Church--To go, or not to go: Part 2

I want to continue our conversation we started last time about why we go to church on a regular basis.  Two weeks ago, we mostly referred to a typical Sunday morning service or any other time the church might gather to meet and worship God.  The point was that we can must truly honor and worship the Triune God when we gather to do this as the body of Christ.  This week, I want to focus on another aspect of response to this question: the church is called, “the body of Christ.” 

Twice Paul uses an extended analogy to call the church a body, and specifically the body of Christ. (Rom. 12:4-5, 1 Cor. 12:12-31)  Paul argues that the church is like a body, each part is needed for the whole body to work as best as possible.  Paul uses basic examples to make his point-- the foot and hand, and the eye and ear, but we can add even more depth to this analogy.  Think about how complicated we know the body to be today.  There are so many parts, both inside and out, that if even one is missing or not functioning properly than the whole body suffers (ok, not including the appendix).

Think also about an orchestra, which may have as many as 100 musicians playing on stage.  Not only do they all have to be present and in tune with each other, but the conductor, stagehands, house manager, ticket booth workers, and ushers are all needed to ensure a concert can actually occur.  After all, what good is a world-class orchestra if they only practice and never actually perform?  All of these different people, some more visible or celebrated than others, are absolutely vital for the orchestra to reach its purpose and actually perform a concert.
 

The analogy itself isn’t that complicated and we can think of countless other examples of where all the parts have to work in harmony for the system to work (such as sports teams or ecosystems), but how does this relate to why we actually need to go to church and be a part of the body of Christ?  The simple answer is that the body needs us.  The church, both as a local manifestation and as a global and historical reality, needs each person who confesses, “Jesus is Lord.”  Paul surrounds his analogy of calling the Church the Body of Christ with discussing gifts.  A gift means that we have something to offer and that we actually show up and offer it as a gift to another.  The Church is made up of people who show-up and offer their gifts to the Body.

In the church, we all have different talents, opinions, gifts, knowledge, etc., and each is vital to the functioning and health of the body of Christ.  If we as individual Christians fail to engage with and participate in the body, we are being selfish and withholding what we have to offer the body as a whole.  Additionally, we are not allowing the church to live into its fullest capacity.  Each person has something to offer to the church in terms of teaching, mentoring, encouraging, friendship, tithe, the list could go on and on.  It only takes one individual to make a difference in another’s life.  The Christian walk, and life in general, is not easy.  We need each other for encouragement and to lift up one another’s burdens.  Each one of us might be just the right person someone else needs to talk to.  Yet, if we are not present in church, then we are not letting God use us to be His presence in another’s life.

On a larger scale, it seems like the church constantly lacks the presence of a certain generation, namely those in their 20’s.  This is a problem because each age group is different and brings something greatly needed.  People in their 20s are often just coming out of college and passionate to serve.  They might have a special ability to take risks and possess some tenacity.  These are just some thoughts; I’m sure we can think of some negative aspects of being in your 20s, such as a lack of wisdom and experience, but that goes back to the point that we all need to be present in the body of the church.  The church needs every age group because for all the tenacity and initiative one person might have; someone else needs to temper them with wisdom and experience.  Everyone working together is how to best participate with God in the building God’s Kingdom.

Not only does the church need everyone to participate, but as Christians, we all need the church.  John Wesley wrote that there is “no holiness, but social holiness.”  It is not possible to follow Jesus without being a part of his church.  We need others to learn from and to mentor us.  We might think we know everything, but unfortunately something like love, especially the love Jesus calls us to, is not some fact you can memorize.  The life of love we are called to live can best be learned by watching and following other Christians.  Everything about the Gospels and the New Testament requires life in the body of Christ.  From Jesus choosing 12 Apostles to follow him, to Paul’s teaching that are looking at here, to the image of the worship of the Lamb in Revelation, all assume and require that there is community in the church.

We might wonder, then, why Paul felt the need to extort the church in Rome and Corinth to continue to gather and work together.  Unfortunately, human nature doesn’t change much.  I’m sure those churches struggled with the same things we do today.  It is never easy when people try to work together, even Christians.  These churches were full of the rich and poor, free and slave, all ages and classes, so some conflict was inevitable.  But Paul recognized that the Christian life requires other believers and the church needs everyone to function best.

May we all strive to live up to the standard modeled for us by the Saints of the church, including Paul.  We are the body of Christ, and he is the head. (Eph. 2:23) If you find yourself being a lonely hand or eye not connected to the body, you might ask who your head is.  Christ is the head of his body, the church, and we connect to that head through being a part of the body.