1 Corinthians 12:12-21,26,27
E Pluribus Unum!
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free— and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
E Pluribus Unum. Do you recognize that phrase? E Pluribus Unum was first suggested by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere to the committee that was developing a seal for a new nation— the United States of America. While this phrase never became the “official motto” of our country (that honor was given to the phrase “In God We Trust”) the phrase E Pluribus Unum is included on the Great Seal of the United States. It is found on most American coins. It appears over the tribune in the chamber of the United States Senate. It appears on the flags and seals of both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. And it appears on the state flags of Michigan, New York, North Dakota and Wisconsin. E Pluribus Unum means “Out of Many, One.” In your personal opinion how well does this “unofficial official motto” describe our nation today? A discussion on that question is best left for a different venue.
As I was studying our sermon text for today I was struck by how clearly that “unofficial official motto” of our country is proclaimed as one of the central truths of God’s Church here on tis earth. With that emphasis in mind let’s study our text under the theme: E Pluribus Unum!
“Out of many, one.” This “unofficial official motto” was included on the Great Seal of the United States and approved by an Act of Congress in 1782. Did anything similar take place when it came to the Christian church? Not at all. Paul brings out here in our text that we who are “many” were made “one” in the Church purely by the grace, by the power and by the wisdom of the Lord our God! Look at what Paul says in the opening verses of our text, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free— and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
In a truly masterful way, God the Holy Spirit has Paul use our own human body to help us understand how E Pluribus Unum applies to the Christian Church. We all know and understand and appreciate that our body has many different individual parts. We all know and understand and appreciate that all of these different individual parts come together to form one body. We all know and understand and appreciate that each of these different individual parts was specifically designed by God to fit together perfectly and function together perfectly as one body!
Just as we did not choose the individual parts of our body to be united together and work as one, so also we do not choose the individual members of the Church to be united together and work as one. How then did we as individuals become members of the one true Church, the Body of Christ? Paul answers that question by telling us, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Through the power of God Himself we as individuals were made a part of the Body of Christ. We did not “choose” to become a part of the Body of Christ. We were not elected or selected by our peers. We became a part of the Body of Christ through the Sacrament of holy Baptism— something done to us, not by us. Through Baptism God the Holy Spirit creates the gift of saving faith in our hearts— the faith that enables us to “drink” the cool, refreshing, life-giving water of salvation that only Jesus can provide to us! (Pointing to the cross)
Once we realize that we are individual members of the Body of Christ purely by the grace and power of God, then we will rejoice in the beautiful diversity of the members of the Body. Look at how Paul brings out this diversity here in our text. He writes, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!”
While the truth that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing with these words is easy— and we might even say obvious— that truth may not be as easy or as obvious when we apply it to the Church, the Body of Christ. Through Baptism God Himself has made each and every one of us an important essential part of the Body of Christ. God Himself has given to each and every one of us at least one spiritual gift that He expects us to use in service to Him and in service to the Body of Christ. Therefore, what Paul says concerning our physical body also applies to the Church, the Body of Christ, namely, God Himself has “arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”
Accepting the amazing diversity that God Himself has designed for His Church prevents us from looking at our fellow members and saying, “Since I don’t have their gifts, I don’t have anything to contribute to the church. So, I’ll just sit here on the sidelines, watch what everyone else is doing, and maybe make suggestions as to how they should be doing it— better.” That kind of attitude would be no different than your foot saying, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body” or your ear saying, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body.”
If we were to refuse to use whatever spiritual gift God has given to us in service to Him and in service to His Church, the church will not be able to function as God designed it. Sometimes we might be tempted to look around in the church and say, “If I was more like so-and-so, then I would be able to do for the church what they are doing. Since I am not like them, there’s not much I can do.” Sometimes we might even be tempted to flip that attitude around 180 degrees and say, “If so-and-so was more like me, imagine what the Church would be able to do!” Appreciating the diversity of the people in the Church, appreciating the diversity of the gifts that God has given to His Church will lead us to recognize the impossibility of one member of the Body of Christ looking at another member of the Body of Christ and saying— or thinking— “I don’t need you!” Whether it is our physical body or the Body of Christ it will not be able to function the way God designed it to function without recognizing and appreciating the special contribution of each and every member— including ourselves!
Recognizing that by virtue of our Baptism we who are many are united as one in the Body of Christ, appreciating and accepting the amazing diversity that God Himself has designed into His Church will then lead us to value each other as integral individual parts of the Body of Christ. Paul brings this truth out by once again using an analogy that is easy for us all to understand and remember. He writes, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
When’s the last time you gave a great deal of thought to your big toe? Unless you stub your toe on something when you have to get up in the middle of the night, you probably don’t give it much thought at all! But if you do stub your toe, does the rest of your body say, “Glad I’m not you”? No! The pain shoots throughout your entire body! If you were to win a gold medal at the Olympics, if you were to catch the game winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, if you were to invent a cutting-edge technology that benefited people all across the world, would only your head or your hands or your legs be honored? No! Your entire self would be honored!
Just as we all too often take various parts of our physical body for granted— until they get hurt, so also it is all too easy for us to take our fellow members of the Body of Christ for granted. Since in God’s eyes we are all equal valued members of the Body of Christ, we need to consciously take to heart what Paul is telling us in these closing verses of our text. When one member of the Body of Christ is suffering we all suffer with them. When one member of the Body of Christ is honored we all rejoice with them. We are all in this together because we are all members of one Body, the Body of Christ.
Why? Why is it so important for us to remember that we who are many have been united in the one true Church purely by the grace and power of God? Why is it so important for us to accept and appreciate the amazing diversity that God has designed into His Church? Why is it so important for us to value each other as important individuals in the Body of Christ? Why? Because the One who willingly suffered and died to completely pay for all the sins of all people (Pointing to the cross) has given us a mission to carry out! That mission is found in the familiar words of the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”( Matthew 28:18-20). This is a mission that I cannot do alone. This is a mission that you cannot do alone. This is a mission that no one can do alone. We who are many need to work together as one in order to fulfill the mission that God has given to us. We who are many need to work together as one to faithfully administer the Sacraments that God has given to us. Along with our brothers and sisters in Christ we who are many need to work together as one to proclaim the pure sweet simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people all across the world.
E Pluribus Unum— Out of Many, One. When it comes to the Church, my friends, when it comes to the Body of Christ, when it comes to us— that is not just a motto. This is our God-given reality! Through the power of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism God the Holy Spirit created the gift of saving faith in our hearts thereby taking we who are many and making us a part of the one true Church— the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints. My prayer this morning is that our common faith in Him (Pointing to the cross) as our only Savior from sin will lead us to recognize our unity, appreciate and accept our amazing diversity and value each other as important individual members of the Body of Christ.
To God be the glory!
Amen
