1120AFC052011
Read it online here.
Aloha pumehana, ‘Ōmea. A blessed and grace-filled Aloha Friday to you all. Today’s scripture comes from the powerful and compelling book of Romans, chapter 12, verses 4-5:
For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.
As I look back over previous Aloha Friday messages, I can see that there is a lot of emphasis on reaching out to others, especially those who are suffering misfortunes, to give an hand through acts of mercy whether spiritual or temporal. Today I am thinking about the opportunities that we have to help each other in the Church. We go to church to feast on The Word, first by hearing, then by sharing, and finally by consuming in communion with all Christians everywhere regardless of Rite or Denomination. We are fed the Body of Christ in Holy Communion so we can feed the Body of Christ in the community of the World.
We are the Body of Christ. In the rite of Communion we become what we eat – the Body of Christ. It is a wonderful mystery, and stupendous riddle, and an elegantly simple truth. When He is in us, we are in Him, and as part of the earthly Body of Christ – the church – we all have a job to do. When our part of the Body of Christ goes into action, we do so with the entire Body of Christ.
Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (please to take a look at this beautiful passage) was directed at people who argue about which part of the body is the most important. In other passages, Paul says that the least-favored, least-dignified body parts are the ones we give the most protection for privacy. Every part is important, and every part has to work along with all the other parts. The hands cannot say, “We are the most important. We feed the body, defend the whole body, and do work to earn the body’s bread. Without us nothing would be able to survive.” The eyes cannot say, “We are the most important because without us, the hand would not know where to go or what to grasp. Without us, the hands are useless.” The feet cannot say, “Hands and eyes are useless unless you have us to move you to the places where you can see and grasp what the body needs to survive. Without us, the body would perish.” And so the argument would go. We know, of course, that all of those arguments are pointless because unless the whole body works together, then survival is imperiled. When they fail to work together, bad things happen
The parts of the body can also do things that damage the body. Smoking, irresponsible use of drugs – legal or illegal notwithstanding – immorality of every kind, irresponsible risk-taking – all of these things can endanger the health of the body. And if that happens, it also affects The Body of Christ.
Beloved, you can see where I am going here. If I am, if you are, if we are part of The Body of Christ, then we have to take care of our bodies, our lives, our actions, our contributions to the functions of The Body of Christ. “I want to be more than a Sunday-Go-To- Meeting- Christian. I want a religion that serves me every day.” Are we living on Spiritual Junk Food, substituting sports, or comforts, or pleasures for The Bread of Life? We should cut that out of our Spiritual diet. Are we ruining our physical bodies with chemicals or activities that tear us down physically? We should cut that out of our physical life to improve our Spiritual life. Are we skipping the Meals we share as community with other parts of The Body of Christ? How can you live if you are not fed? We should let nothing keep us from sharing The Body of Christ with all of The Body of Christ. In Word, in Liturgy, in Community we share a Communion with all who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Living God.
Beloved, it is indeed important that we do all that we can to provide all earthlings with every opportunity for survival, including Spiritual survival and Eternal Life. We cannot be as fully effective as possible in doing that unless we ourselves ensure we are health in body, mind, and spirit. Imagine Jesus singing to you …
Button up your overcoat,
When the wind is free,
Oh, take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!
Eat an apple every day,
Get to bed by three,
Oh, take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!
Be careful crossing streets, ooh-ooh,
Cut out sweets, ooh-ooh,
Lay off meat, ooh-ooh,
You’ll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!
Wear your flannel underwear,
When you climb a tree,
Oh, take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!
… … …
We ARE the body of Christ!
Don’t sit on hornet’s tails, ooh-ooh!
Or on nails, ooh-ooh!
Or third rails, ooh-ooh!
You’ll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!
Keep away from bootleg hooch
When you’re on a spree,
Oh, take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!
If He sang that to us, we could sing back to him …
One bread, one body,
one Lord of all,
one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many,
throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.
Beloved, through his love we are one with the One who is in us as one of us. See John 17:20-23* where Jesus says:
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.”
Jesus commanded us, “Love one another as I have loved you, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Beloved, before you can do as God commands by taking care of your neighbor, take care of yourself as he has also commanded. Watch your Spiritual diet, be faithful in getting our Spiritual exercise, and make sure you are fully aware of how the rest of the Body of Christ is counting on you to be there when needed. Feed your body, soul, and spirit so you can feed His Body.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.
Share-A-Prayer
➡ For people in the Mississippi River valley, for their animals, property, farms, and very lives, let us pray to the lord for merciful deliverance.
➡ For The Body of Christ everywhere, regardless of rite or denomination, let us pray that God will help us better understand the immense power we can have in working together for all earthlings everywhere.
➡ For AMT – return to morality and faith with renewed love for The Body of Christ.
➡ JB, TH, KD, CI, and all others still seeking meaningful work so they can support their families in The Body of Christ.
➡ Let us pray for renewal, reconciliation, and restitution of trust for couples experiencing marital stress and strain for whatever reason
➡ For the students who are graduating this year – all levels of education from preschool to graduate school – let us pray for continuing determination to do well and God’s blessings on all their endeavors.
➡ for DH – peace of heart and mind as he begins a new stage of his life without his beloved wife.
* The link in the emailed version of this message was incorrect. I got a note from my Brother in Christ, Pastor JK, alerting me to the error. Thanks to that timely tip I was able to repair the link. It was in chapter 17, not 15. Thanks so much, John, for keeping me on my toes!
Chick
Age Quod Agis
