PAST SERMON 2010 #4
by Reverend Judith Alltree, delivered on Sunday January 24, 2010,
at the Church of the Holy Spirit.
On Being Members of the Body
“The human body represents one of the most complex systems in existence.” (p. 279 “Feasting…”) Even the greatest engineers in the world have found difficulty replicating the human body in mechanical form.
“The human body represents one of the most complex systems in existence.” (p. 279 “Feasting…”) Even the greatest engineers in the world have found difficulty replicating the human body in mechanical form. Well, I’m very grateful to God that some parts of the human body can be replicated so that if someone is suffering in one part of their body, it can be fixed and the person may begin to lead a more normal life. I marvel every single day that I can walk again “just like a normal person”, as I am constantly being reminded. The prosthetics that replaced my knees are as close as they can be to my original but knees, but are not exactly the same: how could they be?
The new ones are made of metal and plastic which required that I have the old, diseased limbs removed before the new ones could be ‘installed’, so to speak. Then my muscles, ligaments and tendons had to undergo some trauma in order that the new limbs could be properly attached, in the same way that the natural bones were. I had to learn to walk all over again, like I did many, many MANY long years ago! The new limbs don’t come with knowledge built in: the brain has to teach the muscles how to use the new parts, to overcome the discomfort, and they need to be used constantly to build up strength. Finally, after a while, everything begins to work in harmony again: bending and walking and sitting become natural. There is no longer any pain to remind me that what I was born with is no longer there; the operation of the new limbs is very smooth and comfortable. For the most part: on really cold days the metal in my legs becomes heavy and I am reminded that as good as they are, they aren’t original equipment.
One of the most significant things I gained with my knee replacement surgeries was the understanding of how well the human body is meant to work, and how poorly it works when one or more parts are not operating properly. Certainly I had to take more care over my legs than the other parts of my body, but in some cases that was to the detriment of those other parts. For example, because I couldn’t walk well, I couldn’t exercise, and because I couldn’t exercise, I had no energy. The pain in my legs kept me from sleeping, and lack of sleep affected many other things. I remember being in the hospital and my hips started to hurt. I thought I would go crazy if someone told me I now needed hip surgery! You see where this is leading. When one part of the body isn’t working properly, the possibility exists that many other parts won’t work well either. As St. Paul wrote: “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it…” (1 Cor 12:26)
Once I began doing physio I was able to walk better and after a time, many other problems went away. Now, nearly a year after my second surgery, I really do feel like a new person, with more energy, and more effectiveness in all the parts of my body that I haven’t experienced in years. “…if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.”
This is basically the message that St. Paul was sending to the Corinthians; although he wasn’t speaking about one person, but to the entire community. He was telling them that each part of the “Body”, to use his analogy, has a role to play, which assists and supports the other parts, just as other parts assist and support that part. This is what makes a community work well, when each part has a care for the other. It is important, however, to remember that within any given community there will always be differences of opinion, experiences, priorities or needs which need to be addressed, but that does not mean those needs, opinions, etc. are the only or most important parts of that community to the exclusion of all others.
What Paul was asking the Corinthian Church to consider was not to elevate certain members or issues above others, or to allow a few opinions and needs to dominate the group, but to try and strike a balance where all parts of the community, the Body, could work together in harmony. Natural diversity within a congregational group should not be ignored but encouraged: in this way, to use Paul’s analogies, “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.” (1 Cor 12:21) Instead, all the members of the Body, the community, should be able to work together, to express their opinions safely, to be heard; to be a community where no one is judged.
Now here’s the tricky bit to navigate: when the desire for closeness and connection in community is turned into “pressure to conform [to] some false unity” (p. 280, “Feasting…”) I think that’s one definition of a cult, where no one is allowed any independent thought or action, no one’s opinion counts but the leader’s, and heaven help you if you disagree. In cases of extreme conformity, any change in the leadership, the environment, or membership can cause anxiety among the members or the leaders, or both. The results can be reactivity, defensiveness, even paranoia. In cases like this the anxiety of a few, who generally do not adapt to change of any kind well, can create pressure on the other members of the congregation and make them anxious. The result is the equivalent of gimpy legs, which disrupt the smooth movement of the rest of the body.
If the body is well balanced, if everyone’s opinions and suggestions are listened to with respect, even the tensions, which may occur, can be navigated with compassion if we have care for one another. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: I saw a wonderful video about a downtown Toronto church in which one of the senior pastors said “we don’t always agree with one another about everything, but we disagree with love, and hold together as a community.” That is what balance looks like; that’s what St. Paul was talking about when he wrote: “God has so arranged the body… that there may be no dissension within [it], but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Cor 12:24b-27)
This parish is the Body of Christ, for example, and each one of us is an important, individual and essential component part of that same body. Harmony, balance, ecclesia, community of believers, each of us of equal and vital importance to the other; and the head of our Body is Christ himself.
Having struggled through my own physical problems for the past few years this passage from 1 Corinthians has very deep meaning for me personally. And I believe the struggles of the past year in this parish may also open up for each of us the deeper meaning of this passage. For me, the most important things to remember are: “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 honoured, all rejoice together with it.” We can agree to disagree, but let’s do it within the protection and love of the entire Body of which we are a holy part.
AMEN.