“No part dismissed as unnecessary”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, October 13, 2023
1 Corinthians 12:12-26 (Forward, p. 76) CEV p. 1199
Here the apostle Paul uses a very familiar and homey image to get his message across. He compares the Body of Christ, the Church, to the human body. And, here he personifies the various parts of the human body by giving them a voice and a personality. In so doing, he suggests that they could have a sense of self-consciousness and fail into the trap of comparing themselves with each other. Suppose, he says, the foot was to say, “Seeing as I am not a hand, I am not really part of the body.” Or if the ear was to say the same thing about the eye. Does that make either of them any less a part of the body? No, indeed, all of these parts, taken together, make up the body. The human body, as it is constituted by God, is composed of many differing parts.
Or, supposed the eyes were to suggest ‘we don’t need the hands’, or the head say the same about the feet. That doesn’t make it so, not indeed. All of the parts of the body are necessary and needed, even the seemingly weakest ones. (We certainly know this from present-day anatomy: such hidden and seemingly weak or insignificant organs as the thyroid or the pancreas really have an influence and significance far beyond their size!)
Paul is using this analogy to speak of another ‘body’, in this case, the Church, and uses it to describe how its members are like parts of the human body. Some of them have gotten into the unfortunate habit of comparing themselves to other members of the church, members that these self-conscious folks have deluded themselves into thinking are somehow better. I can easily see how this can, and does, happen. Indeed, there are folks in churches today that think that clergy are better or people in prominent ministry positions are better: that sort of thing. But Paul puts the nix to this idea, saying that all of them are part of the body.
And, carrying this thought further, he tells his audience—and us—that we can’t really dismiss any parts of the Body, any members of the Church, as being unimportant or unnecessary. And certainly, we cannot exalt or prize ourselves above anyone else, or dismiss anyone else either. Even the seemingly unimportant or weaker part of the body is crucial to its overall functioning. (And certainly, with the benefit of modern medicine we have
found this to be true: even a problem with the feet can have dire impacts, or an abscessed tooth.) By the way, this should be a challenge to those self-important clergy who think that they alone can make decisions and run things, without the input of their flock—as if they were ‘the be all and end all’ of all things. The Church, to function properly, needs the input, the thoughts, efforts and support of the entire Body, every single one of them. We are all vital, necessary and important. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it” (verse 26).
“One of the blessings of being the fourth generation of my family to attend my church, St. Mary’s, has been the opportunity to cultivate long-lasting relationships. My cousins and I became friends with other children whose grandparents were friends with our grandparents. Family roots run deep.
“This verse from 1 Corinthians resonates well with the St. Mary’s experience. When a parishioner dies, St. Mary’s folks show up for the funeral—even if they haven’t been to church in weeks, months, or years. They come to celebrate a life well-lived. It’s truly a lovely sight to witness old relationships rekindled among the mourners in honour of the person who has died.
“Our parish newsletter also routinely publishes the accomplishments of the members from their professional or extracurricular pursuits, along with graduations, marriages, and births. We celebrate with each other in the good times and support each other through the hard times.”
Moving Forward: “How does your congregation live out these words?”