Epiphany 3C
Listen to the Sermon for January 27, 2013
Read the Sermon for January 27, 2013
Tag: Body of Christ
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You are Christ’s Body
Each Wednesday, we have a noon service of Holy Eucharist and Healing at Lexington's Church of the Good Shepherd. A couple stopped me after one of those services at to share something that had happened that day. Their experience illustrates how the Church manifests the Body of Christ, even in ordinary every day encounters. I asked them to put their story in writing:
For several years we have attended the Wednesday Healing Service. We usually eat at a local restaurant either before or after. A week ago, the proprietor astutely observed that we either come at 11:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m., so she asked what we did from noon until 1:00 p.m.. We told her that we attend the Healing Service at Good Shepherd. Today, as we were leaving about 11:30, she approached us with a slip of paper and asked us to pray for a 6 year old boy born with brain damage and cannot walk. We invited her to join us, but said she could not leave the restaurant – just to add him to our prayer list.
Upon arrival at the service, they requested prayers for the boy. I am confident that there will be more to this story and that our prayers will play a central role. The words of Teresa of Avila come to mind:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.The ministry of Christians extends into the nooks and crannies of the city and beyond. Grace-filled Christians are sent into the mission field at our doorstep to be a Sacrament to a world in need of Love Divine. Daily, our people recognize and respond to opportunities to be the body, the hands, the feet, and the eyes of Christ. Even the simplest gestures are multiplied and magnified by the Lover of Souls.
St. Paul expressed it this way: “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God” II (Cor. 9:10-12).
P.S. Here's a musical setting of St. Teresa's words, sung by the Washington National Cathedral Choir.
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What’s wrong with being a “volunteer?”
Some people have noticed that I prefer not to use the word "volunteer" in the church. Perhaps it seems a little picky on my part, but the words we use are important. Sometimes, we need to stop and reflect on our choice of words and consider whether there are other words that better describe the meaning we intend to convey. There are times when our vocabulary needs to change to fit our beliefs and convictions. In the church, it is useful for us to have a common vocabulary that reflects shared beliefs, shared values, and shared calling.
So, what is wrong with "volunteer?" America certainly could not get along without volunteers and I often serve as a volunteer. In fact, tonight I am going to be a volunteer sitting on a board of review for a young man who has completed the requirements to become an Eagle Scout. Some people volunteered to do that for me long ago. I recently volunteered to participate in the C.R.O.P. walk. My resume contains a long list of volunteer activities in which I have enthusiastically participated through the years. I am a big believer in being a volunteer. There is nothing wrong with being a volunteer. In fact, there is something wrong with not being a volunteer.
However, our roles in the Body of Christ have different meaning and significance. To volunteer is to choose to become involved in something because we agree with the cause and decide to participate. Our life in Christ is not based upon our choice but upon our having been chosen. Jesus said, "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another" (Jn. 15:16-17). So, whatever we do in the service of Christ, in or out of the church, is because we have been chosen, called, and appointed by Christ, not because we "volunteered." Yes, the human will is involved. But it is involved in a distinctly and qualitatively different way.
Picky? Maybe. But to be a disciple, a missionary, a minister, a member of "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people" takes each of us beyond volunteerism. Through Baptism, we have been incorporated into Christ's Body. Think with me about that. Did your eye volunteer itself into its socket? Did your heart decide to take on its purpose in your breast? Does your hand decide to carry out the tasks assigned to it? We have an organic relationship with Christ and with the other members of his Body.
It is good to be a volunteer. Our world is a better place because of volunteers. But when it comes to our role as followers of Jesus Christ, the word "volunteer" is inadequate to describe the magnitude and wonder of that vocation. "Volunteer" just doesn't go far enough to get the job done. As Christians, more is given to us and more is required of us.
Read more about our amazing vocation in the 12th Chapter of the Letter to the Romans.