God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Three
M’s of Corinth: Metaphor, Members and Meaning. My focus is our Epistle (1st
Corinthians 12:12-31a). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I
rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now
that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we
listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply
as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Have you ever heard a teacher say, “My classroom was a zoo
today!”? How about, “My workload is a tsunami.”? Have you ever been so hungry
that you could eat a horse? Is Tom Brady really a GOAT? Is your favorite hymn,
“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”? Those are all metaphors.
A
metaphor is a phrase used to represent something else. We assign a figure of
speech that is characteristic of one object to another. It could be an emblem
or a symbol. When we use metaphors, we do not literally mean that God is Fort
Knox or that Tom Brady is a Nigerian Dwarf, but it is a way of expressing
meaning.
Our
English word, metaphor, comes directly from the Greek, metaphora,
meaning a transfer or a carrying over. Aristotle once wrote, “It is a great
thing, indeed, to make a proper use of the poetical forms, as also of compounds
and strange words. But the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.
It is the one thing that cannot be learned from others; and it is also a sign
of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the
similarity in dissimilars.”[1]
Paul
uses a metaphor in our reading today when he speaks of the church as the Body
of Christ. Paul was writing in a way familiar to Greek Christians. The Greeks
saw the state, society or church and its institutions as a biological human
body. This metaphor implies hierarchical leadership and a division of labor
with a strong autocratic or monarchial connotation.
The
first recorded instance of the body politic metaphor appears in the Rigveda,
the oldest of the sacred books of Hinduism around 1500 BC. There the South
Asian caste system is explained by comparing the priesthood to the mouth,
soldiers to the arms, shepherds to the thighs, and peasants to the feet of
humankind.
A
well-known ancient example of a bodily metaphor appears in “The Belly and the
Members,” a tale attributed to the Greek fabulist Aesop. In the fable, the
other members of the body revolt against the belly, which they think is doing
none of the work while getting all of the food. The hands, mouth, teeth, and
legs initiate a strike, but after a few days they realize that they are weak
and ailing. They thus learn that cooperation between all members of the body,
including the invisible belly, is vital for the body’s health. The story’s
not-so-subtle moral is that society, like a body, functions better when all do
their assigned tasks and work together. This social metaphor translated easily
into the political world.
The
Greeks influenced Rome, and by the time Paul used the metaphor to mold Christ
and the church into a single body, we clearly see the influence of ancient
authors on Christian writers. In addition to our passage today, Paul also used
this metaphor in Colossians and Ephesians.[2]
Early
theologians such as Augustine, used the body politic metaphor to imply divine
leadership.[3] But, because
of Philosopher Thomas Hobbes and the Industrial Revolution, we no longer refer
to social institutions as natural organisms; rather we refer to them as
machines. That said, Paul employed a metaphor that the people of his time
understood; and that brings me to my second point, Members.
Paul’s
concern was the unity of the church. This unity is grounded in its members’
Baptism into that body and their constant reception of Christ’s Body and Blood
in the Lord’s Supper. Just as the human body is a unit, a single entity
comprised of many parts, so also is Christ.[4]
The
basis for the unity of many diverse parts within the body of Christ is their
common Baptism with one spirit into one body. Paul had in mind
the Sacrament of Christian Baptism, whereby a person is incorporated into the
body of Christ.[5]
Within this body, Paul stressed the necessity of diversity.
Beginning
in verse 14, Paul presents an imaginary conversation among the parts of the
body. The spokespersons are those parts of the body who may be inclined to make
discriminatory comparisons with other parts that seem more important. So, the
foot, depressed by its lowly status and the drudgery of its work in supporting
the whole body, compares itself with the more versatile and skillful hand; the
ear becomes discontent with its simple and less-prominent function and compares
itself with the more attractive eye.[6]
On
this passage, the early Church Father, John Chrysostom, once wrote that we are
not so likely to envy those who are far superior to ourselves, but those who
are a little superior. In their depression and jealousy, the foot and the ear
are tempted to opt out of their faithful service to the body. However, Paul
insisted that they cannot for their only proper place is within the body. If
everyone could have his wish and become the eye, we would have a grotesque
situation, a body consisting only of an enormous eye.
In
verse 18, Paul sensibly reminded Christians that God arranged the members
in the body, each one of them, as he chose. The members distinctive
functions are part of his perfect plan for the whole, a plan in which the
individual believer should accept humbly, without jealously eyeing what another
member has been given.[7] Paul
summarized his response to those who felt inferior by repeating the gist of his
words spoken earlier, “There are many parts, yet one body.”[8] The
fact of the matter is that there is diversity in this unity.
Paul
then appealed to those members with a superiority complex who were endowed with
more important or spectacular spiritual gifts and were tempted to look down on
the less gifted. In short, Paul said that their position was shaky. The eye
cannot do without the hand, nor the head with the feet. Even though hands and
feet have menial tasks, they are still indispensable to the body’s operation.
