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We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the ear says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like he wanted.
1 Corinthians 12.13-18 (CEB) Jew or Greek, slave or free. Paul loves his dichotomy. In a recent reading of this passage, the comparatively softer presentation led me to dust off some seminary Koine Greek volumes. And while I realize I may be putting too much emphasis on a subtle shift between two different, 2,000-year-old letters to two different communities, I promise it will at least be short. In Galatians 3.28, Paul writes: There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. There he uses the absolute negative: no! The word is οὐ in Koine Greek; it’s the word used when there can be no doubt. The one you pull out when someone expects a “yes” and you need to be absolutely sure they hear your “no”. Oὐ, I tell you, οὐ! In the first letter to Corinth, however, the treatment of “Jew or Greek, slave or free” is lighter. Whether Jew or Greek, slave or free… and the οὐ, the definitive “no”, is reserved for making it abundantly clear: Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. I don’t think these are in opposition; like many realities both can be true even as they seem a tad contradictory at first glance. And I love holding them up to one another, celebrating them both. Sometimes I need the reminder Paul offered to Galatia, that there is no identity that supersedes God’s love for us, or the capacity of her grace to make us one. And sometimes I need the reminder Corinth received, that the differences between us – our varying gifts, personalities, passions – are utilized by God that we might be the Body of Christ in the world today. Our differences not only don’t have the power to keep us from one another or from God, and they are the very tools God uses to bring us together to form something new. That’s not just beautiful, it’s miraculous. I hope you’ll join me in praying for the Body of Christ that is San Marco Church, and where you are being called as a part of it. A reminder that one way you might consider serving is through SMC’s worship team. If you’d like to learn more we will gather after worship this Sunday (September 10) for an introduction and conversation about what that might look like. As a light lunch will be provided, please let us know by 10a tomorrow (Saturday, September 9) if you would like to join us and learn more. Grace and Peace, Rev. Ben Richards
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