August 4, 2024 ~ 11th Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Beckie Sweet
PRAYER: Creator God, you have composed the world of differing elements and celebrated its goodness. Open our eyes to discover the vast diversity of your creation and to find our place of belonging. Open our eyes to see your divine image reflected in the faces around us. Open our spirits to honor and praise you. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
I had the joy-filled opportunity on Friday to give a couple of my family members from Oregon the abbreviated tour of our wonderful building. Similar to when other folks drop by and especially want to see our sanctuary, my family members stopped in their tracks, and paused to take-in the beauty of our stained-glass windows. For the next few minutes, please just gaze at one of these stunning windows.
Look at the pattern of the window’s border. While there are many panes of glass which are quite similar (in size, shape, color, thickness, and pattern), it would be challenging to prove that there are two panes which are EXACTLY the same. … Now look at the artistic depiction of a scriptural story (either the ascension of Jesus, or the Savior knocking at the door seeking entrance into our lives). Each pane of glass is unique, different (in size, shape, color, thickness, markings, and patterns). And while we would be hard-pressed to tell the scriptural story with just one pane of glass, putting these different panes together provides a magnificent depiction of a story of Christ’s eternal love for this diverse human family.
Many of our human siblings struggle with issues of self-esteem or self-worth. We commonly compare ourselves to others, thinking others are better than us in some way – smarter, more talented, more skilled, more beautiful, more physically fit, more intuitive, more socially recognized, etc…–BUT God has created each of us to be unique and special. Each person inherently belongs and is needed in God’s realm because we were created by God for it. We are called to celebrate our differences as they reflect the breadth, depth, and width of God’s image in humanity.
Today’s scripture text from Paul’s first letter to the young church in Corinth, uses the metaphor of a body to describe the necessary diversity of human beings, particularly as they work together as “members of the body of Christ,” – the church community. Using the body metaphor also emphasizes that our differences are embodied—they are not only differences of talent or perspective.
When Paul was writing this letter to the Corinthians, there was a lot of friction within the church. There were a lot of differences and, sadly, they were not handling it very well. So Paul wrote to them to try to get them to understand that embracing difference would be the gateway to spiritual life and strength and growth.
All people are sacred and important to the body of Christ exactly as they are. Notice that in verse 13 of the text, people do not have to change or become the same as one another to “drink of one Spirit.” It is in and with their differences that they are made to drink of the one Spirit. This was important for the Corinthians to learn because Corinth was diverse ethnically, culturally, religiously, and economically. Followers of Jesus (both Jewish and Gentile) had a lot of questions about what practices they had to do or to leave behind to be part of the church. This is part of Paul’s answer. People can remain different and still be united by the Spirit – in fact, it’s what makes for a healthy church body! For within this body, they were all desiring to do God’s will, to follow Jesus, and to bring the Spirit’s power to God’s realm on earth.
God’s vastness is reflected in the diversity of creation. As God created each of us to be different, our differences must be celebrated. As Paul writes about each part of the body being UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT, we must remember that each person is also unique and important. No one part of the body of Christ is more important than another.
Sometimes, especially in the church, we downplay our differences because we want everyone to feel equal and know they are equally loved. While it is true that we are all equally important and loved, our differences are not problems to be overcome, or unimportant details to be ignored; they are GIFTS to be celebrated. Our differences allow and enable us to work together to build the realm of God, like a body with different parts that work together. Each person, different as they are, is necessary to reflect the work that God has called us to do.
Verses 15-17 warn against comparing ourselves to others as though one set of “body parts” is better than another. Instead, Paul encourages us to lean into and celebrate the fact that each of us was created intentionally. Just as the foot should not wish to be a hand, because a foot has been uniquely created to be a foot, so should we celebrate what each person brings to the body of Christ, even when the presence of difference might be challenging or look different from the way we ourselves are used to doing things. As each person is celebrated for the things that make them who they are, it allows for each individual to be honest about who they are and live authentically.
Yet, even in congregations like St. Paul’s, within which differences are celebrated and diversity is embraced, there may continue to be those who feel that they are on the margins of this body of Christ ~ those who feel that they don’t “fit the mold” of what is considered normal, average, or typical, even for this congregation. Are we oblivious to their absence? Have we ignored or tried to erase differences? How might this community of faith be worse off for NOT including, celebrating, and embracing our many differences?
Every member of the human family deserves to live openly and authentically as we are, and we do this best when we can celebrate what makes us who we are as individuals in the community of faith. Think for a moment about your individual uniqueness, and about differences that make you feel self-conscious or “less than.” … Naming that, let’s stop comparing ourselves with others, and reframe these differences into attributes to be celebrated!
Think about how you truly react to differences in others, especially differences that make you feel uncomfortable. … How might we begin to see these differences as part of the diversity of God’s creation and move toward celebrating them? The diversity within the church community is not something to be tolerated, or regretted, or manipulated for one’s own advantage. Rather, the diversity is something to be received as the GIFT that it is! For God loves each of us, and all of us! We are Christ’s Body!