Perhaps it should be like that, but all too often it isn't.
Consider, for example, an old ostrich James Thurber once told a story about. This old ostrich was instructing a class of young ostriches in the excellence of the ostrich species, when a young skeptic named Oliver said, "Man can fly sitting down, and we can't fly at all. How can we be so excellent?"
The old ostrich replied, witheringly, "Man is flying too fast for a world that is round. Soon he will catch up with himself and there will be a great rear--end collision. And Man will never know that what hit Man was Man."
Not only are the ostriches rather unclear about their own place, but the old ostrich also has an interesting understanding of the eventual fate of humanity. As humorous as the image is, and as physically impractical as it sounds, it is philosophically and metaphorically quite a challenge to avoid exactly such a fate.
Whenever we lose sight of Paul's image of the Body of Christ, which we are all part of, which we all share and work to strengthen, then we run into the danger of catching up with ourselves and being part of a great rear--end collision. And Man will never know that what hit Man was Man.
Keeping our focus on being a part of the Body of Christ is really a result of Paul's advice in the beginning of this lesson. The part that sounds the most like the rhetoric of the '60s. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Do not be conformed, because we are only accidentally in this world. We are really part of the Body of Christ. We are part of the people who are transformed by the renewing of our minds. The ways of the world, the ways the world judges and evaluates things are not the way things really are. And that is precisely Paul's point.
As we study the word of God, as we participate in worship and find ourselves renewed, as we minister in a variety of ways, most of them not flashy but all of them as part of the Body of Christ, we find that our minds are renewed by the promises of God. Because of that renewal, we are enabled to see what is the will of God.
This is often an idea used in a judgmental manner, particularly in an effort to eliminate the Body parts we dislike. Paul points out the real purpose. As our minds are renewed, we are able to grow in our ability to see what is good, what is acceptable to God, and what is perfect. And as we begin to see these things more clearly, we are also inspired to seek them more closely in our own lives. We are better able to work for the growth and betterment of the whole Body of Christ.
When we continue as part of the Body of Christ, we are able to be transformed, we are able to live more fully as members of the Body, and we are better able to fulfill more completely the functions we have been given in the Body. Amen.
When we read the lesson it sounds almost as if it should be a part of the '60s. Early on, there is a comment about not conforming, then something about transforming by renewing your minds, and finally, the ending about everybody working together. It all sounds as if it would fit right in if we were watching a nostalgic television special about the good old days of the 1960s. While it is uncanny that something written almost 1,900 years before the time the words seem to suit can evoke memories of a period only forty years ago, it is an unfortunate mistake to consign these words, along with other faded sayings of those days, to the collection of discarded remnants from that time.
These words are quite pertinent for our situation today, and they should carry a lot of meaning for us. It is worth our while to make the effort to listen carefully to what is being said in our lesson this morning. After all, it isn't as if the issues Paul speaks about have ceased to afflict humanity.
Consider, for example, a man who was promoted to a position that had the title of vice--president. The man was exceedingly proud of the new position and developed the annoying habit of speaking of himself in the third person. Many of his sentences began like this: "Your vice--president would appreciate ..." or "Your vice--president says...."
Finally, the man's wife was so tired of this behavior that she told the man, "Vice--presidents are a dime a dozen. Why, down at the supermarket they have a vice--president in charge of prunes."
Furious, the husband demanded that his wife prove her statement. She called the supermarket and asked for the vice--president in charge of prunes.
"Which kind," came the reply, "fresh or dried?"
It sounds like that husband needed to listen to Paul's advice in our lesson today: "I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think." In fact, it sounds like advice that could at one time or another apply to all of us.
This isn't the only part of the lesson that is not dated, but is still applicable to our situation today. The last portion of the lesson is a listing of various roles in the church that Paul suggests as important in the life of a congregation. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all the roles that will ever be needed in every congregation. For example, many congregations have found individuals knowledgeable in the operation of electronic equipment to be quite useful in spreading the good news, but Paul doesn't mention specifics, such as webmasters in establishing and maintaining websites. This does not mean such individuals are not important and quite helpful. Nor does it mean that Paul was less than we might think because he didn't mention specific roles useful in the church 1,900 years after he wrote these words.
It does mean that the list here is not meant to include every specific role the church might ever need. Rather, this is a generalized list of some of the more important roles necessary in the life of the church. This list of roles is mentioned to support an idea that is even more important. In the life of the church, the concept Paul expresses here is more important. That concept of the roles is mentioned to support and to serve as an example for others.
The concept is something that has become known as the Body of Christ. Paul's insight here is that the Body of Christ can be compared to a human body, especially in the fact that a human body has a multitude of parts and all of the parts need to work together for the good of the whole body. If the commercials are correct, the human body consists of at least 2,000 parts. And they need to work together for a person to live in a healthy way.
It sometimes happens that a human body has difficulties with a particular part. Some newborns need an immediate blood transfusion to ensure their survival. The blood they are born with is unable to work with the rest of the body, and it must be replaced.
This example must be taken carefully. It is an extreme example of the importance of the various parts of the body, both the human body and the Body of Christ, working together. It is not an endorsement of any efforts to replace parts of the church that don't seem to be working together.
A better understanding might be that of the effort many people make to attain a well--proportioned body. Exercise, diet, and other activities all have a part to play. Further, as most people are aware, doing some unfamiliar activity often leads to the comment, "I'm using muscles I didn't know I had." If this is the case, you will likely be aware of them in the next few days, when the newly--discovered muscles are quite sore.
Perhaps what the Body of Christ needs more than replacement of the parts that aren't working is an exercise that puts all the parts of the Body to work, particularly the parts that aren't working very hard.
