One Body, Many Members: A Sermon for Proper 16
As y’all know, I’ve been preaching through Paul’s letter to the Romans this summer. It has been a both challenging and rewarding for me in many ways. It is the most theologically dense of Paul’s letters – and it wasn’t until I discovered the gift of Episcopal priest Fleming Rutledge’s book of sermons on Romans that I gained the courage to spend an entire summer committed to preaching through Romans.
Before we jump into today’s text, I want to jump back to last week’s text for a brief moment, because I think that it has bearing on today’s. Last week, we heard Paul’s claim that, “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Let us pause for a moment to let that sink in…
“the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”
If you think about it, most everything these days is revocable – contracts, covenants, friendships, marriages, pinky promises, and professions that require licenses and certifications. Dare I say that not much of anything is immune from dissolution or revocation these days.
Yet, Paul reminds us that there is one thing that is irrevocable and indissoluble, and that is the gifts and calling of God. And even though it is in reverse order, I’d like to begin with the calling of God, which always comes first. In chapter 8 of this letter, Paul talks about God’s call to us when he writes “For those who he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son…and those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified”(Rom. 8:29-30).
What that tells us is that God’s call for us happened long before we were born. As such, it was long before we could fool ourselves into thinking that there might be something that we could do earn the call to be a child of God. In other words, Paul is reminding us that our calling to be children of God was God’s decision, not ours.
The primary way that we faithfully respond to God’s initial call to us is through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. That is our inward and outward “yes” to God’s call - through his son Jesus - to follow him. And the shocking thing about this call – the shocking and even scandalous thing about this covenant into which we enter with God – is that it is irrevocable and indissoluble. With God, there are no “take backs.” I always remind folks in our baptism class that we may change our mind about God, but God doesn’t change God’s mind about us. Isn’t that great Good News in which we can rest and rejoice? In this world of constant change - in this world of broken relationships – we can at least be grounded in our belief that God never re-negs on God’s call to us. Our covenant with God will not be broken, no matter how unfaithful we are.
With this great Good News in mind, we move to today’s lesson, which is all about how we can faithfully respond to God’s call to us after our baptisms. This section in Paul’s letter to the Romans is the “therefore” section, also known as the ethical section. In the first half of the letter, Paul’s is outlining the fundamental premises for how we are justified by God. In the second half of the letter, Paul is outlining the implications of our being justified by God in Christ. In other words, now that we are convinced of God’s love, justice, grace, mercy, and faithfulness, how can we as Christians faithfully respond? What are the implications of our baptized life in Christ?
In today’s reading, Paul is telling us that as Christians, we are, in a sense, exactly the same, yet also wildly different from one another. We are the same in that, as Paul said earlier in the letter “God shows no partiality” (Rom. 2:11). With God in Christ, there are no tiers of chosen-ness. Once we are baptized, we are all “sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.”
But Paul also points out that though we are all equal in our “standing” with God, we are vastly different in how we can respond to our blessed callings. Paul says that “we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”
The longer that I serve as a parish priest, the more convinced I am becoming that my primary task is to teach and encourage folks in their lives of worship and prayer. The more comfortable and confident we are in worship and prayer, the more we will come to know and love God intimately, and experience daily the grace, hope, and love that comes with that relationship.
And I believe my second-most important task is to facilitate a parish culture that is always seeking to identify, encourage, and nurture people in their God-given gifts and talents. The healthiest parishes are those that make room for folks to use and share their God-given gifts as a ministry with and for the Church. In ages past, the ministry of the Church was primarily carried out by the clergy. The laity were mostly mere observers of worship and recipients of the sacraments and catechesis of the Church. Thankfully, times have changed, and with the help of the theology of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Episcopalians are beginning to claim the order of the ministry of the baptized.
Here at Christ the King, Sunday worship and Christian formation are the best examples of how and where we see this: just take a look and listen around you. The flowers, the music, the altar, our Children’s Chapel program, our children’s and adult Christian formation classes, our various Sunday servers…all that is happening here this morning is being led by faithful folks who are living out their baptismal calling.
And as Paul notes, not all of us have the same gifts and talents, thanks be to God. Lord help us if it was up to me to arrange the flowers, play the guitar or organ, or sing in the choir! It wouldn’t be a pretty thing to see or hear!
Later this morning, we will be recognizing two of our parishioners who have heard and responded to God’s call to serve the Church in a unique way. Last year, John French and Buffy Miller completed inaugural classes in our Diocesan School for Ministry and Lay School. John was licensed as a Lay Christian Formation Leader & Catechist, and since John has taken this ministry on, our Sunday morning Adult Formation class has benefitted tremendously. We have a faithful group of regular participants at our 9:15 adult class, and John is already training up new leaders to take his place when he is not available. It has been such a joy to witness and participate in.
Buffy was licensed as a Worship Leader. Prior to going through the program, Buffy, by necessity, had already begun leading worship during the time during Covid when we had suspended public worship, as well as officiating Morning and Evening Prayer. Since then, she has continued to lead us in worship in many ways both when I am here and when she has filled in for me. It has been a joy to watch her blossom in her role as a worship leader.
When I experience the wonderful people of Christ the King sharing their God-giftedness with us on Sunday mornings and throughout the week - responding to the call to serve Christ in his Church in these uniquely gifted ways, it brings me back to Paul’s words to the Church in Rome:
“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”
This coming program year, the Diocesan School for Ministry and Lay School is starting up new classes like the ones John and Buffy took last year. In addition to Christian Formation and worship leadership, they have classes in the areas pastoral care, evangelism, and preaching. If you are interested, please see me after the worship service, or contact me this week.
But whether or not you feel the call to seek training and licensure in these particular areas of ministry, all of us are called to serve the Church. Before we were even born, God called us to be one of God’s very own children. Our baptisms marked and sealed this holy identity into which we have been called. The promise of God’s call for us is the promise that there is a place for all of us in God’s kingdom – on earth as it is in heaven - and in Christ’s Body the Church. It is such a blessing to look around and see so many who have faithfully and courageously responded to this call. Thank you for all that you do, and all that you are.