“Being Members of One Body at Least 6 Feet Apart- How God
Unites Us” 1 Cor. 12:12-27
“But God has
put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so
that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have
equal concern for each other. If one
part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part
rejoices with it.”
When I was in my
20s and newly married, I went regularly to a nursing home to visit a
couple. They were in separate rooms on
the same hall. Neither could get out of
bed. When I talked to this couple individually,
they would ask me how the other one was doing.
They each had pictures up of their children and grandchildren and even a
great grandchild or two. They had
drawings done by elementary school age grandchildren that said “I love you
Nanna and Pappa.” But you know, I was
just married. I was into the just
married thing and it was a jolt to my soul to think that this couple could stay
married and still be so much in love but not see each other, or even regularly
kiss each other. I had heard about such
love, but I never paid it much attention.
I want to say that their kind of love is the kind of love I want to
strive for in my marriage. A love that
does not depend on physical intimacy but of heart and soul intimacy. A love that transcends space. I have seen this love in young people too-
when a soldier goes off to war or a spouse has to travel a lot. Love based solely on emotion and
self-fulfillment and being next to each other will not last long. There is a place, certainly for emotion and
fulfillment- God gives us emotions and desires.
But they are, I strongly believe, secondary to committed love. The desire to touch is an important
attraction given by God, but it is not love, only a magnet drawing us to
love. The heart of soul of love goes
beyond space and eventually even time.
It is the same with our relationship with Christ. If you are depending on having a spiritual experience or feeling about Christ to buoy you up all the time, you will find Christ, but you may not stick with Him. When the experience goes away, when you come down off the mountaintop, or when you walk through the valley- you will find yourself so distant from God that you will be sorely tempted to give up. But being in a covenant relationship with God- means you are promised to Him and He is promised to you.
The heart and soul of the church is having God in us. The closer we get to God- the closer we get to each other. The church is not the building- though it is important. It is important to stay dry when we gather- so we are going to do a new roof soon. It is important to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. But those are not as important as the Spirit inside each of us- that is a magnet that draws us together to fellowship but also to serve and be the body for our Head- our Lord. Do you have that Holy Spirit in you? You get the Spirit by desiring the Spirit- but also be believing in Jesus- the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.
I. BEING A MEMBER- The word “member” comes from this passage in the Bible. If you are a member of the chamber or a member of the rotary or a member of the garden club it comes from this idea of the body. We are different but called to work together.
You can be a member of a church and be far away. We have some members who have moved away and have never moved their membership and they are probably listening in right now. See Lake Murray Presbyterian is only one small part of the overall church. We are but a cell of the body of Christ universal. You can be on vacation in Europe and still be a member of the church. The hard thing is being involved remotely. This is how you can be involved when socially distant. 1) Pray- I don’t care what anyone says- “Thoughts and prayers” are very important. In my second church we had two 80 year old ladies who were friends who were really prayer warriors. I could count on them, and if I had a personal request I went to them. When they died, the church started dying too. Be a person of prayer- pray through our list; pray for your family by name and for our elders and deacons; 2) Give- You can give online. There was a time when people didn’t come, they didn’t give. Those days are over. There are lots of ways to give online, text, mail. But your gift assures the ministry to others. 3) Be creative in your service. There are all kinds of ways: cards, calls, caring. Look for ways to care.
There are some bodies I would not want to be a part of. If I were to choose to be a part of the body of an athlete, it would be tough- there would be all this exercising and workout to the point of exhaustion. If I were to be a member of a body of a beauty queen it would again mean exercise, restrictive diets- I am not sure I would like that as a member. Our passage says we are members of the body of Christ. Now Christ too is demanding. He is asking us to live in a certain way, to exercise our faith, to guard what we allow into our minds, our hearts, our souls. As part of His body- we are to ask ourselves- not simply what I want- but what does the Head of my body want for me?
II. BEING A CARING MEMBER- The clear thing about being a member is that we cannot be indifferent.
1) Can’t say “I don’t need you.” So how do we need each other? How can you recognize to another that you need them to be in the body with you?
Arthur Brooks at the 2020 Prayer Breakfast began by quoting Jesus “You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Someone had told him after he tried to say that people that disagree with you over public policy are not necessarily stupid or evil” that “No, those [who disagreed with him] were stupid and evil.”
It is the same with our relationship with Christ. If you are depending on having a spiritual experience or feeling about Christ to buoy you up all the time, you will find Christ, but you may not stick with Him. When the experience goes away, when you come down off the mountaintop, or when you walk through the valley- you will find yourself so distant from God that you will be sorely tempted to give up. But being in a covenant relationship with God- means you are promised to Him and He is promised to you.
The heart and soul of the church is having God in us. The closer we get to God- the closer we get to each other. The church is not the building- though it is important. It is important to stay dry when we gather- so we are going to do a new roof soon. It is important to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. But those are not as important as the Spirit inside each of us- that is a magnet that draws us together to fellowship but also to serve and be the body for our Head- our Lord. Do you have that Holy Spirit in you? You get the Spirit by desiring the Spirit- but also be believing in Jesus- the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.
