Jan. 24, 2010

Parts Is Parts

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

I have to start this morning by renaming the sermon.  It is not "All Together Now" but "Parts Is Parts".  You see, when I first read this passage out of 1 Corinthians, I got in my head this image of an old commercial for Wendy's.  The sad thing is that I found this commercial on YouTube.  We are still not at the point where we could show it to you on the screen.  I will do my best to describe it.  A customer is standing in line at some fast food restaurant, and when he sees the chicken sandwich, he asks what's in it.  It's processed chicken.  It's made out of parts of the chicken.  What part.  The guy behind the counter says, As I hear tell all the parts are crammed into one big part.  Then the big part is cut up into little pieces parts...and parts is parts.  Wendy's made this commercial to talk about how good their chicken sandwich was because it was not made of processed chicken, but now they actually do have processed chicken sandwiches.  Most of the food we eat nowadays is processed or made up of different parts.  Sometimes, I don't really want to know what exactly goes into my chicken sandwich.  And I'm sure I don't want to know what goes into hot dogs, goose liver, or Spam. 

As soon as man learned how to put two things together, we started making things out of parts.  How many millions of dollars do we spend as a nation on duct tape and super glue?   Our cars, our clothes, and the very pews we sit on this morning are made out of individual pieces, shaped and formed to make the whole.  Even our communities have their parts.  Some areas are more affluent, while others are poorer.  Some areas have more small children living in them, while other areas have more retirees.  While our communities are made up of different people of different backgrounds and abilities.  They come together to form a whole. 

Throughout the Old Testament, one of the most common heard themes is unity.  The people of Israel were to be the one people of God.  They held a common purpose of following and serving the Lord.  They worshipped as one.  They lived as one, and they were judged to be faithful or faithless, as one body.  As you read through the prophets, it becomes clearly evident that they were a people often short on obedience, as their hearts and minds wandered after foreign gods.

Repeatedly through these prophets, God called the people of Israel back to him, back to obedience.  However, it was usually with little positive results.  And so, in an area of the world rife with power struggles and political ambitions, with kings and kingdoms...and armies, God allowed Israel to fall into the hands of other nations, first the Babylonians, and then the Persians.  This people, meant to be united as one, was divided, exiled, and scattered throughout the region.  But with every promise of destruction...with every threat of exile, God always promised to bring them back together when they would their hearts back to him..

In Nehemiah, that is what was happening.  Its people who had been exiled to far off places were now coming back to reclaim and rebuild their land.  The first thing they did was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so that the city would be secure.  When the wall was completed the people were called together.  There were more than 50,000 people from some 50 different tribes and villages. 

¹ all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.. ³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Again, there were some 50,000 people gathered and stood from sun up till midday while God's Word was read to them.  And the response was powerful.  There was weeping and crying.  They knew that they had sinned against God, and they had been punished.  But Nehemiah tells them that their weeping must end.  "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  Their exile was over, and their time of punishment had drawn to a close.  They had been redeemed, and Israel would be restored.  The time to weep had ended and celebration had come to the people.  50,000 people...gathered together as one...reunited and restrengthened by the Lord.

Israel had come together by the power of God.  So too this is true for the Church.  We are to be one body.  Just as the parts of the human body are numerous, so are the peoples who join together to form the church.  Rich, poor, in-crowd or outcast...no matter the history, race, nationality, or background, the church is to encompass all of these. 

I like how Paul shows the diversity and yet unity within the church ¹⁴ Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

Let me put this in a more modern context.  If a black person came in here today and saw us as the church, they might think that they do not belong because they are not white.  And this is wrong.  Because in the church, there is no color.  There is no gender.  There is no rich or poor, because that is the flesh.  That is the outward look of a person.  The church is the body of believers.  Faith is the condition...the only condition for entry into the church.  We are united by our faith in Christ and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  Your power, your riches, and the color of your skin amount to nothing when you are a part of the body of Christ.  The poorest man in the darkest prison in the world shares the same body when he repents and asks Christ for forgiveness. 

²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.

I think that sometimes we forget that the church is made up of different types of people because we need each other.  We need each other, and the people who we think are unimportant or who serve no purpose in the church are actually very important.  Every person in this congregation has a purpose in Christ.  We need each other to function.  But sometimes, I think that the body is a little mutated.  Some parts of it are strong and healthy and serving the others.  While some parts of the body refuse to get moving.  They have refused to serve their purpose, and so they atrophy.  They waste away.  They become weak and shriveled, and they do so by their own choice.

The enemy really loves this.  I think that the enemy likes to keep us weak and discouraged.  The enemy likes to keep us second-guessing about just how useful we really can be as a part of the body.  He will tell you...you're too weak.  You're too small.  You're too young.  You're too old.  You don't have enough experience, or you're too worn out.  You're not perfect enough to be of any use.  You're not smart enough to teach.  Your heart isn't pure enough to pray for others.  Your contribution is not enough.  Your ideas are not worth bringing up, and your needs will never be met.  And as long as we work for our own interests and for our own gain, the devil is right.

^24b But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Did you catch that?  The parts of the body that are weak...the abilities, the gifts, the people deemed as insignificant in the eyes of the world are given honor when their talents are placed in the hands of God.  No one is insignificant in the body of Christ.

Which part of the body are you?  Take a look around you.  At first glance, what part of the body of Christ are they?  Some of you might see yourselves as hands.  Others as feet, eyes, ears, and so on.  Which of you is the neck?  The neck controls where we look and what direction we move.  Which of you is the butt?  I knew that some of you would chuckle and some of you might turn about three shades of red, but hear me out first.  The gluteus maximus is the largest and most powerful muscle in the body.  Without it, our legs could not move backward or forward. We could not stand, walk, run, or even sit.  We would be paralyzed, virtually unable to move. 

Again, you might giggle about these examples, but I hope that I have made my point.  We all have talents and abilities.  We all have spiritual gifts.  The gifts with which God has blessed us with are many, and they are various.  And that is exactly the way God has ordained it.  We are different people with different gifts.  However, the spirit that gives us these gifts...the spirit that makes us different in how we serve God...that Spirit, God's Holy Spirit has united us together as one body with one purpose.  ^12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  In spite of our differences...in fact, because of our differences, we are all meant to work together as one.  We need each other, but I have to warn you that we need God even more because it is not easy being a part of the body of Christ.

• If you are finger, you should not be the one who points out the faults of others.
• If you are a hand, you should not be a fist.
• If you are an arm, you must have the strength to carry others.
• If you are a leg, you need the stamina to go the extra mile.
• If you are the back, you will need the fortitude to bear others' burdens.
• If you are the eyes, you need the vision to see God clearly.
• If you are the head, you need the wisdom to know better.