Dan Joseph
This reading gives us one of many ways to look at a church. Some people see church as being a large extended family, some may see it as being a cause – a flag to unite behind, others may see it as a hospital, while others might see them as businesses, but this reading today gives us a brilliant analogy, that of the church of Christ being like a body. When you consider the whole of the worldwide church as being a body, then it reminds us that our ministry is just as important and just as valid as other churches – we are just one part of something larger.
But there is another depth to it, when you apply it to the local church. In order to make it a little more tangible; I’d like you to think for a moment of the body actually doing something, something that many of you do every day; driving a car.
Two feet and legs, both doing completely opposite things, one with their foot on the gas, one with their foot on the breaks. Two hands to hold the steering wheel, but that isn’t enough, one of them dealing with wipers and lights, the other dealing with gear changes.
Our eyes are constantly looking ahead surveying the road ahead, but they are also checking the mirrors to see what’s behind us, what’s just past us by or what we see coming to overtake us.
Our ears may be listening to the Sat Nav or listening out for warning sounds, sirens and horns. Our very body posture is critical; it affects how comfortable we are and how effective we are as a driver.
In order to do something like drive a car safely, the whole body has to be working together as a complete system. What happens when one thing is neglected, if you forget to put the brake on, you will eventually crash, if you never put your foot on the accelerator, you’ll never go anywhere (unless it’s going downhill?)
So coming back to the idea of the church being like a body, imagine that body driving a car; We need people to drive us forward, but we also need people to remind us to put the brakes on occasionally. We need people to be looking ahead but also looking around like owls to survey what is around us, and what we need to take notice of. We need people to do ensure that it’s tidy and that it’s left correctly when we’ve finished using it. We need people who can listen out for the alarm bells, to recognise when someone is trying to get our attention. We need people who can listen out to the directions we’ve been given and maybe ask for more.
Fortunately for us, God has given us the people to do this. It’s us.
No one else is going to come in to do this for us, God has raised up our church to minister to the needs of people and spread the word of his salvation.
When we are reminded that there are jobs that need to be done in church, there are a number of ways we can respond
It’s very easy to sit back and focus on all the things you can’t do. I can’t drive, can’t swim, can’t ride a bike, I still haven’t worked out how to do half the things that my phone can do. There are so many things that I can’t do that many of you here would take for granted. God challenges us to reflect on the glass being half full rather than being half empty. He didn’t make us all brilliant musicians because that isn’t what we need to make our church move in the right direction. The challenge is to ask, what can I do, what am I good at?
Recognising that you’ve got a gift is only the start. Realising that we are expected to find an outlet for it is the next stage. Yes there may be other people who you think can do it better, but you are here for a reason, things will come your way that only you may be aware of. It doesn’t matter if you think your talents are not important, the truth is that God gave you them, because he expects you to be his hands in the world. God blesses us so that we can bless other people. Last week John reflected on how being here in worship can recharge our batteries and restore our spirits, but we know that sometimes it’s not always easy to get here as often as we want. So, if you drive, could you give someone a lift to church? Perhaps that might change someone’s week for the better. If someone’s given you their mobile number, perhaps sparing 10 minutes to give them a call could be just what they need.
Another response which can be just as off-centre is that of the X Factor auditions. We think we should put our name forward for things that we don’t really have the gift for – one of the greatest gifts we can have is discernment, we need to judge what we can do, which is not always what we would like to be able to do. You’ll maybe never know if you could do something unless you give it a go!
In order for our church to move on in the right direction, we all need to take some time out and ask ourselves, what do I do to make this church a better place? There are so many ways we can respond to God’s call, could it be getting here a little earlier and helping to set up? Maybe instead of just chatting to our mates after worship, we should go and talk to someone that we’ve never spoken to before?
Maybe it’s time to stop just singing in the shower and come along to one of our Come & Sing days? Maybe it’s time to conquer the nerves and see what it feels like standing up here and reading? Do you have a musical talent that you’ve yet to use with us? Can you give up twenty minutes to support an Amnesty campaign? Can you smile and make someone who’s new here today, feel welcome and at home?
It doesn’t matter how big or small you may think it is, every contribution makes a difference: Celebrating Communion and doing the washing up – both need to be done well.
As we continue this time of reflection on what God has blessed us with – we need to reflect on just what we are doing with those gifts, are we hiding them or are we prepared to take up a new position, put our foot on the accelerator and release the hand-brake?
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.