People who serve the church with tedious tasks are as critical as those who
lend trained talents to the community. Paul reminded Corinthians that those who
receive the greatest human praise may find that those whom they looked down
upon receive even greater acclaim from God.[9]
As
their pastor, Paul was interested in promoting harmony and avoiding
divisiveness. In these verses, he laid the groundwork for chapter 13 on how
Christians were to love one another. In today’s passage, he said everything
that needed to be said about superiority, inferiority and the necessity of
mutual sympathy and care among members. As the body of Christ in Corinth, he
reminded members that every one of them received a variety of gifts from God
that blended together for the good of all. Having laid this groundwork, Paul
then taught them an even better way to live. That, my friends, brings me to my
third point, Meaning.
In
chapters 12 and 14, Paul listed a number of charisms. As we read these chapters
from a 21st century perspective, we should keep in mind that it is
impossible for us to know what Paul described. We are shaped by a trinitarian
theology worked out in the 4th century, and there is no evidence
that Paul had such clarity about the personhood of the Holy Spirit.[10] Current
charismatic Christians may believe that charisms involve an emotional
experience or a dramatic behavior, but there is no indication that Paul was on
the same page with that. Most likely, we would not place the gift of
administration or leadership in the same charismatic category as speaking in
tongues. Paul did.
Modern
appreciation of charisms sometimes neglects the fact that such gifts were quite
divisive in Corinth. There were issues of superiority and envy in that
congregation. One who possesses a special gift or charism is not a better
Christian than others not so gifted. In fact, even Jesus says, “If you
love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” In other words, the
Evangelist John did not suggest that Christians possessed different gifts or
roles, but that Jesus viewed all believers as his disciples.[11]
Today,
there is no lack of spiritual gifts in the Church. We all have different gifts
that we bring to the Body of Christ, the Church, the community. Some of these
gifts are made public every week. There is a reason God gave me a gift for
preaching and leading worship. There is a reason God gave you musical talent.
There is a reason God gave you technical skills, an artistic eye, a keen
interest in youth ministry, elder care or the wherewithal to organize food and
toy drives for the community.
All
of our charisms give glory to God. We recognize what Christ has done for each
of us individually and all of us corporately, and we want to build stronger
this Body of Christ. When we recognize a particular gift or talent, we seek to
hone it through education, training and practice so that we can give greater
glory to God and better serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. That is the
reason I spend time researching, writing, editing and practicing my sermons. My
gift is not about me receiving kudos, but about you being served and inspired
and God glorified.
Now,
let me tell you about the talents of one man that brought glory to God. That
man is my father, John Walter Cwynar. He was born on June 23, 1925 in
Hamtramck, Michigan, a city surrounded by Detroit. My father lived in Hamtramck
for eight years, and Aliquippa for ten years. At eighteen, he started working
as a machinist at Jones & Laughlin Steel. He eventually completed his
apprenticeship and became a First-Class Machinist, a position he held for 46
years at J&L. He continued to work as a Machinist until he died in 2003.
He served
as a Private First-Class during the Second World War and the Korean Conflict. In
wartime, a First-Class Machinist is more valuable handling a lathe than a
rifle. During the time Dad worked for J&L, the company patented many of his
works, and compensated him for them. Dad also made something for me before I
was ordained in 1987. From a piece of scrapped stainless steel, he machined a
chalice and paten. I do not use these very often because I fear a communicant
will drop the chalice and receive not only the Blood of Christ but also a
broken toe.
I
tell you this to emphasize that what we do for a living makes a difference to
the other members of the body of Christ. However glamorous or mundane our work
is to the world, it is a dual opportunity to offer another member something and
God glory. I may not be able to forge sacred vessels, but I can offer a helping
hand. I may not be able to preach a sermon, but I can speak consoling or
forgiving words. I cannot shoulder the Cross, but I can offer a shoulder to a hurting
friend. In short, you have may talents that you may have overlooked until now.
Friends,
the opportunities you have to offer other members of the body of Christ are
numerous. I ask that you think of your talents, your gifts given to you by God.
Ponder how your gifts build up the body of Christ, the Church, and how you can
use them to glorify God. When you do, may the peace of God
that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] "Poetics,"
1459a 3-8.
[2]
Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23
[3] Joëlle
Rollo-Koster, Body Politic, Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/body-politic.
Chapter 12 of Book IV of St. Augustine’s City of God is titled, “Concerning the
Opinion of Those Who Have Thought That God is the Soul of the World, and the
World is the Body of God.”
[4] Gregory
J. Lockwood, 1 Corinthians. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2000), p. 444.
[5]
Galatians 3:27-28.
[6]
Lockwood, 446.
[7] Ibid.
[8] 1
Corinthians 12:20.
[9]
Lockwood, 447.
[10] Raymond
E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday (1997), p. 532.
[11] Ibid.
See John 14:15-16.
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