I. BEING A MEMBER- The word “member” comes from this passage in the Bible. If you are a member of the chamber or a member of the rotary or a member of the garden club it comes from this idea of the body. We are different but called to work together.
You can be a member of a church and be far away. We have some members who have moved away and have never moved their membership and they are probably listening in right now. See Lake Murray Presbyterian is only one small part of the overall church. We are but a cell of the body of Christ universal. You can be on vacation in Europe and still be a member of the church. The hard thing is being involved remotely. This is how you can be involved when socially distant. 1) Pray- I don’t care what anyone says- “Thoughts and prayers” are very important. In my second church we had two 80 year old ladies who were friends who were really prayer warriors. I could count on them, and if I had a personal request I went to them. When they died, the church started dying too. Be a person of prayer- pray through our list; pray for your family by name and for our elders and deacons; 2) Give- You can give online. There was a time when people didn’t come, they didn’t give. Those days are over. There are lots of ways to give online, text, mail. But your gift assures the ministry to others. 3) Be creative in your service. There are all kinds of ways: cards, calls, caring. Look for ways to care.
There are some bodies I would not want to be a part of. If I were to choose to be a part of the body of an athlete, it would be tough- there would be all this exercising and workout to the point of exhaustion. If I were to be a member of a body of a beauty queen it would again mean exercise, restrictive diets- I am not sure I would like that as a member. Our passage says we are members of the body of Christ. Now Christ too is demanding. He is asking us to live in a certain way, to exercise our faith, to guard what we allow into our minds, our hearts, our souls. As part of His body- we are to ask ourselves- not simply what I want- but what does the Head of my body want for me?
II. BEING A CARING MEMBER- The clear thing about being a member is that we cannot be indifferent.
1) Can’t say “I don’t need you.” So how do we need each other? How can you recognize to another that you need them to be in the body with you?
Arthur Brooks at the 2020 Prayer Breakfast began by quoting Jesus “You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Someone had told him after he tried to say that people that disagree with you over public policy are not necessarily stupid or evil” that “No, those [who disagreed with him] were stupid and evil.”
2) Can’t say because I’m different, you are obsolete.
Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki points out that empathy in America has
dwindled steadily to the point that we are 75% less empathetic.
Perhaps God is bringing us to our knees to recognize- we all need each other, and we are all facing the same storm. Honestly, all this talk of generation wars is distressing. We have little patience with each other.
I worry that because the coronavirus mainly effects older or sick, that we will grow in prejudice against the elderly of sick. As the body of Christ- we care for all ages, all differences, all those who love God.
3) Rejoice with those who rejoice. Instead of thinking life is only about how I can get ahead- rejoice with those who are being blessed. In this time, rejoice in someone else finding the TP. Rejoice in someone who is not hurting or sad. It is a sign of good spirituality and mental health. If you are nervous about this coronavirus, can you still respect those who are not as nervous as you? The eye shouldn’t say to the hand- because you are different I don’t need you.
4)Weep with those who weep. But also be able to not just show empathy but sympathy. Care for those hurting. In times of super-stress- which is what we have been going through, it is hard to take time to pray for others, or to think of others. But this is our call. Part of this is to sympathize with those who are nervous or afraid of the coronavirus. Part of it is to care for those who cannot get out. To pray for those in nursing homes who cannot avoid those who have the virus. If I have a splinter in my finger- it affects my whole body. If I am sick and I am given a shot of medicine- that medicine doesn’t just effect my arm where it goes in- it affects the whole body. If one part rejoices- rejoice with it- if one part suffers- be sad with it.
About one in a million people are born without a sense of pain- (Congenital insensitivity to Pain- CIP). Ashlyn Blocker of Patterson Georgia was born with the inability to feel a mosquito bite, or a hot stove, or scratches or cuts on her skin. This has led to high anxiety for her parents Tara and John. It is essential to our self-preservation to feel pain. As a church, if we cannot feel others’ pain, we are in trouble. In fact, we have to grow in our ability to sense pain among our members. We have to look to see- who is hurting in this new phase of life- during this coronavirus time?
III. APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES- Our world is so polarized, and the church is showing itself as part of our polarized world. The world categorizes itself like an insurance longevity questionnaire- do you smoke or do you not? Do you drink or do you not? What race are you? What sex are you? What is your income level? What is your educational level? Are you in good health? All of the answers to these questions peg you as to the likelihood of living longer- and the insurance companies- and even we in the public want to know. But scripture says that all are welcome to come. We are a family of believers and welcome all who believe to join us. But we are not a civic group, a social group, a do-good group. We are people who want to be a part of the body of Christ- He is the head and we listen to Him.
We talked about the barriers we face when it is time to open the church back up. The biggest barrier is that there are so many differences of opinion about what is safe. There are different thresholds for people and there should be for those who are older or who have low immune systems There is, in my opinion, a desperate need for grace and mercy. It is the grace and mercy that respects others rights to do things differently. So Paul says “the eye should not say to the hand because you are not an eye I don’t need you.” Eyes and hands work differently, but they all help make the body go.
