Connected in Faith: Psalm 19; I Cor. 12: 12-31a
The other day I was reading about a rare psychiatric disorder called Body Integrity Identity Disorder. It can be both fascinating and frightening all in one. The premise is this: a person feels like a part of their body no longer belongs to them or is harming their body, and they desire to remove it. It may be a hand or a foot, or some other part of the body. It’s a very rare disorder and still untreatable in a direct and truly helpful way.
I can’t help but wonder if Paul has a little foresight into this disorder when he writes these words to the Corinthian church. They are just as relevant to us today as they were to the church at Corinth in ancient days. A little bit of background is needed on this church. Corinth was one of the largest churches Paul had helped to grow, but Corinth was a very diverse and eclectic city, and the church grew too fast for good theology to really keep up. If one researches the issues at the church in Corinth, the list is pretty long: sexual immorality, abuse of spiritual gifts, division, false teaching, failure to love, competition for status, arrogant theological reasoning, conforming to a dominant culture, claims of spiritual superiority, abuse of communion, and excessively suing one another. Like I said, the relevancy is no less apparent to our churches today.
And here in chapter 12, Paul addresses the most foundational problem in the Corinthian church, divisiveness and distortion of what it means to be the church of God or the body of Christ. Paul describes it in terms of the human body. Each part of the human body and anatomy works together in some way to make the whole body work. If the body had only one part…such as a giant blob of eyes, or one giant hand, it would be strange, and functionally useless. Likewise, a body missing parts is often referred to as impaired because there is some decreased functional ability of that body minus that integral part.
But Paul takes it a step further. He writes, “Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’” And in saying this Paul makes an analogy to the church. It’s impossible to say that every single member of the body of Christ has to be the same part of the body. But it’s also impossible for one part of the body of Christ to say that it doesn’t need the other.
We live in a time and space today where villainizing and demeaning people is common and almost accepted. As a pastor, I cannot stand in the pulpit and insult or demean minorities, immigrants regardless of status, LGBT+ people, conservatives, Trump voters, Evangelicals, Progressives, or any variety of the above because all of these groups of people are made by God in the image of God, the Imago Dei. The church at Corinth was in distress because it valued competition, power, and self-righteousness over serving the body of Christ. Paul writes to a church filled with abuse and conflict, “So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”
Take for example the sermon by the Right Rev. Marianne Edgar Budde that has been in the news this week. She called on President Trump in a sermon to show mercy to vulnerable people. People have honed in on this statement and debated it endlessly, and the problem is, they debate it in terms of political policy. Whatever her politics personally are, I don’t care. The Bible says, “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God” in Micah 6:8. Jesus, himself, said be merciful just as God is merciful in Matthew 5:7 and Luke 6:36. And the old hymn, “At Calvary” says, “Mercy there was great, and grace was free.” I’m sure there are examples that swing the other way as well, but this one stands out.
We have, for far too long, mixed and molded what is political and what is Biblical. And in doing so, we have made what is Biblical subordinate to what is political. God’s Word was never meant to be the justification for our political beliefs. Our political and personal beliefs are meant to conform to God’s Word whether it offers words of comfort or words of challenge to what we think. A Christian who avoids challenge and conflict in their walk of faith is a Christian who doesn’t take the first step in any walk of faith.
If Paul were to write a letter to the churches of America today, I think it would sound much like what he said to Corinth. “Dear Churches of the United States, Jesus said to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. Instead, you have chosen to become Caesar and forgotten God.” When Paul lists the roles of the church, all are important and needed. Apostles provide wisdom and guidance. Prophets provide the words of challenge to push the members. Teachers give a foundation of knowledge of God. Those who work miracles inspire the congregation. Those who heal provide pastoral care. Those who help others do outreach. Those who have the gift of leadership work in administration. Those who speak in unknown languages evangelize. Please note in that list there is no government lobbyist.
And while the church plays politics, people starve, freeze in the cold, veterans go without housing. People who need to hear about a loving God and welcoming church that will enfold them in grace and love never hear such things. If you ask what Jesus did, it was both. He stood and spoke truth and hope to a people who were suffering and needed to hear about a way of love and peace. But he also served in grace, in healing, in hope, and in communities the law of that day said not to go anywhere near. Jesus lived, preached, and served in the knowledge and example that all are created by God, made in the image of God, and loved by God. And if we cannot love everyone, every last one on earth, then we cannot claim to follow the same Jesus who loved the Samaritan, hard-line Jew, Roman, clean and unclean, leper, alleged adulterer, thief, pharisee, and common fisherman.
I like the prayer and plea that is offered in Psalm 19, “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me…May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and redeemer.” Perhaps our world would be a little bit better if we prayed and took stock of our words and thoughts after praying that prayer, “May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord.”
I wonder a bit of society is not affected more by Body Integrity Identity Disorder than we know. We keep seeming to want to cut away people, groups, and others we don’t particularly like. In some ways it’s like the old saying of cutting our nose off to spite our face. But Paul is absolutely clear that faith is about welcoming and finding a place for each person and each gift that person brings. The church is not a country club. It’s more like a free clinic. The church at Corinth had forgotten their calling and mission from God. Their framework was about power and control and who could be best. They were vastly diverse and allowed that to become a problem rather than an inspiration.
As we navigate the next few years, I pray we find ourselves immersed in God’s word and unbothered by the politics of life. That doesn’t mean we stop speaking truth. That doesn’t mean we stop helping and serving a hurting world. What that means is we remember that it is Jesus who says, “Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” For the burden God gives is easy to bear and light. I pray that we lean more on God than Caesar. And I pray that our words and our heart’s meditations are pleasing and acceptable to our God, our rock, our redeemer.
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