Epiphany 3 / Ordinary Time 3
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
-- 1 Corinthians 12:26
Like Paul, we, too, are confronted by the fractured body of the church. While Paul was particularly speaking of the church in Corinth and while we could find many churches that exhibit the squabbling and infighting that Paul addressed in Corinth, perhaps the greatest scandal of the body of Christ is our calm acceptance of the divisions that separate us denominationally. Paul was not content to dismiss such divisions as characteristic of human nature. At the same time, he was not an advocate that we should all conform to some common formula that was to fit all. In fact, Paul saw great value in the diversity within the body of Christ. The unity of the body was not to be found in uniformity but in recognition that each of our unique qualities was a gift from God "for the common good." This diversity was itself the intention of God and served to foster the health of the church. His familiar analogy of the human body emphasized his appreciation of the strength of the diversity within the common body.
That which unifies the church is its recognition of our formation into one body by one spirit. The practical means by which we unite is the emphasis on mutual care. "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." One can imagine the impact of churches applying this admonition in their relationship with other churches. Imagine the powerful impact on a single city if all the churches in that city demonstrated a mutual care for each other and a celebration of the gifts that each contributed to the good of the whole.
How would we implement Paul's suggestion that "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"? Perhaps if we could even recognize that our financial resources were part of our spiritual witness, we might begin to wrestle with what Paul will describe in the next chapter as a "more excellent way."
-- 1 Corinthians 12:26
Like Paul, we, too, are confronted by the fractured body of the church. While Paul was particularly speaking of the church in Corinth and while we could find many churches that exhibit the squabbling and infighting that Paul addressed in Corinth, perhaps the greatest scandal of the body of Christ is our calm acceptance of the divisions that separate us denominationally. Paul was not content to dismiss such divisions as characteristic of human nature. At the same time, he was not an advocate that we should all conform to some common formula that was to fit all. In fact, Paul saw great value in the diversity within the body of Christ. The unity of the body was not to be found in uniformity but in recognition that each of our unique qualities was a gift from God "for the common good." This diversity was itself the intention of God and served to foster the health of the church. His familiar analogy of the human body emphasized his appreciation of the strength of the diversity within the common body.
That which unifies the church is its recognition of our formation into one body by one spirit. The practical means by which we unite is the emphasis on mutual care. "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." One can imagine the impact of churches applying this admonition in their relationship with other churches. Imagine the powerful impact on a single city if all the churches in that city demonstrated a mutual care for each other and a celebration of the gifts that each contributed to the good of the whole.
How would we implement Paul's suggestion that "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"? Perhaps if we could even recognize that our financial resources were part of our spiritual witness, we might begin to wrestle with what Paul will describe in the next chapter as a "more excellent way."