Our body is really a wonderful image for God to use about His church. Our body is one- there is oneness in each cell of our body- our unique DNA is in each individual cell- yet there are 37.2 trillion cells in our body. There are so many different denominations- but there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one heaven! Our body is meant to work together. You can’t have the left side going left and the right side going right- or you will end up falling flat. We cannot leave the head (Christ) out of the body. We are meant to be different parts with a common unity. We may not be gathered- but we are still together. There is much that unites us- Our common head- Christ whom we believe in. Our common direction- we are going in the same direction- working for Christ to make this world a better place- glorifying Him. Our common life- we are living in Christ- united to Him together- that is a bit like the central nervous system- that allows our head to tell our feet to move or our lungs to breathe deeply, or our eyes to look over there where we heard something. The head unites what we hear to what we see or do. The Holy Spirit is like that nervous system- uniting us and pulling us in the same direction.
Do you belong to a community of faith? Do you want to? Now is a great time to think and think carefully so that when things open up you can make a commitment. But right now- seek to get the One inside of you that makes you part of the church- the Holy Spirit. Invite Christ into your life- into your heart and He will come in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps God is bringing us to our knees to recognize- we all need each other, and we are all facing the same storm. Honestly, all this talk of generation wars is distressing. We have little patience with each other.
I worry that because the coronavirus mainly effects older or sick, that we will grow in prejudice against the elderly of sick. As the body of Christ- we care for all ages, all differences, all those who love God.
3) Rejoice with those who rejoice. Instead of thinking life is only about how I can get ahead- rejoice with those who are being blessed. In this time, rejoice in someone else finding the TP. Rejoice in someone who is not hurting or sad. It is a sign of good spirituality and mental health. If you are nervous about this coronavirus, can you still respect those who are not as nervous as you? The eye shouldn’t say to the hand- because you are different I don’t need you.
4)Weep with those who weep. But also be able to not just show empathy but sympathy. Care for those hurting. In times of super-stress- which is what we have been going through, it is hard to take time to pray for others, or to think of others. But this is our call. Part of this is to sympathize with those who are nervous or afraid of the coronavirus. Part of it is to care for those who cannot get out. To pray for those in nursing homes who cannot avoid those who have the virus. If I have a splinter in my finger- it affects my whole body. If I am sick and I am given a shot of medicine- that medicine doesn’t just effect my arm where it goes in- it affects the whole body. If one part rejoices- rejoice with it- if one part suffers- be sad with it.
About one in a million people are born without a sense of pain- (Congenital insensitivity to Pain- CIP). Ashlyn Blocker of Patterson Georgia was born with the inability to feel a mosquito bite, or a hot stove, or scratches or cuts on her skin. This has led to high anxiety for her parents Tara and John. It is essential to our self-preservation to feel pain. As a church, if we cannot feel others’ pain, we are in trouble. In fact, we have to grow in our ability to sense pain among our members. We have to look to see- who is hurting in this new phase of life- during this coronavirus time?
III. APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES- Our world is so polarized, and the church is showing itself as part of our polarized world. The world categorizes itself like an insurance longevity questionnaire- do you smoke or do you not? Do you drink or do you not? What race are you? What sex are you? What is your income level? What is your educational level? Are you in good health? All of the answers to these questions peg you as to the likelihood of living longer- and the insurance companies- and even we in the public want to know. But scripture says that all are welcome to come. We are a family of believers and welcome all who believe to join us. But we are not a civic group, a social group, a do-good group. We are people who want to be a part of the body of Christ- He is the head and we listen to Him.
We talked about the barriers we face when it is time to open the church back up. The biggest barrier is that there are so many differences of opinion about what is safe. There are different thresholds for people and there should be for those who are older or who have low immune systems There is, in my opinion, a desperate need for grace and mercy. It is the grace and mercy that respects others rights to do things differently. So Paul says “the eye should not say to the hand because you are not an eye I don’t need you.” Eyes and hands work differently, but they all help make the body go.
Our body is really a wonderful image for God to use about His church. Our body is one- there is oneness in each cell of our body- our unique DNA is in each individual cell- yet there are 37.2 trillion cells in our body. There are so many different denominations- but there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one heaven! Our body is meant to work together. You can’t have the left side going left and the right side going right- or you will end up falling flat. We cannot leave the head (Christ) out of the body. We are meant to be different parts with a common unity. We may not be gathered- but we are still together. There is much that unites us- Our common head- Christ whom we believe in. Our common direction- we are going in the same direction- working for Christ to make this world a better place- glorifying Him. Our common life- we are living in Christ- united to Him together- that is a bit like the central nervous system- that allows our head to tell our feet to move or our lungs to breathe deeply, or our eyes to look over there where we heard something. The head unites what we hear to what we see or do. The Holy Spirit is like that nervous system- uniting us and pulling us in the same direction.
Do you belong to a community of faith? Do you want to? Now is a great time to think and think carefully so that when things open up you can make a commitment. But right now- seek to get the One inside of you that makes you part of the church- the Holy Spirit. Invite Christ into your life- into your heart and He will come in the person of the Holy Spirit.
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