Jesus often used parables – he told a short story about vines and vineyards, farms, landowners, sheep, shepherds, and so on.  His purpose was to convey his meaning by allowing his hearers to understand the similarity between the events of the story and events in the kingdom of heaven.

Paul often uses picture-language in his letters too, but Paul tends to use metaphor.  A metaphor is an illustrative example where an object or an action is used in a way that is unusual.  For example, Paul talks about Christians clothing themselves with love, or Christians being placed as stones to form the wall of a building. 

The metaphor that Paul uses in this text is that of the body.  The church is seen as the body of Christ.  The church also receives the body of Christ in Holy Communion, and that is why the Lord’s Supper is such a unifying thing – in eating the body of Christ, we become the body of Christ – a profound and encouraging thought!

But the purpose of talking about the body in this instance is to appeal to our everyday experience of our own bodies.  It is an everyday experience that we use part of our bodies to eat, another part to see, another part to smell, another part to hear, another part to touch.  Parts of our body we cover modestly, and other parts we leave uncovered.

Each of these parts is necessary, however.  Ask any person who has become blind how hard it is in comparison with being able to see.  Or someone who can hardly walk or get about, how this affected mobility compares with being able to do anything you set your mind to.  Or how a deaf person needs to communicate using sign language and special gadgets hooked to their telephone, because they can’t communicate with speech the way you and I can.

We might feel that the important people in our congregations are those who hold offices with titles such as chairman, treasurer, deacon, pastor, or musician. Yet Paul tells us that everyone is important.  No one can be done without.  Saying to one of our members, “we can get along without you,” or thinking it, should be seen as akin to chopping off one of our own feet – without anaesthetic! Everyone is important!

Paul has laboured the avHavmetaphor for quite some time, because he considers it so important.  And it is not as if we don’t realise what he is on about.  Right at the start of the text he tells us that he means the body to represent the church:

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts;
and though all its parts are many, they form one body.
            So it is with the Christ. (verse 12)

So right through this discussion of body we have know that he has been on about us.

Now Paul moves on, not explaining that he was talking about the church all the time – we knew that! – but what the body metaphor implies for the church.  It means that there are differences.  Some gifts build up the church more than others, but this doesn’t mean that those who have those gifts can get swelled heads.  The purpose is for the building up of the church, and giving glory to God, not to inflate egos.

These differences are actually crucial.  Just as if it would be pretty boring to have 21 noses, instead of 10 fingers, 10 toes, and 1 nose, so also it would be boring if all of us were alike, and had the same gifts.  We need the variety.  Remember the song,

Jesus loves the little children,
all the children of the world,
Yellow, red, black and white,
They are precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

We are all his little children.  We are all loved.  And all those who are baptised believers are equally heirs of his kingdom, and of eternal life.

Though we are all loved, we cannot all be the same part of the body.  Think of the chaos if everyone wanted to be the pastor; or everyone the treasurer; or if everyone wanted to play music to accompany the praise-singing in divine service.  That is what Paul is on about when he says:

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (verses 27-31a)

When Paul says, “strive for the greater gifts,” he is encouraging the Corinthians, and us, to strive for those gifts which build up the church.  It is not wrong to be encouraged yourself by a gift you may have.  Paul is not banning speaking in tongues, or any of the gifts.  Far from it!  He says elsewhere that he wants them to be used, but always in the appropriate context.  Yet he does specify that the greater gifts are those which bring about the building up of the church, so that all can rejoice.

So, Paul’s message to the people at the young church in Corinth is also a message for each of us today.  Each of us baptised believers is an important part of the body of Christ.  It doesn’t matter if you are very young, or older, or in between.  It doesn’t matter if you hold an office in the congregation or parish, or if you don’t.  It doesn’t matter if you are seen to do a lot in the congregation, or whether you find it difficult to do more than the most important and the only crucial thing: come along to regular services. It doesn’t matter if you don’t always feel like being a part of the body, because others seem more gifted than you.  Despite all these, you are still part of the body.  You are an important part of the church.  And all of us need to act as members of the one body, united in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 
Amen!