14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the feet were to 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. ¹⁶And if the ear were to 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. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as God chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many members, yet one body. ²¹The 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.’ ²²On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; ²⁴whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, ²⁵that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸And 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. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But strive for the greater gifts.

Please pray for me as I pray for you… Amen.

Last week John reminded us that 1 Corinthians is a letter that Paul was writing to the community in Corinth. He is answering questions asked by the church there. This community is struggling with discord of many sorts.

This morning we will first examine the passage we just heard read, then draw parallels to the church today and finally speak on how this first century text challenges us in the twenty-first century.
So let’s begin:

According to Richard Horsley, author of the book, "Paul and Empire", Paul was writing in a time when relations between Rome and Corinth exemplified the most extreme forms of Roman imperial practice. The Corinthians had a reputation as uncultured and lacking in social graces, partly because the wealthy so grossly exploited the poor. Far from urging the Corinthian "saints" to conform to Corinthian society, Paul insisted that the Christian community maintain their solidarity as an unique community that stands against a larger society.

The way the Corinthians perceived the workings of the Holy Spirit brought divisiveness among them. For Paul, diversity per se is not the problem at Corinth; the problem lies in what the Corinthians made of their diversity. Paul is not surprised by differences among believers. He has a multihued picture of them. Paul presents differences in Corinth to be mostly inspired
by the Holy Spirit and as enriching the community by God’s design.

Each person has different life circumstances, different callings, and thus different spiritual graces and qualifications given to them to contribute to the community within Corinth. Among these differences, Paul fails to see a qualitative distinction: All of the differences are appropriate, and God uses them for the common good.

In today’s reading, Paul makes his case about the interdependency of believers. The "one body, many members" metaphor was commonplace in the Greco-Roman world; one can even find versions of it in which, as here, the different parts of the body argue with one another. The metaphor maintains a claim for unity – one body – while recognizing and honoring differences – many, quite different members.

Paul claims that baptism distinguishes Christians. It is in baptism, he asserts, that, by the working of the Spirit, they were made into one body of which they are all the "many members". No matter how many members, and no matter how different they are from one another, there is just one body, just as there is only one Spirit working in all the members.

So Paul implies that by the working of the Spirit in baptism, individual differences are of no importance, for all became one. Likewise, any distinctions in terms of being members with distinctive characteristics and functions have no significance.

The "one body" premise is stated in v. 14 and again in v. 20 and so effectively frames two distinctive treatments of the metaphor. The first metaphor uses the analogy to address persons who have a low self-estimation, who wish they were other then who they are:

This metaphor seeks to assure them of their importance, even necessity, to the body.

The second metaphor addresses those who have a low estimation of others – that is, those who think they have greater importance:

It is believed this second metaphor has a more extended elaboration, because the problem is intense in Corinth! Paul underscores that every member is equally important to the well-being of the body.

Paul uses the culturally determined practice of dignifying certain parts of the body with clothing to propose that all parts of the body are necessary, needed, and honored. He strives to ensure that members have proper concern for one another, sharing not only in honor but also in suffering: ²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.

The imagery of the body is a case study in an idea of unity that still preserves and honors diversity. The unity of the believers is grounded in that each person is indispensable. Individuality is honored in that each believer serves the body in a distinct – neither less nor greater – way. No one is less important. Unity neither requires uniformity nor encourages it. In the same way that the gifts are given by the Spirit as the Spirit chooses and in order to serve the common good, the distinctive members are called to be part of the body, and each is to contribute its own special and distinctive work to the well-being of the whole body.

Paul asserts that for Christians to be different is not only acceptable, but it is expected and even necessary for the richness, wholeness, and vigor of the body. This is a radical idea for the first century! Paul is forming a new kind of community! Believers can differ from each other in appearance and function, in what is done, and even in certain opinions. Believers’ unity lies in their being one in Christ, in the body together; each one of them is a person God loves, and
all of them have been given to the other in Christ.

We have closely examined today’s scripture. We have looked at it through the lens of Paul’s time and Paul’s culture.

Often we may want to be someone other than whom we are, or even to be somewhere other than where we are. As human beings, we tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons could make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation - our Spiritual gifts - are hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.

Many Spiritual gifts have been named in last week and today’s scripture passages: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracle work, prophecy, discernment, various kinds of tongues, and interpreting in tongues to name some. What do these mean? Do you have these gifts? We will never find or understand our Spiritual gifts by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. As my mother often reminded me, we can be reminded now: Be ‘yourself’!

