"Working Together As The Body Christ" Sermon by Pastor David Layman
January 25, 2004
I Corinthians 12:12-27
Some people presume that the early church was an ideal form of Christianity, and that if the modern church were just more like the church in the first century AD, things would be much better! But in reading Paul's letters to the Corinthians, we see that this early church was seriously divided. As some church members today align themselves with a certain pastor or faction, Corinthian believers were at odds, some saying "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos", or "I belong to Peter." Some followed different ethical standards, believing incest was ok, some took other members to court. Some denied the resurrection of the dead. Churches may split over many different issues. A minister was once asked how many active members were in the church he served. He responded "We have 100 active members. 50 are active for me, 50 are active against me." I heard of a pastor who would have been glad to have half the church behind him. . . .he brought up an idea of what he thought was a needed improvement, and it seemed the whole congregation was against him! This minister suggested his church purchase a chandelier. He could tell by the looks of disapproval and the whispering that this idea was not going over. So the minister asked an elder to summarize why people were opposed to such a move. The elder arose and said "Well, it's this way. First of all, nobody here knows how to spell chandelier, so how are we going to order one? Secondly, we don't have anyone that can play it once we get it. And third, what we really need is more light!"
I heard of the pastor that announced he would never again attend another basketball game. His congregation was shocked, but he went on to explain his reasons:
1. Every time I went to a game, they asked for money.
2. I was a good and faithful fan, but the coach never called on me in my home.
3. The seats were too hard!
4. The officials said things I could not agree with.
5. I suspected I was sitting among hypocrites--they seemed more interested in their favorite beverages and snacks than they were in the game.
6. The band always plays the same old tunes.
7. Since I bought a book on basketball, I can stay home and read it, or watch it on tv. I consider myself just as good a basketball fan as those who attend the games.
In Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, he was aware of their divisions, so he used an interesting analogy. He said that the church is a body with many different parts or members. Christ is the head, the source of our direction. The feet, the hands, the ears, and eyes, the nose, all parts of the body need one another and need to work in harmony. Paul's argument is quite vivid: "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." (12:15) It doesn't take a physical therapist to know that if the foot starts talking to the hand, the whole body is in trouble! Paul says that as the church, we are called upon to be not a building, but a body! This is important for us to note, because most of us instinctively think of the church as a building. The church is in reality not a building, but a body. It'scurious that some think they can be useful to Christ's kingdom, isolated from other believers. An eye in a head is priceless. An eye in a glass jar is just a curiosity. One thinks of the Steve Martin movie "The Brain". A brain separated from a body is of little value! An elbow separated from a shoulder and hand is worthless. Have you ever tried to eat a chocolate chip cookie with your elbow over there, your shoulder over there, and your hand over here? And what good is a cookie for an elbow, a shoulder and hand, if there's no mouth to put the cookie in? It's important for us as a church to get our act together! John Calvin wrote "While the members [of a church] differ from each other in offices and functions, it is in such a way as to have a mutual connection with each other for the preservation of the one body." (I Cor. 12: 20 Commentary) .
In my years of ministry, besides the fact that it's at times hard to get people to work together, I've found that too often, we think that there's little we can do. We undervalue what we see as our small contribution, and we overestimate what we presume other people can do without us. We may think our sins and failings mean there's little we can do for the kingdom. But the real truth is that God can do wonders with sinners who yield themselves to the Master's healing touch! Tom Tewell, pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York, tells of an event at his church's midnight Christmas Eve service one year. As Tom entered the sanctuary, he noticed that Jim was seated in the 11th row. Jim was a recovering alcoholic who was 6 months sober, and this was his first Christmas since his family had left him because of his alcoholism. A family of 4 sat just in front of Jim. Seeing that family laughing and hugging one another at Christmas Eve crushed Jim. Feelings of failure and loneliness were more than he could handle. Jim decided to have a drink. He came out the center aisle toward the narthex, and ran into Tom, who asked "Jim, where are you going?" Jim replied "Oh, I'm just going for a scotch." Tom knew Jim was a recovering alcoholic and said "Jim, you can't do that. Is your sponsor somewhere around here?" Jim responded "It's Christmas Eve, Tom. My sponsor is in Minnesota. There's nobody who can help me. I just came to church to try to find some hope, and I ended up sitting behind this family. If I had my life together, I'd be here with my wife and kids too." Tom Tewell took Jim into the robing room to talk with a couple of other pastors. It was time for the service to start, and Tom was due in the sanctuary. He prayed silently "0 God, help me somehow to bring hope to Jim tonight." As Tom began with announcements, a thought occurred to him. "I have one final announcement. If anyone here tonight is a friend of Bill Wilson (the founder of AA)--and if you are, you'll know it--would you please step out of the sanctuary for a moment and meet me in the robing room?"
>From allover the sanctuary, men, women and college students rose and made their way out. While the message in the sanctuary was about the incarnation, the Word was becoming flesh in the robing room." [vic Pentz 12/22/02 Peachtree Sermon, "Christmas As Mystery".] You see, those who have failed the most in life are often the same ones that can reach the furthest to lift up someone else who has fallen and in need of help. It's when we separate ourselves from the body of Christ that we are in the most danger. It's when we work together, even sharing our brokenness and failings with the Lord, that God can use us to give hope and healing to someone else!
Tom Glennen shared a wonderful article with me this week. (Sports Illustrated, "The Life of Reilly: Worth the Wait." It's about Ben, a high school cross country runner from Anderson, South Carolina, that takes 50 minutes to run the cross country course, when the winner can run it in 16. The reason Ben takes 3 times as long to run the course, and has finished last in every race he's ever run, is that Ben has cerebral palsy. But Ben believes God put him on this earth for a purpose. "I feel like I've been put here to set an example...I like to show people that you can either stop trying or you can pick yourself up and keep going." You see, Ben's healthy twin brother and another brother are great runners on the team. Just like his brothers try to do their best, Ben tries to do his best. His cerebral palsy causes him to run very slowly, to stagger as he runs, and he frequently falls, bruising and cutting himself. But he gets back up, and continues to run. Sometimes, Ben's mother can't stand to see him run, fall, and hurt himself. But Ben has finished every race he's run, sometimes barely ahead of the sunset. Ben's teammates don't go home to shower. They stick around, and then run the last 10 minutes of every race with him. And other teams have started to do the same. They run the last stretch again, with Ben. And the parents and fans stick around until Ben comes in, and they cheer like they cheer for no other. It's not unusual to see grown men crying when Ben finally makes it across the finish line. And at the same time, everyone is cheering like Ben just won the Boston Marathon. Ben's teammates, the parents and fans, and Ben himself give us an inspiring example of what the Christian church is to be like. God wants us to cross the final finish line together. Every person in this world is blessed with some gift that can enrich others, and sometimes, those who seem to be the least gifted, like Ben, show us that they can bring us closer to God than the swiftest and strongest. God doesn't want us to go our separate ways in life. God doesn't want the feet to talk to the hands, and an elbow to think he or she doesn't belong in the body. God chooses to do greater things with all of us serving together, than could be done by individual parts trying to go it on their own. Together, we are the body of Christ.
"To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good./f And a house, or a body, divided against itself, cannot stand, or serve God's intended purposes. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us each do our part, and work together, to fulfill our calling as the body of Christ!