At Keene UCC, we heard Dr Gordon Ellis speak
Into 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a he did peek
"Many members, one body" was the title of his sermon
Talking about Asperger's Syndrome is how he begun
We all suffer from a similar affliction, he did say
Focusing on our interests, not in a life-enhancing way
In Corinth, Paul saw this happening quite fast
The church as being destroyed; he was aghast
Different factions and "leaders" were the cause
Even though all should follow Jesus and God's laws
In 1 Corinthians 12, answers were provided by Paul
Using the "one body" metaphor due to the diversity of all
Without diversity, the body would not really work
Parts have to work together or the body goes berserk
This is consistent with what Jesus did fervently pray
That the disciples would be one body, John 17 did say
We must not get fragmented due to our factions
In fact, diversity should be integral in our interactions
For diversity allows us to live out the church's purpose
To be a living example of God's love without making a fuss
Different are all of our individual talents and gifts
But without God's love, this will only lead to rifts
Paul said "I will show you the most excellent way" in verse 31
The focus on love is of course how chapter thirteen is begun
Again, our gifts are nothing without God's love
Per Matthew 22, we are to love our God above
And if in harmony and love we can work together
As the body of Christ, all trials we can weather
No comments:
Post a Comment