“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”

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“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

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The longer I live in my body, the more two things happen: The more frustrated I get with it, and the more amazed I am at it. My mind says “I can do this.” My body says, “Uh, no you can’t.” The body’s limitations, irritations, and dis-ease cause daily frustration. And yet, with every passing day I am more and more amazed at the ways in which God put it together so perfectly. The way a nerve – thinner than a human hair can control so much in the body. The way the brain says, “move your big toe.” And it happens. The way that a body’s heart continues to beat or lungs continue to breath without a person having to think about it.

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In Corinthians, Paul uses the physical human body as a metaphor for the Church (the capital C church – the body of Christ around the world). Jesus and Paul both speak to the fact that it is to be unified. Though there is diversity in the body, all who confess Christ are indeed a member of the body – whether they feel like it or not, whether they participate in the life of the Church or not. If you’ve ever wondered if you really belong in the body of Christ, the emphatic answer is YES! Not only do you belong, but if confess Christ as Lord, you are connected to it whether you desire to be or not. You are the body of Christ.

And if a part of the body, you need the body and the body needs you. A limb detached from the body eventually withers up and dies. It needs the blood flow of the body to continue to function. Additionally, the body needs that limb. While it can function without it and find ways to compensate, the body functions best when all members are connected. We each need the body. And the body needs each of us.

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In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul is clear that there is no hierarchy in the body. Not one part is more necessary than another part. Not one part is more respectable than another. The pastor is no more important than the worshiper with dementia. Or the single mom who has managed to get the kids dressed and to church no less respected than the guy who is a missionary to a foreign country - each is a necessary part of the body.

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There are frustrations with the human body and yes, with the body of Christ. It is an organism made up of many an imperfect person. Sometimes we get hurt by others in the Church. Sometimes we disagree with others in the Church. Sometimes our hearts get overburdened with the life situations of others. And yet, if we allow ourselves to truly live in the body, we find that it is amazing and beautiful, and a work of the Grand Creator. Not only do we learn more about that Creator, but we find that we are supported by others in the Church. And we find (surprisingly) that we are most delighted when we can support others in their faith journey. It really is an amazing body – the Body of Christ.