A Radical Way of Being the Church
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
I Cor 12:12-31
September 12, 2010

         A few years back, just before we took a driving trip out West, Bonnie and I decided to join AAA.  We paid our dues for the year and in exchange received certain benefits- maps, tour guides, and the promise of 24-hour emergency road service.  We also expected to receive prompt friendly help from AAA whenever we needed it.  Unfortunately, we were driving a very old, worn out Winnebago and just about every interior system on the thing broke down at some point- plumbing, electrical, generator, and my personal favorite- the refrigerator.  We ended up having to wrestle the frig out of its place every few days, turn it upside down and beat on the coils for a while to keep it working!  None of these things, of course, were covered by AAA!  However, AAA did provide what they promised to do, and so we were pleased with our membership.
          Some people see membership in the church as similar to membership in AAA.  You pay your annual “dues” and in exchange you receive certain benefits.  Good music.  Well-planned sermons.  Ministries for your children and youth.  A parking sticker!  24-hour emergency visitation service, as well as prompt and friendly help from the church staff whenever you need it.   That’s a common view of church membership among many Americans. 
          Unfortunately, it’s heresy.  And it has brought about a situation in which spiritual interest is up among Americans, but church attendance is down.  This consumeristic view of the church has no power to transform anyone or to give us meaning or adventure in our daily lives.  In fact, many who hold this view of church membership have become bored with church.  I believe that we need to return to a biblical view of the church if we are to have a significant impact on our world and if church people are going to renew their excitement about serving Jesus Christ.  So this morning I’d like us to look together at an alternative, radical, biblical view of the church.  Listen to these thoughts on the church from the Apostle Paul in I Cor. 12
.       12  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
         14  Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.
         15  If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
         16  And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
         17  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
         18  But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
         19  If all were a single member, where would the body be?
         20  As it is, there are many members, yet one body.
         21  The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
         24b  But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member,
         25  that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.
         26  If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
         27  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
         28  And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.
          Paul’s favorite metaphor for the church is the human body. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”  (I Cor. 12:27)  Jesus is the head of this body and the rest of us comprise the other parts.  In other words, Jesus is the brains behind this operation, but he chose us to be his hands and feet here on earth.   We are to carry out the work that Jesus would do if he were physically present.  That is an awesome privilege and an awesome responsibility.  You see, we church members are not just consumers of church services.  We are the church- Christ’s own presence in the world.  But how does this actually work?  How can we- fragile, sinful, mortals- carry out the work of Christ?
Let me point out three answers to that question that Paul gives us in I Cor. 12. 
          First, each of us has been given special gifts or abilities by God, spiritual gifts.  Like a human body, the Body of Christ has many different parts.  Some are visible like hands and feet, eyes and ears.  Some are hidden, like the heart and kidneys, the brain and nerves.  But every single part is important and necessary.  Just try getting along without your heart or your kidneys for a while!  Paul even makes a little joke about this, imagining a human body comprised of one giant eye or ear! 
The human body needs its many parts.  So does the body of Christ.  In Christ’s body everyone is gifted to serve in one or more ways.  Paul lists some of the gifts God has given us at the end of I Cor. 12, as well as in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4.  Teaching, healing, helping, administration, preaching, giving, and leadership, for example.  Other gifts might include musical ability, computer skills, financial management, art, working with children and youth, and encouraging others.  All are needed.  And when any of them are missing, the body suffers- just like a human body is handicapped when some of its parts don’t work.
          In verse 18 Paul reminds us that these gifts are assigned by God.  “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”    (I Cor. 12:18) That doesn’t leave a lot of room for pride, does it?  It’s God who gives the gifts and he decides who gets what.  We’ve got nothing to do with it!
          Charles Plumb was a Navy fighter pilot in Vietnam.  After 75 combat missions, his F-4 was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile.  He ejected and parachuted into enemy hands.  He spent 6 years in a North Vietnamese prison.  He now lectures on what he learned from that awful experience.
          One day Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant.  A man at another table came up and said, “You’re Commander Plumb!  You flew fighters in Vietnam from the carrier Kitty Hawk.  You were shot down.”
