Christ’s Body, the Church

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Today’s scripture passage from the Apostle Paul describes the congregation he founded in Corinth as a body, particularly the Body of Christ. The bulk of this passage is devoted to Paul’s development of a body metaphor to illustrate the proper relationships among members of the Corinthian congregation. Paul had some real frustrations with this church. First, in chapter 11 of the letter (Verse 18), Paul mentions that they had some unfortunate divisions. Some claimed spiritual superiority based upon which leader they followed. Members of the church were suing one another and sleeping around. Paul mentions his frustration with how believers gathered in people’s homes to take communion and remember Jesus. An additional division was economical, and that division showed up around the holy meal. Both wealthy patrons of the church and working-class poor were part of the congregation. Unfortunately, the well-off crowd gathered first, around dinner time, and started to have communion, eating all the bread and overindulging in the wine. By the time house servants and other working poor got off work and arrived later at the house church, there was nothing left, and those who were there were inebriated and having a party. Paul wrote in verse 34 of chapter 11, “If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation. About the rest, I will give instructions when I come to visit.”  And some of you wondered why we no longer have a ring of wine in communion trays. Now you know😊

So, Paul was desperately trying to teach and unite the church, asking them to think of themselves as members of one Body. From verse 14 on, Paul developed a detailed metaphor of a human body to explain the relationship among members of the Body of Christ. Despite the metaphorical language he used, Paul’s meaning was clear: all members of the Corinthian congregation were equally necessary to flourish the Body fully. Highlighting certain members over others, treating others with contempt, or excluding members of the Body from communion were unacceptable behaviors. Paul wanted the Body to work together, to see itself as connected and united so that it might carry out its mission as a church and spread the Good News.

The meaning of this metaphor for the Body of the church today is clear- Support one another. Work together to spread Christ’s love and justice to the world around us. Remember that no one part of the Body is more important than another. The Body is to be united by the Spirit and teachings of Christ, to be in good shape to demonstrate Christ’s intention for a world more on earth as it is in heaven. Those things can occur if the Body is together and in decent shape.

Speaking of bodies, in 2019, I decided it was time to lose some weight and get myself in decent shape. I ran 3-4 times a week, cut back on food and drink, and by the fall of that year, was down to a weight I hadn’t seen since I was in college. I felt I could keep myself in this state, and then in March of 2020, the pandemic hit. I struggled with the weight of it all: Covid, restrictions on meeting together, worrying about people getting sick, and trying to figure out how to be a church when we could not meet in person. My weight increased, my running stopped, and my body got out of shape. Three years later on the cusp of turning 61, I can say my body isn’t what it used to be. I have begrudgingly asked that one of my birthday gifts be a membership to the YMCA. It’s time to drag this 60+-year-old Body back into the gym and get in decent shape. By the way, telling everyone in the church on a Sunday morning that information and it being beamed out live to the entire universe pretty much holds me to that pledge. Darn it.

What about this Body? We know it was established in approximately 1877, and there was a sanctuary standing by 1878. So, what is the state of Christ’s 146-year-old Body here? Are we in shape, or do we need to get to a spiritual gym?

• Financially, we are pretty close to presenting a balanced budget for 2023 and have been blessed with a carryover from generous giving over and above pledges from 2022. Thank you for this!

• We gave our excellent staff a 4% cost of living increase. We continued covering all of our past mission funding to organizations like Rogue Valley Habitat, Covenant Network, and our partnership in mission with the Presbytery of the Cascades. We also were able to fund our Safe Parking program for the unhoused, thanks to your generous support.

• We have funds set aside to help cover significant expenses to our facility and enough to take care of utilities and the like.

• So, financially, things are looking pretty good for this year, which you’ll hear even more about from our treasurer, Jill Turner, at the annual meeting.

