We continue listening to Paul’s letter to the early Christians in the city of Corinth. In this reading, he continues with his vision of the church as a body with many, equally important members.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31a)

Did you have field day at school when you were growing up?

Depending on your level of athletic talent, field day could be a thrilling escape from school or an exercise in torture. If you had some outdoor skills, field day was a diversion from the classroom at the end of the school year. It was hot and everyone was bored. You got to go outside and finally show the A-plus math students what real talent was. Or, if you had zero athletic skills, it was just a long hot day of torture in the sun, when you’d rather be reading a book.

Love it or hate it, a staple of field day was the three-legged race, where two people — with four legs — had to work together to race on three legs. There’s a lot of lurching and stumbling.

This is the image that comes to mind when Paul talks about the church as one body. It’s a body like Mr. Potato Head, with all kinds of ill-fitting parts, stumbling along as if on three uncoordinated legs.

But, coordinated or not, good-looking or not, Paul says that all of us who follow Christ are all part of one body.

In last week’s reading, Paul made a case for the diversity of the church, and the way we need each other’s gifts. The thinkers need the do-ers, and the action people need the prayer warriors. To have a church be complete, we need ushers, bookkeepers, and quiet listeners. We need planners and people who are peaceful to be with. We need older people with wisdom and younger people with a different view of the world. All of us, together, make the church richer.

There’s a place for each part of the body. One writer, Brian Volck, of The Ekklesia Project said that his wife once lamented how little she seemed to be doing in life. Other people were learning languages, saving children from human trafficking, starting non-profits, attending law school, and she felt like her life just didn’t measure up. A friend considered what she said, and then answered, “All those things are important, but we’re all part of the body of Christ, and we have a role, however small. So what if you’re the nose hair? You’re there for a purpose. You may not have any idea what good you’re doing, but that’s still your job: to be a nose hair in the body of Christ.”

I can’t tell if that’s reassuring, or not.

Once we understand that we are all parts of the same body, the question becomes how we treat each other. He moves beyond tolerance here, and calls us to the work of being compassionate to each other. Each one of us is a member of this same body, and we are meant to see each other with compassion.

In their book Proof, Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones tell the story of Timothy’s daughter. She had been adopted by another family previously, had a couple of rough years with that family and then the adoption was dissolved. She never quite became part of the first family, which left her with a deep sense of mistrust. At the age of eight, she was adopted by Timothy and his family.

Whenever the first adoptive family went to Disney World, they took their biological children, but left this little girl behind. She was left feeling like she had always done something wrong and couldn’t be included in the trip. By the time she came to her new family, she had seen tons of pictures of Disney, and had heard all about it, but was never included in a trip, so he made plans to take the whole family, including their new daughter.

But the very idea of the trip kicked up something in this little girl. Her behavior got worse and worse. She lied, stole food that they would have given her, whispered cruel things to her sisters, and it all got worse as the trip approached. Timothy said that a few days before the trip, he settled his newest daughter on his lap to ask what was going on. “I know what you’re going to do,” she said. “You’re not going to take me to Disney World, are you?”

It was tempting — really tempting.

Suddenly, her awful behavior made sense. “She knew she couldn’t earn her way into the Magic Kingdom — she had tried and failed that test several times before.” So she was going in the opposite direction instead.

He asked her: “Is this trip something we’re doing as a family?” She nodded. “Are you part of this family?” Another nod. “Then you’re going with us... you’re part of our family, and we’re not leaving you behind.”

Her behavior still grew worse until it was time to leave for the trip, but they were determined. They headed for Disney on the appointed day, had the usual amount of fun, snacks, rides, and sunburns, and then headed back to the hotel. That night, Timothy asked her how her day had been. After a few minutes, the little girl answered. “I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was good; it was because I’m yours.”

We are part of the body of Christ not because we’re good, beautiful, or strong. We are part of it not because of what we do, or what we produce. We are members of this body because we belong to Christ. All of us. We are meant to see each other with compassion, the way God sees each one of us, and all of us. Even the nose hairs.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Prayer:

Patient God, we are slow to learn that we belong to you, and quick to judge who belongs and who doesn’t. Help us, we pray, to find our place in the body of your people, to know our worth and our needs, and to lean on one another. Teach us to see with compassion and to live with understanding. In Jesus’ name, Amen.