In the few months that I have been a student intern here, it has become clear that Fairport UMC is an amazing church. I have been "blown away" by the gifts, the talents, the passion, and the acts of social justice that are routinely revealed here. People here are uniquely gifted by the Spirit; and there are many differences. Yet, all of the differences are appropriate, and God uses them for the common good. Is there more to do? Can more people become involved? Is anyone missing whose contributions would be of value? Most likely "Yes" is the answer to all these questions. AND the excellent news is that this church is aware and alive and as John reminded us last week, is going to offer an all church extravaganza the weekend of April 27, 28 and 29^th.
If you didn’t hear, this event is to explore each individual’s spiritual gifts, personal worship and
group interaction styles. This event will be engaging, personally helpful and uplifting, and will help each one discover or strengthen a sense of our capacities, our life mission in the divine plan as individuals and as a corporate church in this community; to be ‘yourself’ and to be in community.
You will discover: Where are your Spiritual gifts leading you? How are your gifts contributing to this body of Christ? Where are the Spiritual gifts found at Fairport UMC
leading this particular church?

This church is awake! This congregation is Alive! You are responding to God’s Spirit! This is an opportunity to go deeper and thrive!

Today’s passage holds truths that will hold true for eternity. However, we live in a different context today. For example, there were about 300 million people on the planet at the time of Paul’s writing of First Corinthians. Now there are about 6.4 billion people.

Paul was concerned about the Christians’ struggle to survive as a minority faith; a radical group seeking a collaborative lifestyle within an overbearing empire. Christianity is now the largest faith group in the world.

Have we lost our distinctiveness? Have we taken on characteristics of the empire?

A brother of mine is a composer. A composition he wrote in the year 2000 speaks of truth, of beauty, and asks questions that may be asked for all of eternity. In addition, there are issues mentioned in this musical piece that were forefront in the American mind at that time, that now seem dated.

This is how I perceive the letters of Paul. There are eternal truths and there are cultural contexts conveyed through the writings. God spoke the language of the time to be heard by God’s people of the time.

As Christians, we no longer see ourselves as a struggling minority in the world. As the world gets ever smaller through technology and travel opportunities, we see ourselves as part of a body of God in a world that God has made.

There is a story about a young girl struggling to understand German Christian soldiers in the Second World War. Through the loving guidance of her uncle, a Baptist minister, she comes to realize that God is the God of those we don’t understand and those who are hard to forgive.

At one point or another in our lives, we may have encountered someone who is challenging to work or even to live with. Scores of self-help books have been written about
how to cope with difficult people. I have had such an experience with a difficult co-worker. Today’s text has caused me to wrestle with my acceptance of this individual, for this person is part of the body of Christ.

It can be very hard to accept that God is the God of those I don’t understand and those who are hard to forgive.

We are in an age where we must transcend our divisions, our differences, and honor diversity; socio-economic, racial, gender, and even diversity of faiths. God has made us all.

This church has joined with others in the Fairport community to visit houses of worship of various faiths. As members of the twenty-first century, we are building on what Paul helped us understand: the unity of the believers is grounded in that each person in God’s world is indispensable. Individuality is honored in that each believer serves the body of God in a distinct – neither less nor greater – way. Unity neither requires uniformity nor encourages it. In the same way that the gifts are given by the Spirit as the Spirit chooses and in order to serve the common good, the distinctive members are called to be part of the body of God, and each is to contribute its own special and distinctive work to the well-being of the whole body.

Believers can differ from each other in appearance and function, in what is done, and even in certain opinions. God is the God of those we don’t understand. God has made us all.

We must be much more intentional about our acceptance of persons of other faiths. This work can be far more difficult than anything else we do. AND it can be extremely rewarding if we really want to discover and to take care of this wonderful body of God that we are all a part of.

For Christians to be different is not only acceptable, but it is expected and even necessary for the richness, wholeness, and vigor of our world.

We have been told what is good, and what is required of us: to discover our Spiritual gifts in order to serve the common good.

In this global society, we can legitimately ask, "Can the Body of Christ see itself also as part of the Body of God?"

This is the prayer for my life,
may it also be yours. Amen.

Janet A.M. James

Student Intern

1-21-07

Fairport United Methodist Church