• Thanks to your support last year, we could take care of the church grounds on several fronts. We spruced up Calvin Hall inside, removed, trimmed, and saved several trees on the property- Many thanks to Sam Alvord, his two amigos, Brian and Howdy, and our B and G committee for help getting these things accomplished.

• Although we lost six members and one friend this last year, who went to their heavenly homes, we gained twelve new members, and our membership numbers increased to 105. In addition, attendance has been up over the last few months at both services.
• Two events happened in this church community that haven’t happened for a very long time. We had a wedding in the Sanctuary for our seminary intern Willa and her fiancé’ Ryan and an infant baptism with baby Jack and his parents, David and Rev. Laura Nile Tuell!

• “At the Well” events got off the ground. Neighbors and community members came in large numbers to our first-ever in-person Easter Fair, our first Annual Oktoberfest, and our first-ever Cookies and Carols event. The community also attended the New Year’s Eve concert, which we were able to have for the first time since 2019. I think our surrounding community knows we like to have fun!

• We continue to proclaim our body here as an ally of the LGTBQ community and welcome all to join us in worship and service.

• All of these things we have done have helped us practice the gift of hospitality. Theologian Diana Butler-Bass says, “Hospitality is the practice that keeps the church from becoming a club, a members-only society.”

• This congregation also reached out in faith, hospitality, and love and brought the Zhivotovsky family from Mariupol, Ukraine, to Ashland. They have become a part of Christ’s Body here and are a statement that this church seeks peace and pursues it, as it says in Psalm 34:14.

• We continue to have our Safe Parking program and thank God that our volunteers helped 22 people have a safe place to sleep at night while trying to rebuild their lives. Thanks to this program, people have been able to park without worry about receiving a ticket from the police, have been able to find work, and a steady income, and in many cases, once they have enough for the first and last month’s rent, a place to call home.

• The Little Free Pantry continues to be a helpful ministry, giving food to those who are food insecure and opening a window to our neighbors who both stock the pantry and leave prayers in our community prayer box. Thanks to Sam for fixing the doors on the pantry and providing solar lights at night.

• Thanks to some very dedicated volunteers, our AV staff was able to broadcast our service live every Sunday and provide a live broadcast for grieving families unable to attend memorial services.

• Through your generous support, our deacons could perform their compassion ministry. They helped families with fantastic receptions after memorial services and assisted the impoverished with food cards and bus tokens. They provided funds to keep people in their homes through rental and utility donations. They gave t-shirts to elementary school students at Phoenix-Talent elementary schools who couldn’t afford the shirt cost. They helped 25 families from Walker school enjoy Thanksgiving by giving hams and turkeys. They helped another 25 families from Bellview school receive food and gifts for Christmas.

• The Body isn’t just focusing on ministry and mission. It is also considering how to utilize the gifts of this property for God’s glory in the future and to see if we can find ways to address the housing crisis in Ashland and support the community around us even more. In the coming year, we hope to meet with other church leaders in our Presbytery who have completed such projects and gain their collective wisdom. We’ll see what the future holds, how God leads this Body, and how best to use this property for God’s glory.

• Our Vision and Growth Committee continues to field new ideas on how to be a church from members and friends of the Body.

• Our Mission and Social Justice Committee may, in the future, host a
  “Guns into Garden Tools event here in Ashland to address the gun and violence epidemic in our nation.

• Our Reckoning with Racism small group meets monthly with many other churches in Oregon, trying to learn and understand our responsibility and positions of white privilege.

• We continue to study in the Word on Sundays, with our regular Bible studies online, in the chapel, and through our Presbyterian Women’s groups.

So, overall, not bad for a 146-year-old body! I’d say there’s a lot of life here as we approach 147 in August!

German Theologian Dieterich Bonhoeffer wrote the following about Christ’s Body, the church. “The church is the church only when it exists for others…not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell people of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” God be with this Body of believers here in the years ahead. May we stay in spiritual shape, led by Christ’s teachings and love, serving God through serving others. Alleluia. Amen.