Sunday Homily - January 27th, 2019 - The Essential Parts

The 12 Apostles Icon

I.

Cars have changed a lot over the years.

Actually, in the grand scale of history,
 automobiles, cars, and the like,
  have existed for a pretty short amount of time
   with the approximate invention of the automobile
    dating to somewhere around 1885!
    [Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html]

Now, as you can imagine,
 automobiles have changed quite a lot since their invention.
  They have become much more powerful, much more efficient,
   technologically advanced machines that have enabled everyday people
    like you and me,
     to travel a ridiculous amount of distance in a short time.

I mean, imagine that all you have is horseback
 and you need to make it to Little Rock for a meeting?
  It's going to take you longer than an hour!

Or imagine that you need to be transported to the hospital
 to receive treatment for a sickness
  and ambulances didn't exist yet?

Cars, trucks, and other vehicles have changed the way we live our lives!

But cars, trucks, and other vehicles don't just run on their own.
 They need maintenance and repair.
  And if you aren't skilled in automotive work,
   you need the help of trained professionals
    who know how these complicated and wonderful machines work.

Now, those of you who work on your vehicles,
 or you who have had to take your vehicles to the shop for repair,
  y'all know how incredibly complicated cars can be.

When they are running, they are great!
 But when they aren't, it takes some automotive detective work
  to solve the mystery of why the vehicle isn't running.

More often than not, the reason why a vehicle fails to run correctly
 is not because they are irreparably broken,
  such as cracking the engine block.
   Often it is the small, insignificant things
    that cause these hulking, multi-ton pieces of machinery from running.

A small hole in just the right hose can prevent your engine from running.
 Corrosion in just the right wires or cables can prevent your engine from starting!
  The smallest thing end up making a big difference.

But it is not because these vehicles are defective or aren't designed well.
 The cars you drive in that parking lot are the result of over 130 years
  of engineering and technological advancement.
   Those suckers are beautifully designed pieces of machinery.

Rather, it is exactly BECAUSE they are designed well,
 carefully constructed and cared for,
  with computers that can assist in pinpointing issues in the system,
   it is exactly BECAUSE they are so advanced
    that every piece is essential,
     irreplaceable parts of a system that has changed the way we live.

No piece of an engine is more important than another:
 rather every piece is designed to carry out its unique purpose,
  working together with the rest of the uniquely designed pieces
   in order to fulfill their designed purpose:
    to help us go real fast!

No piece is more important than the other,
 instead, each piece is essential.

II.

That's why I think Paul gets it so right this morning
 in describing the Church as the Body of Christ.

I can't help but appreciate the point that Paul makes
 about we who call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ,
  and how we are to live together in unity,
   because the Body of Christ is not divided, but rather it is ONE.

But Paul knows the challenges of living as a body,
 with many parts and pieces knit together,
  with one body, one Holy Spirit, one Mind of Christ.
   And Paul very carefully points these challenges out
    in his letter to the Corinthians.

First, the challenge of sinful pride,
 that inward selfishness that we all have,
  that fights against humility and seethes under the hand of gentleness.

Pride causes us individual members of the body
 to view ourselves with undue importance
  at the expense of the other parts of the body.

The pride that causes us to look at "those people"
 and thank God that you are not like "those people."
  The pride that when you even think of "those people"
   blinds us to the fact that "those people" are in fact indispensable parts
    of the very Body of Christ!
     Because it's CHRIST'S Body that we are a part of,
      and no longer do we live only for ourselves!
      [2 Corinthians 5:15]

We never fully destroy our pride,
 as if we ourselves could beat back our sin
  by the sheer power of human will.
   That's where God's grace through the Mind of Christ,
    the Head of the Church,
     comes in and heals us of our pride
      with the divine humility of the Only Son of God.

Second, Paul points out a very simple fact:
 every member of the body is an essential member
  created by God for a specific and holy purpose
   in service of the rest of the Body.
    And that means that YOU are UNIQUE.

God didn't make us carbon copies of each other.
 How boring would that be, right?
  No, God created us uniquely and wonderfully,
   with different gifts to exercise on behalf of the good of all people,
    in service to the Body of Christ,
     uniquely present in you according to God's choosing,
      and not merely of our own trained skill.

