Several years ago, another United Church of Christ pastor[1] preached a sermon in which, from the pulpit, he asked his congregation, “Is there someone in this church you can’t stand?  Is there someone here who has betrayed you, or disappointed you, or who offends you, or angers you, or grates on you?  Is there someone here you don’t want to have anything more to do with?”

 

After the service, a relatively new member approached the pastor and said, “Gee, there’s no one here in this church like that for me.”  But a few months later, this same member went back to the pastor and said, “Remember that sermon that I told you I couldn’t relate to?  Well, I think I get it now.”

 

Living in community is hard.  Twentieth century theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that “True Christian community is found in the place where the person you like least to be with always is.”  Others have added, “And when that person dies or moves away, a worse one always appears to take the empty place.”[2] 

 

St. Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order, wrote extensively about the blessings of community and gave instructions on how to live in community.  And yet, even he lamented that, “Community is my penance.”

 

Christianity is, first and last, a communal religion; you can’t be a Christian by yourself.  And when we encounter, in this Christian community, people we would not normally choose to associate with, we then have a chance to become more than just another pleasant gathering of congenial people; it is then that God can do something in us.  It is then we have a chance to be a church.

 

Jesus himself said that wherever two or more are gathered in his name, there he will be, in their midst – perhaps he makes that promise because it is often true that when two or more are gathered, there will eventually be disagreement.

 

The people in the church at Corinth knew this; they had a problem living in community.  The congregation mirrored the diversity of the city itself, and disputes broke out causing deep divisions in the church.  Rival groups jockeyed for control, and there were disputes about Christian conduct, worship practices, and the marginalizing of the congregation’s disadvantaged members.  In short, the Corinthians couldn’t stand each other.

 

In his letter, Paul was summoning this factious and fractured congregation to demonstrate the unity that is essential in belonging to Christ, and in this morning’s Scripture lesson, he uses the imagery of a body to make his point.  Roman and Greek orators had used the same image to speak about the State, so the Corinthians were comfortable with this metaphor.

 

By comparing members of Christ’s church to parts of a human body, Paul neatly explains two complementary truths that the Corinthians have failed to comprehend.  Any part of a body, Paul says – such as an eye or a foot – makes a valuable contribution to the whole body, and all parts must cooperate to form a single, unified, functioning body.  Paul looks at the conflict in Corinth and says, “Don’t you people understand that you are one body?  Each of you is a part.  Each of you is important.”

 

Paul was writing to the Corinthians to help them learn how, even within their diversity, they could have unity and community -- how they could be and become a church.  And because each of us has a body, we can understand what he is talking about, too.

 

To stand here and preach to you this morning, I need my voice, my mouth, and my brain – I hope that’s obvious, especially the brain part.  But did you know that I also need my big toes?  If I didn’t have a big toe on each foot, it would be hard for me to climb up to this pulpit and stand here, because my big toes allow me to balance, lean and shift.  In short, my big toes are an essential part of my ministry!  And even with my big toes, I wouldn’t even try to walk if I had a problem with my inner ear; my legs and feet might work, but my sense of balance would be all off.

 

Too often we think of the church not as a congregation, but as an aggregation of individuals.  Paul shows us that, although each one of us is unique, as a Church, we are all one in Christ.  But sometimes we don’t act like it, whether it be this particular church or the Church universal.

 

This week has been designated by the World Council of Churches as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  Every year at this time, churches around the world join in prayer and reflection about our unity in Christ and the need to heal the divisions among Christians and their churches.  And many divisive issues claim the attention of the Church universal these days, including the interpretation of scripture, doctrinal integrity, the role of women, the nature of human sexuality, and styles of worship, just to name a few.

 

And we don’t all agree here in this body of Christ in Stoughton.  Following this worship service, we will be holding a congregational meeting, the foundation of our faith tradition’s governance.  It’s kind of like a family meeting, and today we will be focusing on our budget and how we plan to spend our financial resources this year.  And, just like in families, there will probably be differences of opinion.  But disagreement forces us to be intentional about engaging with each other, and it can lead to greater understanding, creativity, and tolerance.

 

Jesus knew this.  In creating the little community of friends and followers that surrounded and supported him, he seems to have deliberately brought together people with sharply different temperaments, experiences, and points of view.  Under ordinary circumstances, Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot wouldn’t have been caught dead together, but there they were – side by side – as disciples of Jesus.  Also there was the intellectually curious Thomas, along with Martha, the organizer and doer, and her reflective and studious sister Mary.

 

For almost 2000 years, Jesus has attracted people who are as diverse as can be.  But even in our diversity, God is calling us to cooperate with one another, to work together toward a common vision, that we may be and become the church that God is calling us to be. 

 

We are not just 125 individuals who gather in the same place at the same hour on Sunday morning.  We are a covenantal community.  Each of us is here because God has invited us to enter into a sacred relationship with each other, and we have said “yes” to God’s invitation to listen and to pray for one another, to suffer and rejoice with one another, and to love one another with the love of Christ.  That’s called being the church.

 

But church is often the place where emotional issues can be close to the surface.  Many of us have experienced weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other important life passages here.  And our particular emotion-drenched and memory-laden experiences can often bring submerged feelings to the surface, resulting in a display of feelings -- sometimes positive, sometimes negative – that we might not show in other settings.  That is certainly understandable.  But some negative behaviors can disrupt our ability to work together toward a common vision.  And in this covenantal community, we need to hold each other accountable for our actions, because even one person who refuses to work cooperatively within this body of Christ toward this church’s common goals can throw us out of whack. 

 

In his book Life Together, Bonhoeffer identifies a number of ways we can live peaceably in covenantal community.[3]  The first is by holding one’s tongue – by not giving voice to our negative thoughts and criticisms.  In the Benedictine community, no brother was to talk about another in secret, because such talk could serve to tear down rather than build up the community.  Can you imagine trying to put this rule into practice in a modern day community?  But the reasons behind it are still valid, and we still need to be careful about what we say and how we say it.

 

Bonhoeffer also emphasizes the importance of listening attentively, which he describes as a wonderful blessing we can give one another.  When we listen attentively, we become the ears of God for the other, and it prepares us to speak the necessary word of God to the other person.

 

And finally, Bonhoeffer warns of the harm we do to others when we try to impose on them our image of who they should be.  Bonhoeffer exhorts us instead to “allow God to create God’s own image in others.”

 

Let’s face it – it’s not easy living in covenant with one another and with God.  But being part of this body of Christ means we continue to care for one another, even if we disagree.  It doesn’t mean we all need to be in lock-step with one another – what a boring, static church that would be!  But it does mean we need to respect and value each other.  We need to listen to each other – carefully, attentively, and compassionately.  We need to cooperate with one other, working together so we can accomplish our common goals and God’s vision for this faith community.

 

The church, like a family, is a place where we can learn to live with people we did not choose, and it is a place where God can do something with us and in us.  And when we love the ones we are stuck with, it is a powerful reminder of the love of the God who is stuck – and sticks – with us all.  And that’s what it’s all about!  Amen.