Rather than trying to drive out the more difficult parts, it is important to remember that we are all parts of the Body of Christ, and we all have different functions. Paul puts it this way: "For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another."
In one body we have many members, in one church we have many members, in one group we have many parts. It is this fundamental truth that underlies the list of the parts Paul offers. There are times when we seem to expect people in the church to be good at everything. It can be humbling to realize that not everyone is good at everything that needs to be done around the church.
This is even more difficult when we realize that in many congregations the people who are likely to volunteer for an activity in the church are the same people time after time. This issue is so significant that one rather frustrated leader in the church once commented that most churches would be stronger if they were significantly smaller. He theorized that the first third of a church's membership was committed, the second third was the outer fringes, and the last third was already out of the church. The loss of the last third would likely result in a more active congregation.
While this perspective might sound rather harsh, it does have some truth in it. But we must be very careful not to push this idea too far. Consider the story of a young man who desperately wanted a part in his third--grade play. He confided his desire to his mother, and she considered her son briefly. She realized that, in all honesty, he was not particularly likely to be awarded a part. So, on the day when the parts were announced, she made sure to be at school to cheer up her son after what she strongly suspected was going to be a sad experience. To her surprise, the young man came out of the doors of the school with a big smile and bursting with pride. Before she could say a word, he announced, "I made it. I've been chosen to clap and cheer."
Not all members in the church have the same function, and we must be very careful to value the functions of all members. One of the most important functions, perhaps, is the function of attending worship weekly, the people who clap and cheer in the church, as it were, the ones who form the congregation, who fill the pews, who are present to worship. It seems so simple, so basic, that sometimes we don't realize how important a function it is.
A youth once commented that he always knew who he would see in church on Sunday morning. And he then gave a list of ten families and individuals he could count on seeing each time he was in church. Even without realizing they were doing it, these people were ministering to the youth simply by being present for worship. A ministry of presence. Nothing particularly flashy, perhaps nothing to brag about; simply, merely coming to worship. Not only a basic function, but also a function of great importance.
It is important to note, this is not a ministry that must be based on what a person gets out of being present for worship, but a ministry of providing a witness to others in the congregation. By being consistently in worship, people are establishing a witness that worship is an important part of life. This is a ministry and a witness that is essential in a congregation, but it is easy to overlook.
The same is quite true of all the functions Paul lists. They share a tendency to be important even when they appear innocuous and common. This aspect of these gifts should remind us that Paul does not list these gifts in any particular order, certainly not in any order of importance. Rather, Paul lists gifts that are the bedrock of a healthy congregation, those things that will certainly be found wherever the church is found.
Think about the list. Prophecy ... Ministry ... Teacher ... Exhorter ... Giver ... Leader ... Compassionate.
There are all important functions, all important gifts, that will be found in a healthy congregation. Some of these things happen more publicly than others. Leaders are usually known by many other gifts when they fill that role. Exhorters, which we might also know as speakers, are often noted as they are those speaking to others. Teachers, of course, have students. Ministers, both ordained and lay, are well--known by those to whom they minister.
But many of these functions are also quite unobtrusive for some people. Givers, of course, are often anonymous. Teachers, ministers, and the compassionate are also often found working in obscurity, unknown to many others. These are important functions, important work, and often they are done quietly.
But, as we are all part of the Body of Christ, all the functions work together for the health of the body. That can be a difficult concept - the Body of Christ. Paul says, "We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another." It sounds so simple, such a natural image, something we should grasp with very little interpretation. Perhaps it should be like that, but all too often it isn't.
Consider, for example, an old ostrich James Thurber once told a story about. This old ostrich was instructing a class of young ostriches in the excellence of the ostrich species, when a young skeptic named Oliver said, "Man can fly sitting down, and we can't fly at all. How can we be so excellent?"
The old ostrich replied, witheringly, "Man is flying too fast for a world that is round. Soon he will catch up with himself and there will be a great rear--end collision. And Man will never know that what hit Man was Man."
Not only are the ostriches rather unclear about their own place, but the old ostrich also has an interesting understanding of the eventual fate of humanity. As humorous as the image is, and as physically impractical as it sounds, it is philosophically and metaphorically quite a challenge to avoid exactly such a fate.
Whenever we lose sight of Paul's image of the Body of Christ, which we are all part of, which we all share and work to strengthen, then we run into the danger of catching up with ourselves and being part of a great rear--end collision. And Man will never know that what hit Man was Man.
Keeping our focus on being a part of the Body of Christ is really a result of Paul's advice in the beginning of this lesson. The part that sounds the most like the rhetoric of the '60s. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Do not be conformed, because we are only accidentally in this world. We are really part of the Body of Christ. We are part of the people who are transformed by the renewing of our minds. The ways of the world, the ways the world judges and evaluates things are not the way things really are. And that is precisely Paul's point.
As we study the word of God, as we participate in worship and find ourselves renewed, as we minister in a variety of ways, most of them not flashy but all of them as part of the Body of Christ, we find that our minds are renewed by the promises of God. Because of that renewal, we are enabled to see what is the will of God.
This is often an idea used in a judgmental manner, particularly in an effort to eliminate the Body parts we dislike. Paul points out the real purpose. As our minds are renewed, we are able to grow in our ability to see what is good, what is acceptable to God, and what is perfect. And as we begin to see these things more clearly, we are also inspired to seek them more closely in our own lives. We are better able to work for the growth and betterment of the whole Body of Christ.
When we continue as part of the Body of Christ, we are able to be transformed, we are able to live more fully as members of the Body, and we are better able to fulfill more completely the functions we have been given in the Body. Amen.
