This Fleshy Body
Text: 1
Corinthians 12
Aldersgate
I.
Paul fleshes out
the qualities of the body of Christ
a.
Hearing a lot about Bodyworks at
i.
Did any of you
see this exhibit?
ii.
What can you
tell us?
iii.
Did not want to
see
1.
not sure if my stomach could handle
2.
felt the same way when one of my colleagues suggested
I watch my carple tunnel surgery
a.
why?
b.
Now I wish I had gone to seen this exhibit because
given today’s epistle lesson I think it would be preachable
II.
In this fleshing
out of Christ’s body, Paul makes several points. Focus on two qualities of the body and then
share something I learned this week.
a.
Recognize the foolishness of the parts not working
together
i.
Closing verses,
Paul speaks of variety of roles
1.
apostles, prophets, teachers, powerful doers,
healers, helpers, leaders, speaker
2.
discussion of body of Christ begins with Paul
itemizing gifts
a.
wisdom works with knowledge
b.
faith and healing go hand and hand
c.
miracle works, prophecy, and discernment
d.
tongues always accompanied with interpretation
3.
is one of these roles or one of these gifts more
important than the other?
ii.
Mr. Potato Head
1.
familiar w/
2.
different eyes, nose, mouth
3.
put on all eyes
iii.
No one person
can have all these gifts.
1.
when all work together, the community of the body
exhibits all these gifts
2.
oneness in Christ does not mean sameness
b.
because all need to work together, Paul encourages
the honoring of the lesser parts
i.
opposite of
Corinthian cultural practice
1.
system of honoring those who were greater, more
influential, or wealthier
2.
Dionysius, Greek historian and orator compared human
to polis, or commonwealth
a.
But not valued as equals
b.
But that lesser parts should be ruled over by parts
having greater honor, for example brain rule over stomach
ii.
not very
different from our practice
1.
we do not honor the lesser parts
2.
there’s another body related exhibit making the
rounds of science museums across the country
a.
“Grossology” focuses on
bodily functions
i.
ii.
Gas Attack
Pinball
iii.
Just the names
tell you enough, others I don’t want to talk about
b.
How do you make a Kleenex dance?
i.
Put a little
boogie in it!
3.
So why does Paul use the fleshiness of human body to
talk about the church community?
a.
Why would God want to be incarnate in human flesh?
b.
What does the reality that the Holy One, the divine
One – God – became flesh say
i.
about our bodies?
ii.
About our
community?
c.
Body of Christ is large, grande,
not fat but full
i.
Visited one of
the lesser parts this week, the dump in
1.
not a landfill, too fancy a work
2.
acres of trash piled up twenty to thirty feet high
3.
people live on at and literally on this dump making a
living by going thorugh the trash looking for metal,
plastics, or anything they can sell for a few pennies
4.
extremely difficult life beyond our imagination
5.
live in dirt and smoke, yet work hard
6.
these are very industrious people
7.
and I have to respect them for the work they do
ii.
makes me want to
work for change in human systems
1.
that force people to earn a living in this manner
2.
and contribute to the throw away world we live in
iii.
made me think
about the people who pick up our trash
1.
I put it out and someone comes along to take it away,
and I forget about the trash and the people who work with it
2.
yet he/she is likely a member of the body of Christ
This week, I had the
opportunity to travel with our Bishop, Peter Weaver and members of his cabinet,
including Gary Shaw, a former pastor at Aldersgate. This trip was a little different from others
as we spent time with the Accion Medica
Christiana (Chrisitan Medical Action), other programs
that have a connection with
Over this past year,
the 20 year long covenant relationship between New England Conference and Iglesia de Christo has been
strained. At the beginning of the week,
I was very discouraged by the lack of health in this relationship due to a lack
of trust by participants in both groups.
As in any conflict, each side has valid concerns, yet have
been unable to talk with each other. Lysette Cortez, a dentist in
On Wednesday, our
delegation of ten along with six from Iglesia de Christo traveled around
Following the
service, I spoke to two members of Igleisa de Christo leadership and asked if they would be coming to the
party on Friday evening. Both surprised
me when they asked if this was an official invitation. My response on both occasions was that I was
inviting if that was official enough.
Later Bishop Weaver
called and offered an official invitation.
And the grace in all of this is that they accepted! A first step toward reconciliation and
strengthening of this bridge happened on Friday evening. God’s spirit was present; tensions began to
soften and communication may now be possible.
Sometimes an
invitation is all that is needed at least for a beginning. All of us want to be invited to share our
gifts, to have a role in the body of Christ.
No one is beyond the grace of God, and all are in need of the grace of
God. All are important, and we would
strengthen the body of Christ through care of those parts we take for
granted. Several groups were present at
Casa Amenecer, representatives from different
groups. Although some had been born out
of conflict and shifting planes, God brought them all together.
I bring you
greetings from Pastor Santos Boza, our sister church
in
We are the body of
Christ! All have a part to play and all share in the health of Christ’s body. If I claim Christ as my head but cannot live
with love and respect for to the members, then is Christ in my head or my
heart. When I say “the Christ in me
greets the Christ in you” then I am acknowledging that we are part of the same
body. This passage is more than a
metaphor. It is metaphysical. The body of Christ is only as healthy as the
relationships that bind us together. The
body of Christ is well fleshed out, large, grande in
Spanish, not fat, but full. Amen.