          “How in the world did you know that?” replied Plumb.  “Well,” he responded, “I packed your parachute.  I guess it worked!”  He smiled as he shook Plumb’s hand.
          Plumb had difficulty sleeping that night.  He says, “I kept pondering the sight of that young man, in a Navy uniform.  I wondered how many times I might have seen him and ignored him, because I was a fighter pilot and he was just a lowly sailor.”  He thought about the many hours that sailor had spent in front of a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn’t even know.  Plumb became aware in a new way just how important every single member of the crew is!
          As your pastor, I get to be up front a lot and I receive lots of encouragement for the work I do!  But I am keenly aware that many of you are involved in packing my parachute.  You pray for me, and take up for me when I’m criticized.   You give sacrificially of your time and money.  You do the daily, routine, behind-the-scenes, sometimes boring work of ministry that makes this place work.  And I’m grateful.  And somebody is probably packing your parachute, too!  God gives gifts to each member of the body of Christ.  All are necessary, including your particular gifts, and those of the people sitting in your pew. 
          Secondly, Paul tells us that the Body of Christ needs to care for itself.  If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.  (I Cor. 12:26)  Think about how a human body works.  If I stub my toe, it’s not just my toe that is affected!  My brain quickly signals the whole body to come to the aid of that poor little toe!  My mouth cries out in pain.  My eyes look down to see what the damage is.  My hand reaches down to massage the affected area.  My heart beats faster.  Adrenaline is pumping.  All because of one toe!  The whole body is affected when one part suffers.
          That’s the way it is with the body of Christ, too.  When one of our members is hurting, others are hurting along with them.  And other members come to their aid.  Not just the pastor or associate pastors.  Not just the elders or deacons.  All of us have a role in helping those who are suffering.  And some of you are especially gifted at providing comfort to those who are hurting!  That’s the way the body of Christ works.  And I think we do a very good job of this here at GPC.  Our Deacons and Stephen Ministers lead us in this, but caring for those in need is strongly ingrained in our culture here at GPC, as it should be.
          By the way, we are also to rejoice with those who rejoice.  For some of us, this is a little harder!  Minor jealousies, grudges from past hurts, or insecurity on our part can make it almost impossible for some of us to rejoice with those who rejoice.  If you are having problems celebrating when certain people do well, that’s a sign that you need to take a look at your own heart.  There is no place for grudges and jealousies in Christ’s body.  That kind of thing can become a cancer that destroys the body.  (If you find any of these things in your heart, take the steps you need to take to root them out, so Christ’s work is not compromised.)
          So far we’ve seen that God gives each member of the body of Christ special abilities, each of which is necessary for the body to work properly.  And that the body needs to care for each of its parts. 
          Finally, I want to point out that the human body doesn’t just rest and eat and care for itself.  It has work to do!  And so does the Body of Christ.  The church, the Body of Christ, is called to do what Jesus would do if he were physically present.  So, what did Jesus do when he was here on earth?  He reached out to those who were hurting.  He released those who were in bondage to sin and evil.  He looked out for the powerless and vulnerable.  And he proclaimed the Good News of God’s love for all people and invited them to be part of God’s kingdom.  That’s the work we’re to be about.
          Church membership is not like joining the AAA.  We are the Body of Jesus Christ himself, with each member contributing to the work of Christ.  God gives us special abilities or gifts for ministry.  The body does Jesus’ work in the world and cares for each member in times of joy or sorrow.  Do you want to get rid of your boredom with church?  Then continually remind yourself that you, as part of the church, are Christ’s hands and feet.  What higher calling could you ever desire?  Discover the gifts Christ has given you.  Then when you are asked to do a task using the gifts you’ve been given, it will no longer need to seem like one more chore.  For this is what you were made and gifted to do!  You are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.  Don’t be afraid to act like it! 
In the next few moments you will have an opportunity to respond to God’s Word in a very practical way.  We have prepared a revised Time and Talent Survey that we’re asking you to fill out right now!  If you’re seated near the end of the isle, please take the sheets and pencils and pass them along to everyone.  We invite all our members and any guests who are thinking about becoming part of our church family (Sr. High and older) to complete one.  The ushers have extras if you need them.

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