Pastor Tom Johnson, January 23, 2022
Sisters and brothers in Christ, God does not want us to wander aimlessly in the dark regarding spiritual gifts. There is a great variety of talent and strengths in our little community on the near north side of Chicago. We are one. But we are also many. Paul spent a lot of time with Luke on his missionary journeys. And you’ll remember that Luke is a physician. I cannot help but imagine all the lessons in anatomy and physical health that Paul learned from Luke. Maybe that’s where Paul gets this useful analogy of each faith community being like a physical body.
The human body is considered a single organism. But did you know that only 43% of the human body is composed of human cells. The rest are microscopic colonists. There are an estimated 39 trillion of these microbes and bacteria. Biologists call this a symbiotic relationship—different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both. This innumerable host of microorganisms helps us to absorb nutrients, break down toxins and create blood vessels. They replenish the linings of the gut and skin. They replace damaged and dying cells with new ones. They are vital in preventing illness. They all work together for the health and prosperity of one human being. Their work is invisible. It’s a mystery as to how they all know how to work together for the benefit of the whole. So it is for the rest of the human body. There is a rich diversity of appendages, organs, and senses that make up one, individual person.
Is it not like Holy Baptism? There is one washing with water, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. And yet this one Baptism floods all humanity. The water gushes out the Living Water, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit satisfies the thirst all people—no matter our ethnic and cultural differences, no matter our gender identity, no matter the hue of our skin, no matter our mother tongue, no matter our regional accent. God has stitched and woven this fabric of humanity together to make a beautiful quilt and tapestry. Together we are a masterpiece of our divine Maker.
We are all essential workers. That’s why it is ridiculous for you and for me to tell one other that some of us don’t belong. That’s why it is so out of bounds for us to point to part of the body and declare that it is useless—regardless of how insignificant we may think it is. Imagine the heart telling the lungs, “I don’t need you.” Where is the heart going to get all the oxygen it needs to pump through our veins and keep our cells alive? The heart cannot live for more than six minutes without the lungs before the body dies. Imagine the brain telling the liver and kidneys, “I don’t need you.” How can the brain continue to function with all those toxins poisoning the brain? The brain cannot live without liver and kidney function for more than about 24 hours. The heart should not try to—nor can it do—the work of the lungs—and vice versa. The brain cannot do the function of the liver and kidneys—and vice vice versa. Otherwise we will be, as the old Irish song says, “a jack of all trades and a master of none” or a tribe of chiefs giving orders with no one to carry them out. So the members of Christ’s Body are not in competition but collaboration with one another. In our Gospel reading, Jesus says “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” So we can say that “the Spirit of the Lord is upon us.”
Several years ago I ran the Chicago Marathon for the Liver Foundation. They told us to look for the big, pink liver waving and cheering us on at mile 15. At mile 15 I saw that ridiculous costume—a six-foot tall liver with white gloves waving and in pink leggings jumping and holding a sign saying, “Go liver.” But I didn’t just need my liver to be cheered on. I needed my whole being cheered on—my legs, my mental focus, and my spirit—not just my liver. The truth is, if it was just my liver running the race, it would be in a lifeless heap on the starting line. So it is for all of us, to run the race set before us we need our sense of hearing to hear the starting gun. We need our eyes or a guide to show us the way. We need our brains to keep focus. We need our sweat glands to not overheat We need our digestive system to stay hydrated and provide the energy we need. We need our lungs to bring in the oxygen and expunge the carbon-dioxide. We need our hearts to beat fast enough to keep up with the higher demand for oxygen and nutrient distribution.
So God, in his infinite wisdom, has put us all together. It is no accident that the Holy Spirit has you where you are right at this moment. You are essential to the health and efficiency of this body of believers we call First Saint Paul’s. Not one of us is singularly responsible for the health and well-being of this congregation. We are collectively responsible. It is as ridiculous as thinking that one six-foot liver at mile 15 can give us all we need to run 26.2 miles. So each member deserves dignity and mutual respect. We should not over-estimate the importance of any one person. We should not under-estimate the importance of any one person. We each have indispensable gifts working for the whole.
We are here to nurture, encourage, and edify each other—to work together for the glory of God and mutual blessing of one another and our neighbor. That is why we have all the numerous called, commissioned, paid, and volunteer positions in the church. Imagine if each of us had the exact same gift? Let’s say…of teaching? We would need hundreds of Sunday school rooms for each of us to teach. But who is going to help distribute communion? Who is going to read the Scripture? Who is going to sing in the choir? Who is going to count the offerings? Our church cannot live without our vast array and diversity of people and gifts. Next week we will continue our reading into 1 Corinthians 13. It’s about the greatest of gifts—the more excellent path toward wholeness and wellness: love. Authentic love is the glue that binds us and fuels us.
We are one. We are many. Christ is our Head. We are his Body. Each of us matters. We have been united in a death like his. We will be united in a resurrection like his. In the meantime, we work together for the whole—for the glory of God—and to bring this weary world healing, hope, and good news.
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