Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Today we dive into Romans chapter 12. Chapters 1-8 Paul lays out a detailed argument about what our salvation in Christ is all about and what it means to those who believe. Chapters 9-11 lay out the “True Israel” namely that it is not a matter of genealogy but a matter of God’s choosing us. Now both Jew and Gentile have a place in God’s kingdom through Christ. Chapter 12-15 now lays out what that new life in Christ looks like. Paul, in these chapters, tells the Roman believers and us, what our life in Christ is to be like.

The first verses of Chapter 12 show us an image of the Christian Church being the Body of Christ. “UR the Church” may be a catchy title (or bumper sticker that I have seen before) but it has a lot of truth in it. The Church is the people; it is you and I. Often in our conversation about the church it is in reference to a place. “I go to Mount Olive Lutheran Church, “ you might say or “I am going to church today.” These phrases refer us to a place but the Church is more correctly the people. UR the church. And this is not a theological concept to be grasped by our reason, but it is a living, breathing reality.

Paul draws our attention first to how we are the church – by God’s mercies. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”[1] It is only through the mercy of God the Father who sent His only Son to be our Messiah that we can say we are a part of the Body of Christ. We are “living sacrifices” and offer our “spiritual worship” only because of Christ living in us. Think of it this way, if Christ was our sacrifice and Christ lives in us then we are living sacrifices because of Christ. So all of the rest of Paul’s guidance on how we are to live is based on this idea – all we do and say, all that we are is based on the mercies of God. We have been transformed by God’s mercies to be a new creation and to make up the body of Christ.

And that is what we are – the Body of Christ. This is the image Paul puts forth as an image of the church – a body. From this analogy we can see that the church is to be unified, diverse and interdependent.

Unified: We are united in Christ. This is important. It is not our strength and ability that unites us but it is Christ. These days unity and peace seem to be on the minds of the entire world, especially after September 11th. Tolerance, respect and “getting along” are things the world is trying hard to accomplish (or at least in words if not in actions). Now these are noble things to pursue, but we will never achieve them on our own ability. We are sinful and sin will always get in the way of true unity. Just look at all the arguing going on about how to deal with terrorist and terrorism. Unity, as Paul is implying here, true unity, comes only in Christ. If you are in Christ and if I am in Christ then we are united in Christ.

The proposed mission statement for Mount Olive is “We are called by God to reach out, care for and build people toward maturity in Christ.” This statement will help unify our activities as a church. And you can see that at the heart of this statement is Christ.

Diverse: We are also a diverse group of people. “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”[2] In the church there are two errors that come up when we talk about working together. The first error is to focus on sameness. We create a stereotype of how a Christian is to look and then we try to model that to people. But we were not all created to be the same. We are a diverse group of people. The second error is to focus on our differences. When we focus on differences we tend to divide people. You do things your way and I will do them my way because we are different. That created division and not unity. Instead we should focus on our uniqueness in Christ. Each one of us is unique creation of God. Our God is a creative God and didn’t make us to be the same, just united in Christ. Each of us has unique ways to build up the body of Christ. We should discover our uniqueness and allow God to use us to further His Kingdom. It is ok to be unique God made you that way.

Interdependent: We are unique, we are united and we are interdependent with each other. As an infant we are dependant on our parents for everything. As we grow we learn to become more independent. But that is not the end of the process of maturity. If we keep growing independent then we will eventually be alone, not needing anyone else. The next stage, and probably the most difficult, is interdependence. In this stage we learn that we are unique individuals but can only truly function best as we depend on others or work together in community. That is the best definition of the church.

A few years ago I had the privilege to go with a team of youth and adults on a mission trip to Saltillo, Mexico. We were all excited about going to another country and being able to help them. We truly felt that we have been so blessed in America that we should be able to offer a lot to the Christians in Mexico. We were “rich” and they were, well, “poor” in our eyes.

When we arrived the humbling process began quickly. Most of us didn’t know Spanish so there was definitely a language barrier. We also were quick to learn that while these people didn’t have the luxuries we have, they were not poor at all. The first day we were taken to a site where the construction of a new church was happening and we were going to lend our hand in the process. Ezekiel, the manager of the project, explained to us, through an interpreter, how we were to use the tools and how we were to help. First there was the pickaxe that was to be used to chip away at the rock so that a hole could be made for the foundation. Then we were to put together rebar to strengthen the foundation. And then we were to mix cement by hand for the foundation.

Now if any of you have used a pickaxe before then you know that there is a right way and many wrong ways to use the axe. Well the first day we learned all the wrong ways to use the axe and eventually either bent many or broke a few (and there is no Home Depot down the street to go bye a new one). By the end of the day Ezekiel was frustrated with our progress. But we didn’t give up. Each day we listened to his instructions, learned from other local people who helped us and we got better at what we had to do. By the end of the week we were feeling better about what we had accomplished but still felt that it was very little. The final night, before we left the work site, we had an informal worship where Ezekiel got up and told us what we had accomplished. To do this he listed off the pounds of cement, and feet of rebar we had used to get some of the foundation laid. Most of us had tears in our eyes both from exhaustion but also from seeing how much we had done and how much the people of this congregation appreciated our work. During the week we learned that barriers can be overcome through Christ. We worked, laughed, talked (even if just a few words) and worshiped together with our Mexican brothers and sisters in Christ.

We learned that we are all equal in the Kingdom. We learned that we are a diverse group of people united in Christ. And we learned that we are interdependent with each other. The people of the congregation in Mexico could have built the church themselves, but it would take a long time. We had the energy and manpower to help provide assistance, but we did not have the knowledge to build a church. Both of us together, in spite of our “differences” could accomplish more. While we worked on a physical building we were also planting seeds with the local people that Christ’s church would be in their midst.

The church is the people. U R the church. We are united in Christ. We are a unique diversity of God’s creating. And we are interdependent as the body of Christ. “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”[3] U R the church! Amen.

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[1]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (electronic ed.) (Ro 12:1). Wheaton: Good News Publishers.

[2]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (electronic ed.) (Ro 12:4-5). Wheaton: Good News Publishers.

[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ro 12:5). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.