Community, assemble!
1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
January 26, 2025
 |
| Photo of a drummer with brown skin holding two red drumsticks above an array of four drums fastened to a harness supported by the drummer's chest, shoulders, and head. They are wearing a black short sleeve shirt and black pants. |
Towards the end of the Marvel comics film “Avengers: Endgame” there is a final battle scene in which the forces of good and evil confront one another with armies in the thousands. But the scene doesn’t start that way. At first, it’s just Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America fighting against the supervillain Thanos, whose name is a play on the Greek character Thanatos, the personification of death.
Just when it looks like our heroes are facing insurmountable odds, when they may have to fight this final battle alone, Captain America hears a familiar voice in his earpiece say, “Hey Captain, do you read me? Captain, it’s Sam, can you hear me? On your left.” Steve turns to his left and sees a golden portal open with T’Challa the Black Panther stepping through it along with his sister Shuri and General Okoye, and Sam Wilson a.k.a. the Falcon flying in behind them. They are followed by the entire Wakandan army. Then multiple portals open with all the Avengers we have witnessed in previous stories and then some. All from different backgrounds, cultures, even planets. All with different abilities and gifts, all had been treated or thought of as freaks, weirdos, and outcasts.
Once they are all in position, Captain America joins them front and center and says in a fierce command, “Avengers! Assemble!” And with that the battle to save not only the earth but the universe commences.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is trying to assemble a church, a community of outcasts: Jews and Greeks who confess Jesus as Lord and not the Roman emperor, enslaved and free people, women and men, probably a few queer, transgender, and non-binary folx among them because they have always existed. All with different abilities and gifts, from different backgrounds and cultures. But they are fighting amongst themselves, arguing over who is more important, who has superior knowledge and authority, and rejecting those they think are inferior.
Because of this infighting they have also lost their way from what God has called them to be: a community that serves God and loves and cares for one another. In order for a church to be able to serve God, it first needs to take care of itself by loving and caring for one another. To illustrate this, Paul uses the human body as a metaphor for the Body of Christ. There is no one part of the body to whom we can say, “I have no need of you.”
And yet in our body politic that is precisely what is happening. By declaring that there are only two genders, male and female, our government is saying that our society has no need of intersex, transgender, genderqueer, and non-binary people. And also no need for science apparently. By ending programs that allow people to enter this country legally, initiating mass deportations, and restricting birthright citizenship, our government is saying that our nation has no need of immigrants and their labor, their tax revenue, or their personhood. By ending diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices, our government is saying that it has no need of people with diverse experience and education, thus making it legal to discriminate on the basis of skin color, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and background. It also creates a false version of unity.
Jesus was a DEI hirer: he called fishermen, day workers like carpenters, a tax collector who worked for the Romans, and a zealot as his disciples.
Philip the Evangelist was a DEI hirer when he baptized an Ethiopian eunuch.
Paul was a DEI hirer: Jews and Greeks, enslaved and free people, women and men.
God is a DEI hirer, I mean, look around you.
Whether with our actions or inaction, whenever we say to another human being or groups of people “I have no need of you”, we dehumanize not only that person, that group but also ourselves. And when we dehumanize ourselves, we make ourselves capable of every evil we denounce.
The purpose of baptism is not only to communicate to us our belovedness but also asks a promise from us to reject evil’s power and lies and all its empty promises. Baptism is more than an individual act; it is an act of community, an action of a body that signifies a unity that embraces diversity. And though baptism has no place in our body politic, the unity of the body does. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde stated in her message that unity requires honesty, humility, the dignity of every human being, and mercy. Whether we are speaking of a human body or a body of people, neither is a healthy body if it is not honest with itself, if it is not humble, if it disrespects any part of itself, if it is not merciful and compassionate with itself and others.
These United States, this body politic we live in is not a healthy body. We continually fight amongst ourselves, declaring right and left “I have no need of you”, sometimes violently. We have lost the ability to be honest about ourselves, if we ever possessed that quality, especially the honesty required to acknowledge our wrongdoing. Since this nation began we have not recognized the dignity and worth of every human being. We are certainly not a humble nation, accepting our place as one among many nations rather than declaring ourselves to be that shining city on a hill. Nor are we merciful and compassionate with ourselves and others. And knowing the truth about ourselves, it’s no wonder that some people in our government and beyond reacted the way they did to the bishop’s message.
