University
Congregational United
“ Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same
spirit.” I Corinthians 12:4
Those of us who are fans of
Harry Potter know what a Howler is. For
those who have never read the adventures of the young wizard at
It is interesting to imagine
how Rowling thought up the Howler, and the effect she expects it to have. The reprimand is clear, specific, loud, and
swift. And then, when it’s over, it is
over. And the expectation seems to be
that the Howler has in some way cleared the air, clarified expectations, and
allowed our heroes to move from their place of stuckness
back into their lives.
This morning we our text is
from I Corinthians. And I would like to
suggest that this letter from Paul to the church at
Into this community of
contention comes Paul’s Howler. “Stop
your fighting,” he proclaims, loud enough to rattle rafters and turn
heads. Stop tearing apart the Body of
Christ. And with this metaphor, Paul not
only gets their attention regarding the consequences of their divisive
bickering, he also sets the stage for a deeper understanding of what it means
to be a faith community. He suggests a
shape for their life together: the Body of Christ.
Now let me hasten to say that
all I am doing here is giving us background.
I am not about to deliver a Howler to this congregation, nor am I even
suggesting we are in need of one. Not at
all. But I am saying that in order for
us to hear again Paul’s message of community it is helpful to hear about the
disunity of the church at
Some of the folks that Paul is
dealing with have begun to imagine that they are sufficient in themselves. They do not need each other in order to
fulfill their call and lead their lives of faith. Some have assumed that they and they alone
have the best gifts, the most important parts, the heart of the truth, and
those around them are simply there for supporting roles or peripheral
assignments. All are equally loved,
sure, but some are more equal than others.
It is as if the trumpets in the orchestra have assumed that they can
play the entire concert.
And there are others of course,
who have come to believe that because they are who they are, they are not
enough. They will be o.k. only if they
can somehow become different: become more important, become who they are
not. It is as if the tubas in an
orchestra lament that they are not violins.
It is as if the rests in a musical score somehow become convinced that
they do not contribute to the symphony, and therefore aren’t really necessary.
Any of us can get so caught up
in our own perspective that we loose sight of the bigger picture. We forget, in fact, that we are even a part of a bigger picture. So Paul has offered, as an antidote to that
tendency toward the isolation of self assurance or self depreciation, a useful
and even transformative metaphor.
Wherever we are as a faith
community, and wherever we are in the
faith community, it is helpful for us to turn our attention to what it means to
be called the Body of Christ.
And Paul knows the depth of that
metaphor. Just before he takes up the
discussion in Chapter 12, he has spoken in chapter 11 about that other “Body of
Christ” metaphor, the one that is set before us this morning, this bread of
life, this food for the journey. When you gather for communion, Paul says,
remember to discern the Body of Christ.
And although many have interpreted that statement as an invitation to
look more carefully inward, I would suggest that what Paul is asking of the
church is to look more carefully around.
Discern the Body of Christ.
Remember who is gathered here with you; each one a precious part of this
faith community, each one with a special gift that strengthens the body as a
whole, that lets it function strong and healthy.
When you gather at this table,
discern the Body. Remember that we are
each and all needed. It is a worthwhile
exercise for each of us to ask, “What gift do I bring to this community?” It is a worthwhile exercise. The question
assumes, first of all that each of us has a gift in the first place. It assumes that you have a gift. Paul even suggests what some of these gifts
might be. Speaker, comforter, healer,
helper. Teacher, encourager, translator
of love. You have a gift.
An
interesting assumption. We are each
gifted. We are each necessary. That assumption challenges any one sitting in
this congregation imagining that he or she has nothing to contribute to our
life together. It challenges anyone
sitting here who considers that what he or she does have to contribute is not
really that important. Do you know what gift you bring this morning? Do you know where you fit in this body of
Christ? Let me offer some perspectives
about how we might get a handle on that question.
First, know that there is
something that you do have to offer. We
say that to our preschoolers every Sunday before they leave our gathering. We say, “Thank you for being here. “Thank you for showing us something about God
and about our life together that we could not see without you.” We say it and we mean it. But now I want to say that same thing to each
one here. “Thank you for being
here. Thank you for that piece of the
body of Christ that you brought to our community today; that part we would not
have seen or touched if you had not come.”
Second, know that I am not
talking about your talents. Yes, those
are wonderful, and the community is enriched when they are shared. But Paul’s concept of giftedness goes beyond
talents. There is giftedness in you that
is a part of your essence, a part of your innate
value, a part of your presence. It is
not just what you do for the faith community, as if our giftedness is revealed
by the boards we serve on or the tasks we perform. That again is why we can thank the
preschoolers for the gift of their presence with us. What they bring is who they are, not just
what they do. What you bring to the body
is who you are, the unique combination of yourself.
Finally, know that the
giftedness Paul describes finds its meaning in
community. The gift is not just for
us to celebrate individually, or for us to deny individually, or for us to
discount individually. The gift is for
the community, and without your gift, the community, the Body, is in some way
incapacitated. It cannot function in the
optimal way God has intended. And this
is why Paul howls when the community at
So we come to the table today,
where Jesus has spread the feast. “This
is my body, broken for you,” Jesus says.
And you are now the Body of Christ, a gift to each other and to the
world. Amen
From the Worship
Bulletin:
About Today’s Scripture
Early in its history, the image of the church
as “The Body of Christ,” became a dominant one.
In the New Testament the imagery appears here in I Corinthians and also
in Ephesians and Colossians. It is an
image that allows for a rich analogy, and Paul develops it fully. Most specifically in this setting, Paul is writing
to a church torn by factions. With the
opening chapters we hear of a divided community, each small segment claiming
loyalty to one or another leader, and each also claiming that only they have
the full truth (see chapters 1-3.) To
this troubled church Paul writes some of what he has discovered about life
together in a faith community. First,
each brings a unique gift that cannot be compared with another. Second, each gift (each individual) is needed
and brings something that would be missed if not there. Though the argument is familiar to our ears,
it is a delightful course of reasoning that Paul puts forward in Chapter
12. This chapter shows some of Paul’s
skill in “argument.” But perhaps the
most stunning part of the letter comes when Paul identifies his third, and
unifying, discovery about community.
Without love, community cannot happen, no matter how gifted the
individuals. The famous “love passage” of Chapter 13 comes right on the heels
of talk about “body life” and gives it a profound context. Chapters 12, 13 and 14 form
a unit and it is interesting to read all three together. Better yet, read the whole book and you will
have a taste of some of Paul’s loftiest words, as well as some of the ones most
misused (see for example 11:2-16).