January 26, 2025: A Pastoral Message by Pastor Margaret Keyser
~ Third Sunday after the Epiphany ~
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12 v 12 – 31 and Luke 4 v 18 - 19
For our bodies to operate efficiently, it is essential that all their various parts are healthy, well- maintained, and properly cared for. When we feel physically sick, our bodies do not function optimally but need some help to get better. We go to the doctor, we take our medicines, and after some time, we feel better, and our bodies get better. When a specific part of the body does not heal, it can affect the entire body, as well as the individual's emotional well-being. This impact extends to the family, and it often takes time for everyone involved to feel better. The human body has the capacity to fully recover from various conditions, yet it is also subject to mortality when time inevitably arrives. Our bodies, our minds, our emotions, all need help for us to feel good and to function well. Our bodies are precious gifts from God, and we are grateful to God for our beautiful and precious gift, our body…
Paul uses the human body as a metaphor to describe how the church of Christ functions when its members unite to do God’s work. He reassures the Corinthians who feel unequal to the church elite. He refutes the idea that within Christ’s church, certain individuals hold greater significance than others, asserting that the Body of the church does not depend solely on one or two members for its functionality. If the assumption is that the body can function with only one eye, because your eye does not belong to this body, or your ear is less important than my ear, then it operates on the basis of discrimination and exclusion, and judgment about the other. Paul is stressing the importance of the One Body of Christ, with its many parts. For the Body of Christ to function well, it needs all its members to participate and feel they can participate equally with everyone else.
Paul contends that the parts of the body considered to be less honorable and less presentable may hold greater importance than those that are more apparent and presentable. The ones who feel weak, because they don’t feel as wise as others, or as comfortable talking in front of others like the rest, must be encouraged to participate fully, because their lack of presence and participation weakens the Body. Paul is concerned that these issues would be a cause for division in the church, therefore he emphasizes the importance of the One Body with many parts, like the physical body with its many parts, and they all need each other to work together well. The way it should work, he says, is that if one part of the body is doing well, the rest of the body rejoices, but if one part of the body suffers, every part of the body suffers. In and through that experience, they form One Body, connected in all the different experiences that bind them together.
The Church of Christ serves as a significant institution where individuals unite, bringing forth their diverse talents, which have been revealed through their encounters with the Holy Spirit. This concept was discussed in detail last week during our examination of the first part of 1 Corinthians 12. The Holy Spirit acts as our Partner, providing us with the necessary support to fulfil our responsibilities within the church. The church of Christ is powerful because God, its author, designed it as intended. We are the Body of Christ, all of us, because we have been called by God to fit right into the place we are meant to be. God tells us today, “You are the Body of Christ”, with everything you have, which is enough in My eyes. Go forth and serve this church and this community and I will be with you. Take care of each other, in good times and in bad, when you’re healthy and when you’re sick, when you feel strong and when you feel weak. May God bless each one of us so we will feel equipped to work together in the Kingdom of God here on earth. Amen.