Epiphany 3

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 the apostle 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 Epistle, 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, counters, singers, 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. Each one of us has worth.

Back in 1985, William R. Greer performed an in-depth chemical analysis of the human body and its mineral properties. His conclusions were published in The New York Times. Greer claimed that the average human body contained 5 pounds of calcium, 9 ounces of potassium, 1 and 1/2 pounds of phosphorus, 6 ounces of sodium, 6 ounces of sulfur, 1 ounce of magnesium, and trace amounts of iron, iodine, and copper. The total value of these mineral amounts is just a little over $8.00. So the value of the human body is roughly equal to the price of a matinee movie ticket. 

Our Epistle for today is about the church being the body of Christ. Why do you think the apostle Paul used the image of a body to symbolize the church? Our bodies are strange, and wonderful, and complex, and awesome, and awkward things. Our bodies are capable of amazing physical feats. But our bodies are also capable of being weak, sluggish, and creaky.

A fellow was discussing his tennis game with a friend. “When my opponent hits the ball to me, my brain immediately barks out a command to my body: ‘Race up to the net,’ it says. ‘Slam a blistering drive to the far corner of the court, jump back into position to return the next volley.’ Then my body says, ‘Who . . . me?’” That’s our usual reaction when we think about our bodies. Most of us don’t think our bodies are all that special or strong.

Have you ever felt like you’re just not good enough to be valuable to the world? Author Max Lucado believes a society that doesn’t believe in God sees no inherent value in human beings. What makes us different from a rock or an old sock? And if we have no inherent, inborn value as human beings, then we must create our own criteria to measure value. So we tend to value people either for their appearance or their performance.

If you’re good-looking, smart, athletic, or if you earn a lot of money, then you’re valuable. If you don’t fit that criteria, you’re just taking up space. But check out Jesus’ value system. He loved the outcast, the poor, the handicapped, the unclean, the sinner. Lucado writes, “Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are.”

Makes you sit up a little straighter, doesn’t it? At your job, you may feel like just another number on a timecard. In your other relationships you may feel like you’re not being heard and recognized. But in the church, in God’s eyes, you are of infinite value. You have skills, abilities, and life experiences that other people need.

You may have seen those signs out in front of churches that read: What’s missing in our ch–ch? U R. Yes, I know those signs are corny, but the sentiment is true. You are important to the body of Christ. Remember, you can’t spell unity or equality without U!

There’s a place for each and every part of the body. Author Brian Volck 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, and attending law school. 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. Paul 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 titled Proof, Daniel Montgomery and Timothy 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 that 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 Timothy made plans to take the whole family, including their new daughter, to The Mouse.

But the very idea of the trip kicked up something in this little girl. Her behavior got worse and worse. She lied, stole food items, whispered cruel things to her sisters, and it all got worse as the trip approached. Timothy said that a few days before the vacation, 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 are 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. And we are meant to see each other with compassion, the way God sees each and every one of us. Even the nose hairs.