We Are One in the Spirit - Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 3C (1 Corinthians 12:12-31a)

1 Corinthians 12:12-31A New Revised Standard Version

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. ¹³ For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

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.” ²² On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; ²⁴ whereas our more respectable members do not need this. 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. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But strive for the greater gifts.

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                When Paul writes his famous first letter to the Corinthian church, one of his biggest concerns is the factionalism present in the congregation. There are several contributors to the divisions, all of which point to a lack of spiritual maturity in this rather newly formed congregation. Paul continues to address attitudes and practices that were brought into the church from the larger social context. As we saw in the previous reading, Paul wants to point their attention away from the spectacular to the useful gifts so that they can work together for the common good. That message is continued in this week’s reading, reminding us that there are multiple gifts, all of which contribute to the common good. In this week’s reading, Paul provides a metaphor to illustrate what he is suggesting to them. That metaphor is the body. Just as the human body has many members/parts, the same is true for the church, the body of Christ.

                The message for the day: Just like the human body, the body of Christ has many members, but there is still but one body of Christ. That word may seem a bit puzzling since according to many surveys there are thousands of denominations out there in the world. Factions are plentiful. We have divided over multiples of issues, from the way we understand communion and who can preside to the method and timing of baptisms. We differ over what makes for a member of the clergy. There are divisions over sexuality, gender, and more. We’ve still not overcome Martin Luther King’s observation that 11 AM on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week. So, it seems as if this body of Christ lacks oneness. As one ecumenical leader suggested decades ago, this is a scandal. Peter Ainslie, writing in 1929, declared that “the greatest scandal of civilization is that Christians have not learned how to behave toward each other” [The Scandal of Christianity, (1929), p. 1]. I think Paul would agree with this assessment.

                While this observation is true enough, and Paul is cognizant of its dangers, we can take to heart his message about the body of Christ, its oneness, and the part we play in that body. Paul reminds us that our unity in Christ stems from the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, he writes: “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). While baptism continues to be a point of contention in the church today, Paul makes it clear that baptism is a great leveler. He points to two social distinctions that were present in the Corinthian church. There appears to have been some conflict between Jewish and Gentile Christians—most likely over circumcision. Then there is the presence of both slaves and free persons in this church. Slaves made up a large portion of the population in the Roman Empire. Slaves and free persons tended not to gather together, and yet here they were part of the one church of Jesus Christ. It shouldn’t surprise us that there was conflict over social roles. If we add into this conversation the baptismal formula from Galatians 3:28, we can include gender hierarchies. Thus, baptism transcends all social distinctions, so that in the church they have no place.

                To illustrate his point, Paul takes the conversation about the body to the next step. He wants us to think about what it would mean if parts of the body assumed that other parts were not needed. In doing this, as Charles Campbell suggests, Paul engages in a bit of comical playfulness in his analogy. There is a great deal of sarcasm here, such that Paul asks concerning a foot, would it insist that it is not part of the body because it’s not a hand? Or what of ear thinking that because it’s not an eye it’s less a part of the body? Of course not. The suggestion is laughable, and yet the punchline hits the spot. Thus, Campbell writes that “to make his theological point he lampoons the powers of this age, who would use the image of the body to reinforce social hierarchies” [1 Corinthians: Belief, p. 206]. In other words, having a different purpose does not suggest a difference in importance or connection to the body. Just in case you didn’t get the point, Paul pushes his analogy to the extreme. What would happen if the whole body was an eye? How would the body hear? Or have a sense of smell? So, there are many members but one body. No part can say of another they are not needed. Again, there is no hierarchy in the body, just different purposes. As Paul writes in verse 18, “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” If this is true, and Paul would say it is, then who are we to make social distinctions? So, all of this talk about distinctions when it comes to spiritual gifts is silliness. There is no reason for boastfulness when it comes to gifts. Remember, they are gifts of grace!

                The next statement is intriguing. “The members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” In fact, “those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect.”  The reference here would seem to be concerned with what we often call our private parts, our genitals, the parts we cover with clothing. Though the passage is filled with humor and even sarcasm, the point is made. The church, like a body, is made up of many parts. All parts have their place and none are more important or less important than the others. Every one of the members is essential to the functioning of the body.

                Now, we must be careful with how we apply this message. It should not be interpreted in a way that diminishes those in the church or in the broader society who have disabilities. So, as Amos Yong writes, “Paul’s insistence that even the weakest members of the body of Christ shouldn’t be despised challenges the stereotypical thinking of non-disabled people. Accordingly, an ecclesiology of weakness would resist conventional ableist marginalization of people with disabilities as weaker, less respectable, or less-than necessary members of the church with little to contribute” [The Bible, Disability, and the Church, p. 93].

                Again, we are reminded that God arranged the body in such a way that greater honor is given to those society considers inferior. So, there should be “no dissension within the body of Christ.” Instead, the members of the body should care for each other in the same manner. That is because “if one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (1 Cor. 12:24-27). In other words, we’re all in this together.

                In the previous week’s reading from 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, we encountered a list of spiritual gifts, which according to Paul, were given to the members of the church for the common good. Now that he has laid out his theology of the body of Christ, making it clear that there should be no social distinctions when it comes to the body, Paul offers a second list of gifts. While there is some overlap there are differences. In this list, Paul begins by noting that God has appointed for the church apostles (missionaries?), prophets, teachers, all of which appear to be offices as well as gifts. Remember that Paul claims to be an apostle and he’ll emphasize prophecy. While it does appear to suggest a hierarchy, that might only be due to the need for some form of leadership. It should be noted that the ecclesiology of 1 Corinthians is very charismatic in orientation. We don’t read about elders or deacons or bishops here.

                Having ranked the first three gifts, Paul then takes not of deeds of power, gifts of healing, along with forms of assistance and leadership. Finally, he notes that there are various kinds of tongues as well. Having taken note of these gifts, and likely the ones listed earlier in the chapter, he asks the pertinent question, one that picks up on that humorous analogy about what happen if the body was composed only of an eye. So, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” The answer is, or should be, of course not. The group that Paul is probably speaking to here is the group that had lifted up speaking tongues as the preeminent gift. Paul has no problem with speaking in tongues, as long as it is put in its proper place. The point here is that we all have gifts and when we put them to use as members of the body, well we then contribute to the common good. [For more on this question of gifts and their meaning, see my book Unfettered Spirit:Spiritual Gifts for the New Great Awakening, 2^nd edition, (Energion Publications 2021)].

                The last word is a call to “strive for the greater gifts,” the gift that all need to have. That gift is love, which is the subject of 1 Corinthians 13. As we’ll discover, without love none of the above matters!