God gifts you with special spiritual gifts.
 To some, you are given generosity.
  To others, you are given the gift of encouragement.
   Still, to others, the gift of prophetic speech and truth-telling.
    And to others, the gift of gentleness and empathy toward other people.

You have special gifts for the good of the body:
 which also means that OTHER people have gifts
  that we ourselves DON'T have.

But that doesn't mean that we are incomplete or defective,
 just as we don't say that our eyes are defective because they can't hear anything.
  It simply means that you have a special and unique gift that benefits the body.

Spark plugs in an engine aren't defective just because they aren't engine oil.
 It simply means that spark plugs have a specific and designed purpose
  that is unique from engine oil, but not any less essential!
   You try running your engine without spark plugs or engine oil!
    [Actually please don't try, I just made myself cringe inside at that notion]

You are unique in your purpose within the body.
 You don't have to do it all, and you aren't meant to do it all.
  Because, and we come to the third, and maybe the MOST important point in Paul's letter today:
   the members of the body that we might deem weak or dishonorable
    are actually worthy of greater care and greater honor than some others in the body.

The people who we sometimes think as weak,
 as imperfect,
  or perhaps we even are tempted to think of as dishonorable to us
   are in fact the very members of the body that are due a GREATER share of care and honor.

"Those people" who you don't seem to see pulling their own weight,
 "Those people" who may be more of a burden to you than a person that you honor,
  "Those people" who we are tempted to deem as unfit or undeserving of our time,
   "Those people" may be the people you are called to care for and honor more.

"Those people"
  their culture,
   their gender,
    their age,
     their ANYTHING.
      Those people are, in fact, the members who St. Paul is saying are due higher honor.

People who have systemically received less recognition as members of the Church,
 they are in fact the ones who are due higher honor by the members of the Body of Christ.
  People who have historically been on the margins of the establishment
   are in fact the ones who are due higher esteem in the Body of Christ.
    People who have been suppressed by our sinful pride and inattentiveness to the Holy Spirit,
     they are in fact the servant leaders being raised up by God even now in our midst.

And it is not that there is a lack of fairness in this difference of honor and esteem!
 Rather, it is due justice that these less esteemed,
  less powerful members are lifted up higher and honored more
   because of their essential nature in the Body of Christ.

It is not that we are not treating others equally:
 it is that we are treating others more justly, more lovingly, more attentively.
  Because Christ's way is the way of both the cross and the resurrection,
   where some members of the body crucify their power, their esteem, their honor,
    for the sake of showing forth the power of the resurrection in the lifting up of
     the powerless
      those with no esteem
       the dishonorable,
        lifting up "those people" who are due those very things
         that sinful pride asks us to hoard for ourselves.

III.

If you ever wanted a road map to how we, as Trinity Church, are to live with one another,
 these three things from Paul's letter are essential.

1 - We all face the challenge of our pride,
 that selfish force that wants us to put ourselves above others
  and denigrate the goodness of the gifts others have that we don't.

2 - We are all uniquely created and gifted,
 to serve for the good of the whole body by our good work
  exercising our unique gifts in the service of others.

And 3 - some of the members of the Body of Christ
 are indeed justly due higher care and more honor.
  And often those are the members of the Body that give us the most pause,
   and yet are indispensable parts, without which we would die.

Insofar as it is possible, friends,
 live at peace, unity, and synergy with each other,
  working that good work for the Gospel by giving of your unique gifts that only you can bring.
  [Romans 12:18]

Exercise the spiritual gifts you have been given.
 And pay attention to the gifts that others have as well.
  Then, TELL others of their spiritual gifts that you see in them.
   Give thanks to God for THEIR essential, indispensable lives.
    And continue to do that for the rest of your life.

We are ALL members of Christ's Body and we are designed to work together.
 We need each other.
  We cannot live without each other.

And let's face it, y'all.
 Some of us are spark plugs.
  Some are pistons.
   Someone's gotta be the distributor,
    and the camshaft,
     and the transmission.

But when we work together in peace, unity, and synergy,
 oh the places
  that God may drive us!

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.