Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21
Today is Religious Life Sunday in the Episcopal church, which is kind of why I am preaching, being one of two religious at Holy Cross. In case you don’t know, the other is Br. Brian Sadler, a Franciscan. I was thinking at first I would do a sermon about the Religious life, but I’ve done that here, just a couple of years ago, and pretty much everybody knows my story. Heck, most of you lived it with me as I went from Inquirer to Postulant, Postulant to Novice, Novice to Life Professed. If you don’t know and are interested, I’d be happy to talk to you about it later.
And I could have done such a sermon with today’s Epistle reading being about the various parts of the body needing each other, and likening the parts of the body to bishops, priests, deacons, Religious, vestries, food pantry workers, etc. But over the course of the week the reading from the First Letter to the Church in Corinth began to speak to me a different way.
Ancient Corinth was a port city. That means a lot of people coming and going. It means a lot of diversity. It means a lot of wealth. Port cities are usually centers of trade. And, it appears, that was a problem in the Corinthian church. Not the diversity or the wealth or the trade in themselves, but the church there was breaking up into competing cliques. Rich versus poor, followers of Paul versus followers of Peter versus followers of Apollos. And Paul felt the need to assert some leadership.
The image he uses here in his letter — of the various parts of an organization being like the parts of a body — is actually a common one in Roman times. It was often used to illustrating the interconnectedness of different social groups within a community. So Paul, as he often did, is leveraging a bit of Roman rhetoric to make a point for the Corinthians. You are all a part of the same body. Different parts have different ways of acting. They do different things. Despite this, they are ALL necessary for the proper functioning of the body of Christ. No one can say to another that they are not needed.
This means that you are not unimportant in the Body of Christ. You are just as important as anyone else. Think about what that means! You are as important as I am. You are as important as any clergy, and yes, you are as important as Bishop Deon, or as the Presiding Bishop.
And looking at it another way, no one is unimportant in the Body of Christ.
We can’t look down on anyone else and say we’re more important to God. We are all children of God, whether we say so or not.
And Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes through a litany of the various gifts and ministries that the Holy Spirit enables in us to do the work of the Body of Christ: apostles, prophets, teachers, healers, assistance, leadership. It’s quite a list. He ends this litany by telling the Corinthians to “strive for the greater gifts.”
But we only get the first half of that last verse in our reading today or, if I’m not mistaken, any other Sunday. In it, Paul says, “And I will show you a still more excellent way.” This is the lead-in to one of the most famous and quoted passages in all of Paul: the “Love” Chapter, where Paul expounds on all the qualities of agape, that selfless love that we are all to show toward everyone. Love is the more excellent way.
But if all of us are parts of one Body, and no part is more or less important than any other, then each part of the Body has a responsibility to all the other parts. We can’t just sit back and say, “the Body will get along just fine without me. I’m just going to sit back and watch.” No, we can’t do that. Every one of us has a responsibility to use the gifts we have, whatever they may be — preaching, teaching, healing, leadership — for the good of the Body and for the greater glory of God. Without everyone’s gifts, it is harder for the work of Christ to get done.
And not only for our local part of the Body of Christ. No, that Body is much larger than just us. It includes every other church in our diocese. It includes churches in other dioceses, in other countries, other denominations. The Body of Christ transcends any borders we may try to use to limit it.
That bum sleeping on the park bench? Just as important to God as you are. That immigrant, traveling thousands of miles to try to make a better life for his family? Just as important. And when you reject someone because of their circumstances, because of their identity, who can tell what gift of the Holy Spirit you might be missing out on?
So, what are we to do as the Body of Christ, as the unified Body of Christ?
Today’s Gospel tells us, as Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah, that he came to bring good news to the poor; proclaim release to captives; recover sight to the blind; let the oppressed go free.
That was Jesus’ agenda. How can it not be ours? Following his agenda is how we show his love to the world. And as a unified Body of Christ, couldn’t we achieve these things? We certainly can’t if we are always looking at “us” versus “them.”
No one is indispensable in the Body of Christ.
Never think that the Church doesn’t need you.
Never think the body of Christ doesn’t need that “other” person, no matter who they are or what their circumstance or where they come from.
Let us then pray for unity, among all parts of the Body of Christ everywhere, and get on with the work of Christ.
Amen.
Becoming Dominican 