Our second reading this morning comes from 1 Corinthians, chapter twelve.
Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, which was diverse both in terms of theological background, having both Jews and Gentile converts, and in terms of nationality. Corinth was a port city, and had people coming through from all over the world. It was also a conflicted church, full of people who struggled to get along and work together. We’re picking it up toward the end of the letter, in the middle of a monologue about gifts of the Holy Spirit and their role in the community.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot 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. And 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. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The 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.’
On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And 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. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
Paul wasn’t the first writer to use the human body as a metaphor for a human community. It was a relatively common trope for Greek writers and philosophers. But those writers and Paul took very different lessons from the same metaphor. You see, other philosophers would point at a body and say ‘see? Every body has parts that are more important, more honorable – and parts that are less important, and less honorable. That’s just the way the world works – some people are better than others, and we should all accept our places in society.’
But Paul flipped that story on its head, saying instead that because we are one body, we depend on one another, creating a radical equality amongst those parts with ‘greater honor’ and ‘lesser honor.’ No one gets to say ‘well, I’m an eye and you’re just a toe, so you go over there; I don’t need you.’
We are individuals, and we are each part of the body of Christ. We are each a whole person with a life and a purpose, and we are all inextricably connected.
No one is disposable.
One of the lines from this letter that kept coming back to me this week was verse 26: if one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it. If one part is honored, the whole body rejoices together with it.
This is what it means to be part of a true human community. We are rejoicing and grieving, delighting and worrying, sometimes in the same five minutes during joys and concerns – but with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can hold it all together and still be okay. This kind of healthy compassion allows us to be part of a loving, supportive community without completely losing ourselves.
This was not an easy week to hold all that together, I will admit.
Amidst all the policy changes, executive orders, and confirmation hearings happening in our country this week, there was also a theological skirmish at the National Cathedral over Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon at the inaugural prayer service.
Out of all the social media flurry, I saw one tweet in particular that absolutely blew my mind. It came from Ben Garrett, who is a Christian author and podcaster based out of Ogden, Utah, with more than 12,000 followers. He also identifies himself as a leader at a particular church in Ogden. He posted a picture of the bishop, whom he obviously disagrees with, and wrote:
“Do not commit the sin of empathy. This snake is God’s enemy and yours too. She hates God and his people. You need to properly hate in response.”
He was completely serious. His pastor made a public statement agreeing with him, and thousands more also agreed with him and spread this message across the internet.
“Do not commit the sin of empathy. You need to properly hate.”
What?!
Let’s compare that statement to our scripture readings this morning. We heard Jesus quote Isaiah, saying “the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then we heard Paul say “no one is disposable, everyone has gifts to share with the community, we hold our joy and our suffering together.”
I think it’s safe to say that the Bible itself does not agree with Mr. Garrett, no matter how many Twitter users do.
I bring all of this up not just because it’s a hot topic. Believe me, I would love to be telling any number of other stories this morning.
I bring this up because right now there are two very different versions of Christianity competing for attention in our nation’s public square, and if we are going to continue to be that kind of compassionate, radically inclusive community Paul talks about, then we have to be able to tell the two apart.
One version of Christianity says “Jesus died so that I would never have to feel weak or powerless again.” That version of Christianity says “God wants us to take control of every facet of American life, from government to media to art to education to finance and everything else, so that America can be righteous and God can finally rejoice in us.”
The second version seeks out opportunities for mercy, not control. Resting in God’s love and justice, this version echoes Jesus, saying “I have come not to be served, but to serve.” It is more likely to be found in homeless shelters and warming centers than in the Capitol building, more likely to be trying to find housing for refugees on Thursday night than wining and dining media executives.
I well and truly believe that our call, our ministry to the world, is to take that second version of Christianity, the one focused on compassion and mercy, the one that doesn’t believe empathy is a sin, and shout it from the rooftops.
During this week’s snowpocalypse, I was doing some reading from a systematic theology textbook recommended to me by friends. It was written by a theologian, pastor, and professor by the name of Dr. Shirley Guthrie, and originally published in 1968. I have the 50thanniversary edition – it’s been in print that long. But what struck me was part of the section on predestination – the question of who are ‘God’s chosen ones,’ and what does that mean for the church?
Here’s what he writes:
“God’s chosen one or chosen people are chosen not for the sake of their own happiness and success but to be the instrument of God’s love and justice for all who are poor and homeless, all who are ignored and excluded by the rich and powerful, all who are victims of oppressive political, social, and economic systems—the “outsiders” of the world.
Then there is Jesus himself, the chosen one of God (Luke 9:35). For him above all to be chosen by God did not mean personal security and success. It meant being God’s “suffering servant” who was despised, rejected, and finally executed as a common criminal because he was the friend and advocate of two kinds of outsiders: poor and oppressed people excluded by an unjust social and political establishment, and godless sinners excluded by an unloving moral and religious establishment.
That is what it means for us to be the chosen people of God. We too are chosen not instead of but for the sake of the world’s outsiders. We are chosen not to escape from a godless and godforsaken world with all its sinfulness and suffering, but to be sent into it and live for it.
We are chosen not so that we can congratulate ourselves because we live in the light while everyone else gropes in the darkness, but to be a light that shines in their darkness. We are chosen so that those who are excluded from the benefits of God’s loving justice and just love may be included. For we too are chosen not to be served but to serve, to take up our crosses as we follow the Chosen One of God who was crucified because he cared for all the wrong people.”[1]
Beloved people of God, as you follow Jesus into hospitals and campgrounds, offices and homes, daycares and factories, gyms and highways, do not let anyone tell you that your love is misplaced, that you have nothing to give.
Go, like Jesus, to care for all the wrong people.
Alleluia! Amen.
[1] Guthrie Jr., Shirley C.. Christian Doctrine (pp. 212-213). Kindle Edition. Emphasis added.
