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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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3rd Sunday after the Epiphany Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! Our second reading scripture texts for this Epiphany season – beginning last week and continuing through February 11th – are all from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Today I would like to begin my sermon by giving you some background information as to what the Corinthian congregation was like. The church at Corinth was a congregation that was experiencing a lot of problems. A number of factions over various issues had developed within their midst. To list just a few: 1. Different groups each had their own favorite pastor. One group liked Paul, who had been the founding pastor of that congregation. Another group preferred Apollos, a great preacher who had come to Corinth after Paul. Still another group claimed allegiance to the leadership of Simon Peter. Each group not only emphasized their favorite pastor, but also tended to disparage the others who were not their favorites. 2. There was a major controversy among the Corinthians concerning the eating of meat. One group thought that eating meat was absolutely wrong – that Christians should only eat vegetables. The other group, of course, saw nothing wrong with eating meat. The problem was that each group sought to impose its particular understanding of that issue upon the whole church. The “vegetarians” portrayed the meat eating group as being almost evil and “non-Christian” – while the meat eaters in turn often looked down upon the vegetarians and characterized them as being ignorant, misguided, and worse. 3. Different groups emphasized their own particular “spiritual gifts” at the expense of others. Some of whom had the “charismatic gift” of speaking in tongues, for example, insinuated that having this particular gift made them more “Spirit-filled” than other Christians who did not speak in tongues like them. Needless to say, the ones who did not speak in tongues did not take kindly to that attitude – and reacted as we might expect – by trying to drive those who spoke in tongues out of the church! I could go on and on about other controversies and factions that were in Corinthian church, but I am sure that by now you have a good idea of what Paul had to deal with in his letter. Somehow, he was trying to get the Corinthians to understand that in Jesus Christ we are to be united together rather than to be divided by various issues and opinions. In today’s second reading, Paul uses the example of a BODY to show what this unity in Christ should be like. As he writes: “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. 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.” Here Paul reminds the Corinthians – and us – that even though a body has many parts, it is still one organism. When we were baptized, we were made part of the body of Christ. Like a body, we belong to a community consisting of many different members – but whose most important characteristic is that we are all united together in a common love for Jesus Christ – and because of him, united together in love for each other and appreciation for each other as well. This is something that the Corinthian Christians, with all of their factions, had forgotten. They were emphasizing their differences and disagreements with each other instead of focusing upon their unity in Christ. Sad to say, this is still often all too true with Christians today as well. Too often, for example, different denominations will emphasize only what divides them from each other instead of remembering that we all belong to the body of Christ. Even among Lutherans, some will refuse to worship with other Christians – let alone have communion with them. May God forgive us! And even in a single congregation, there may be factions that place so much importance on what they may like or what they may think is right that they may neglect to care about what others may like or believe. But Paul reminds us that the health and unity of the entire congregation – the body as a whole – is always much more important than any one individual part. Paul goes on to write: “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 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. 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. 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? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body.” Paul’s point here is that differences are not necessarily bad – but indeed can even be good. Indeed, the diversity among us – in our talents, in our spiritual gifts, and even in our beliefs and opinions sometimes – all serves to enrich the total body of Christ. We need each other because we are different, because with our differences we as a body can be and do so much more than if everyone were all exactly the same. As members of Christ’s body, our goal is not for us to not to become like others – nor is it to try to get others to become like us. The church as a whole throughout the world, for example, would be much poorer if we were all Lutherans, or all Catholics, or all Baptists! Each denomination, with its unique traditions and particular theological understandings, has something to contribute to the health and vitality of the Christian church as a whole. The same is true for us in individual congregations like this one. For example, among us here at Pella we have some people who are comfortable in being in a public role, while others prefer working behind the scenes. Some among us like trying new things, while others are much more cautious and conservative. Some among us are young with a certain outlook, while others who are older may see things differently. But when we are open to learning from each other, respecting each other, and genuinely caring for each other – even though we may be different in many ways – then our congregation is at its best! Paul goes on to write in today’s second reading: “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.” – But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” Paul was telling the Corinthians that although a body is not uniform, it IS united! A body’s members need to be united in their care for each other and in their desire to work with each other (with each doing its particular function well to the best of its ability) for the common good. So it is to be with the church! Today, as we have our annual meeting here at Pella, I give thanks to God for the diversity of our congregation. We have many different ministries going on in our midst – and many different people with various backgrounds and outlooks. And I thank God for the variety among us – with each of us contributing our part to make Pella such an alive and vibrant community of faith. A church that is made us of different people and different groups, but not a church of factions. A church that is united together in and through Christ Jesus. A church that is giving a powerful witness to the reality of Christ’s love as we love and care for each other. May we always remember that we are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. Thanks be to God for the unity we have together through him. Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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