Pastor Mike’s Blog

It’s been a little busy here the past couple of weeks and I’ve not been able to get after this blog.  Here goes…

The other day, a friend gave me this imagery:  The world is like a fast-moving river, one that moves faster with each passing minute.  It is swirling and has many rapids.  And, occasionally, there are stretches of calm water.  But the river is muddy and the water is brown.  It is polluted and smelly.  And we are in it.  We think our goal should be to swim to the shore and get cleaned up; however, we can’t, at least not in this life.  In fact, we contribute to the stench of the river.

Our goal is to link up with others like us, those in the body of Christ.  Together we can strive together, supporting each other in the torrent; and, we can relax together, as much as possible, during the calm times.  Always we can take comfort from each other and pray together.

We are not alone in the river.  We sometimes view Jesus as above it all; however, he came here to join with us in the river.  We link ares together with him; it is he who will get us through.

Others are in the river, too: the unbelievers.  As we float along we reach out to them, beckoning them into our community linked together and with Jesus.  “Come with us,” we shout.  “It is so much easier together.  Jesus gives us strength and hope. We can help each other.”

Some join us; many don’t.

Be strong and courageous in the river, it can be frightening.  Remember, one day we will be washed clean and be dressed in white before the King.  Continue to hold on to Jesus and to each other.  Jesus and we are all we have.  Reach out for those going it alone; remember how frightening it was for you before you found Jesus and joined the company of others.

Most of us have never been under hostile fire.  But, we can read about those who have been in war together.  It usually creates a life-long bond.  Similarly, with the “battle” in the workplace, co-workers can bond through the tough times of layoffs and bankruptcies.  Common experience suggests strongly that deep binding and interdependence only really comes from being together in the struggle.

So it is with the body of Christ.  When I struggle in suffering and persecution, I am brought closer to God.  But, still I can’t and am not designed to go it alone without other people.  It is only in community with other believers that I can persevere through the tough times.  It is only in community that I participate in the suffering and persecution of fellow believers.  It is only in community that we can experience being in “battle” together.

This is what forms the body of Christ: adversity.  We must pray for courage and strength in adversity and not to avoid it.  Adversity strengthens and toughens the body, and brings us closer to each other and to God.

Those writing from a fresh perspective on Paul claim that Paul’s thinking is influenced by his understanding of the communal aspect of community.  Theologian Mark Biddle, arguing from a biblical understanding of sin, also argues for community.  The connotation of sin, according to Biddle’s book, Missing the Mark, is bigger than modern minds grasp.  It includes 1) the act, 2) the guilt of the offender, and 3) the consequences of the act.  He goes on to say that sin is organic: my sin ripples out into the world and effects you; your sin ripples out and effects me.  The sin of those who have gone before us continues in the world and we are born into it, and we add to it.

Sin builds up (Gen 15:16).  My sin, then, effects the body of Christ.  While there is an aspect of my sin that is between me and God, the consequences of my sin spread much further.  God can and does forgive my sins, but usually the consequences remain, and it effects the entire body of Christ and the world.

Conversely, good deeds–keeping Jesus’ commands to love God and love neighbor–ripple into the world.  The smallest good deed I do can effect you and the smallest good deed you do can effect me.  And, the good deeds can mitigate the spread of sin.  In some cases, my actions can absorb the effects of sin.  “You have heard it said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.  But I say to you…turn the other cheek” (Mt 5:38).  Jesus tells me to absorb the wrong, to bear the cost of antoher’s wrongdoing…as he did on the cross for us.

Sin is a corporate affair.  Keeping God’s commands is a corporate affair.  We are a community within the body of Christ and, as humans, we are a community within the larger created order.  No man is an island…

We have been talking about the body of Christ.  By the use of this metaphor, Paul intends that Christianity be practiced in the context of communal relationships.  It is not just that Paul comes out of a Near East culture where community is a high value, it is that we are created in the image of a Triune God; community–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–has existed for eternity.

Ephesians 4:11-13 talks of God creating some of us as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.  Why?  Paul makes it clear: 1) To equip the saints, 2) so that the saints can serve (minister), for 3) the building up of the body of Christ.

Commentators, speaking of the gifts in Romans 12:6-8, note the implication that the gifts are for building up of the body of Christ.  Again, in 1Corinthians 12:27-30, we see the context of gifts is the body of Christ.

What can we make of this.  From within our culture of hyper-individualism, we are tempted to view a spiritual gift from God as “my gift” for “my ministry.”  Not so.  Paul clearly states that the gifts are for building up the body and should be used as such.  These gifts are not so that we can run off and independently engage in ministry; we are part of a larger organism: the body of Christ.

Do you know your spiritual gifting?  If not, join us on Stewardship Super Sunday, Apr 20.  sign up for the class on spiritual gifts.

Our culture shapes me.  It shapes what I read and how I see the world and how I express myself.  Now, that’s not to say that I cannot know Truth.  However, not to admit the shaping influence of one’s culture is to be, at best, disingenuous.

Paul’s culture shaped him.  Paul is experiencing Christianity from within the context of the Jewish/Greek world of the 1st century.  As we read him now, our view is shaped both by our current, 21st century culture and the Protestant tradition that has been handed down to us in the 500 years since Luther’s Reformation.

To understand Paul’s thinking on the Body of Christ, one has to have some understanding of the culture in which Paul was writing and the Jewish tradition and understanding of the Old Testament from which he drew.  For example, the prevailing Jewish view of righteousness in Paul’s time was from within the corporate context.  Israel, the nation, was punished for turning from God.  The looked-for Messiah was expected to come and restore the nation of Israel to prominence.  Jews in Paul’s time had little concept of individual justification in the sense that has become overwhelmingly popular since Luther.  Rather, righteousness of an individual was seen in the larger context of the righteousness of the nation of Israel as a whole.

It does seem that a plain reading of Paul talks about the individual nature of justification; however, one cannot overlook his communal context.  I’ve seen this in action in present-day Africa where there is little talk about one’s individual salvation and great concern for the larger group of believers.

I thought it might be fun to think together of Paul’s Body of Christ in some sort of communal context beyond our usual Western view of the individual.

Oh, if you want to read up on the debate on the 30 year old scholarly effort to understand Paul from within his cultural context, visit the Paul Page at www.thepaulpage.com.

We are talking about Paul’s use of the metaphor of the Body of Christ.  It seems a plain reading of Paul would lead us to believe he is talking about the Body as a gathering of believers, like a student body, and as some sort of organic body with each of us as members of that body (1Cor 6:15, literally “body parts” of Christ).  Clearly Paul is mixing the use of his metaphor.

Before we delve into this mix, for now let me point out something about the scriptural use of metaphors.  Jesus used many metaphors for the kingdom of God, such as, it is like a treasure found in the ground, a pearl of great price, a man who casts seed upon the soil, or a mustard seed.  The reason that so many metaphors are employed is because one cannot sustain the weight of the comparison.  In this kingdom example, we can only say, “Yes, the kingdom is like all of these things.”  And, undoubtedly more!

Similarly with Paul.  The Body of Christ is a gathering of believers and an organic body.  We will look more at this next time.

In the last post, I listed several definitions for “body.”  After all, it is Paul’s favorite metaphor for the believers.  Of all of them, by common sense we can eliminate all but two, I think.

One possible use is to denote a gathering of people, like a “student body.”

A second possible use is as Christ’s body.  This is quite different from its user as a gathering of believers.  We will start looking at both of these possibilities and see what we can make of them, and see what the consequences are to us of each usage.

Mike

Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (Merriam-Webster Online)

Paul often uses the metaphor of “body” to denote Christ followers.  What does he mean?  “Body” can mean 1) the main part of something, like the body of a car; 2) our physical body, living or dead; 3) a mass of stuff, like a body of water; 4) a work of writing, like the body of a novel; 5) a group of people; and 6) having to do with flavor, like the body of a wine.

How did Paul intend this metaphor?  Since it is one of his favorites, we should probably know what he meant.  For example, if he meant it comparing the believers to the dead body of Christ, that is quite different from the living body of Christ.

Over the next few weeks, we will try to unpack his meaning and look at the consequence for us.

 Praxis: the practical application of a theory.

Over time I’m becoming increasingly interested in the praxis of theology.  Now, I like theology for its own sake.  I’m the type that just likes to learn and know things.  But, I’m also an engineer by nature and by training.  We engineers like to take things apart, sometimes just to sate our own curiosity.  And, sometimes, we like to take some abstract theory and try to put it to use.

I’ve often thought that I’d like to continue my graduate education in the field of theology, which I may yet do.  However, what I’d really like to do is study Theology Engineering.  Sadly, there is no such field of study, at least by that name.

Maybe we could do it together here.  There’s something that has caught my attention and I’d like to ponder it a bit with you…so, this is the road we will head down next: we’ll put on our theology engineering hats to look at the Body of Christ.

I’ll do the writing here, but email me if you want to dialog about it (I hope you do!).  You may find that we are meandering quite a bit…that’s the nature of engineering as we seek to try and try again to fit theory into praxis.

May the Lord be with you!

 Part 4 of 4

Whew…it has been a busy time.  Time to finish the line of thought with part 4. 

Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”  (1Cor 12:12)

Corinth was famous for its bronze mirror. One can image the imperfect image reflected in bronze.  Paul appealed to this to mean that just as we cannot see our own reflection perfectly in this age, we cannot know perfectly the things of God now.

As Christians, we too often believe we have THE answer.  We do have the truth that following Jesus in the only way to the Father, but we must hold so many other things a bit loosely and humbly in our hand.  God tells us to be humble:

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” (Rom 12:3)

When we talk with each other and with unbelievers, it is best to remember that we do not have all the answers and to follow the words of Paul:

   ”Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Col 4:5-6)

We are all a little bit blind…