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¹ Corinthians 12:12-26

¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.¹³For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many members, yet one body. ²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’²²On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; ²⁴whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, ²⁵that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.

¹ Corinthians 12:1-11

¹²Now concerning spiritual gifts,* brothers and sisters,* I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

This passage declares, very clearly, the power of diversity and cooperation.  Each and every person is given, through the Holy Spirit, different gifts, talents, and abilities.  But Paul’s words here remind us that they are all holy, and come from God. A community cannot exist at its fullest potential without all kinds of people and each person’s uniqueness.  We cannot be whole without each other.

We can see this to be true in many aspects of our lives.  We see the power of diversity in community at church, where all of us can share our strengths and talents in different ways to make a powerful whole.  I see it in my work at the public library. The library has a large and very diverse staff, with different interests, strengths, passions. The patrons who come through our doors every day are varied and wonderful.  New York City itself, a wildly diverse human ecosystem, a true city of the world, is made more powerful by the array of millions of amazing and unique New Yorkers.

So I know this passage is true, because I live in the evidence of its truth.  We cannot be whole without each other.

This idea may seem ironic and painful, during this time of “social distancing”, quarantine, and isolation.  But I think we are seeing the power of diversity and cooperation distinctly, even now. I felt joy and relief and gratitude to be together with you all (as much as we can be right now) for our virtual church service on Sunday morning.  There have been a lot of phone calls with family and friends in these past two weeks, and we’ve seen an amazing amount of digital connection efforts, from famous celebrities to public organizations to the individual people we know and love.  Even in this very difficult and scary time, we see all kinds of people, inimitable and beautiful, bringing their talents to bear to bring us together, to unite us, with the power of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you, each of you, for sharing your gifts and talents, and for making me and everyone around you more whole.  I wish the best to you and your families and loved ones.

Mark 7:24-37

²⁴ From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.^* He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ ²⁸But she answered him, ‘Sir,^* even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ ²⁹Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

³¹ Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶Then Jesus^*ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Good day fellow travelers -

As I meditate on this passage, I am struck by a few different thoughts. First, I was struck that Jesus seemed to be needing a break from the crowds and their demands.  In verse 24, “He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there.”  Then in verse 36,  “Jesus*ordered them to tell no one”.  Then I was struck how in both instances Christ’s wishes or orders were disregarded.

Being all man and all God, he has both the need to rest and compassion to tolerate our humanity. If I had the chance to meet God in person and could ask that  my daughter to be healed of her depression, could I resist? Would I have the faith and fortitude to speak in a way to sway the Lord to perform a miracle? Today I do not know.  If he were to heal a friend or neighbor then ask me not to tell, could I hold back that news? I doubt that I could.

In this modern age I am flawed, the way those who had the opportunity to personally know Christ were flawed. Somedays I am more faithful than others.  For me, these current days are very isolating. I reach out to family and friends. I know others have borne much greater burdens, and I hope that my actions will help support the greater good for all of us. 

And so, in my own flawed way, may all of us be healthy, may we use this time to reconnect to our hearts, our God, and love.  May we walk this walk with the faith and compassion that Christ demonstrated in his time on earth.