1 Corinthians 12:12-26

        Heroic survival tactics seem to permeate every fabric of our society. We celebrate the strong individual who can win the prize against all odds and against all other persons. This individualism can so easily permeate Christianity that one would think it is a core conviction of the Christian faith. The strongest Christian is often viewed as the one who can do it all by him/herself.

The Dilemma: "Is Christ divided?"

At Corinth there was a misunderstanding of the relationship of the individual to the larger community.

The focus was no longer upon the One testified about by the church but upon the ones who were doing the testifying.

Paul’s startling revelation: you are the Body of Christ.

Rather than creating many "separate Jesus’ people" in the church, Paul declares that there is only one Jesus and that one Jesus is expressed in His one Church.

Individuality is discovered within the larger context of the one Body of Jesus.

Two major issues become evident when individualism becomes the dominant way of thinking: inferiority and superiority.

The way for the Body to be the Body is not for each member to be swallowed up into one Body part but simply to be the Body parts that we are and celebrate our place within the great context of the Body to which we belong.

Today’s truth: We are (all) called to be the one Body of Jesus Christ.

Today, we celebrate the message of God's kingdom: God is building a people, a community, a Body, a Church.