The good bishop appealed not only to one person’s humanity but to the humanity of all of us. Which can be difficult to find some days when we’re living in an empire. Asking people to be merciful and compassionate can sound like a political tirade when empire profits from the suffering of others. Empire does not thrive when people are content and cared for.
But community does, which is the more excellent way that Paul wants to show these people. And not just any community but one that takes care of itself and others, puts itself on the line for others, loves itself and others. And not just any love but agape—love that is unconditional, unmerited, unlimited. Self-gift.
Imagine a community assembled in love, a society governed by love, a country known for its love.
Children would never have to worry about being hungry or about gun violence at school or in their neighborhood or homes ever again.
Trans and non-binary youth would have unfettered access to gender affirming healthcare.
Anyone who needs an abortion would be able to get one.
Disabled people would have the same access and agency in public spaces as everyone else.
Everyone would have clean drinking water, clean air, and the availability of affordable fresh food.
Everyone would have access to affordable housing, education, and healthcare.
Everyone would know that their thriving is inseparable from the thriving of everyone else. Everyone would know a sense of belonging and well-being.
Hey Church, do you read me? Church, it’s the Holy Spirit, can you hear me? On your left and on your right and everywhere in between. On your heart. Your hands. Your minds. Your strength. Your love.
Community, assemble! Amen.
Whether with our actions or inaction, whenever we say to another human being or groups of people “I have no need of you”, we dehumanize not only that person, that group but also ourselves. And when we dehumanize ourselves, we make ourselves capable of every evil we denounce.
The purpose of baptism is not only to communicate to us our belovedness but also asks a promise from us to reject evil’s power and lies and all its empty promises. Baptism is more than an individual act; it is an act of community, an action of a body that signifies a unity that embraces diversity. And though baptism has no place in our body politic, the unity of the body does. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde stated in her message that unity requires honesty, humility, the dignity of every human being, and mercy. Whether we are speaking of a human body or a body of people, neither is a healthy body if it is not honest with itself, if it is not humble, if it disrespects any part of itself, if it is not merciful and compassionate with itself and others.
These United States, this body politic we live in is not a healthy body. We continually fight amongst ourselves, declaring right and left “I have no need of you”, sometimes violently. We have lost the ability to be honest about ourselves, if we ever possessed that quality, especially the honesty required to acknowledge our wrongdoing. Since this nation began we have not recognized the dignity and worth of every human being. We are certainly not a humble nation, accepting our place as one among many nations rather than declaring ourselves to be that shining city on a hill. Nor are we merciful and compassionate with ourselves and others. And knowing the truth about ourselves, it’s no wonder that some people in our government and beyond reacted the way they did to the bishop’s message.
The good bishop appealed not only to one person’s humanity but to the humanity of all of us. Which can be difficult to find some days when we’re living in an empire. Asking people to be merciful and compassionate can sound like a political tirade when empire profits from the suffering of others. Empire does not thrive when people are content and cared for.
But community does, which is the more excellent way that Paul wants to show these people. And not just any community but one that takes care of itself and others, puts itself on the line for others, loves itself and others. And not just any love but agape—love that is unconditional, unmerited, unlimited. Self-gift.
Imagine a community assembled in love, a society governed by love, a country known for its love.
Children would never have to worry about being hungry or about gun violence at school or in their neighborhood or homes ever again.
Trans and non-binary youth would have unfettered access to gender affirming healthcare.
Anyone who needs an abortion would be able to get one.
Disabled people would have the same access and agency in public spaces as everyone else.
Everyone would have clean drinking water, clean air, and the availability of affordable fresh food.
Everyone would have access to affordable housing, education, and healthcare.
Everyone would know that their thriving is inseparable from the thriving of everyone else. Everyone would know a sense of belonging and well-being.
Hey Church, do you read me? Church, it’s the Holy Spirit, can you hear me? On your left and on your right and everywhere in between. On your heart. Your hands. Your minds. Your strength. Your love.
Community, assemble! Amen.
Benediction
Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast to that which is good
and render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted;
support the weak; help the afflicted.
Honor all people.
Love and serve God,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The grace of our Savior Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment