We Are One

A Reflection on the Second Reading for January 23rd, 2022:
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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1 Corinthians
12.12-14, 27 (shorter)
(For the longer version, see the print edition of Living with Christ.)

Brothers and sisters: 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. For 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. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
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We are one in the body of Christ. A comforting thought. An important reminder in a time when we feel so lacking in unity. Even before the challenges thrust upon us by the pandemic, a major part of the human condition was creating false lines of division to serve our own interests. Human history is full to the brim with us viewing ourselves as unique creations and extrapolating from this that we are different and separate from others. We seek others who are like us and seek to exclude those who aren’t. We exert our will and power to disadvantage and do violence to others.
 


Knowing what we know about our drive for self-interest and our history of discrimination, intolerance and violence, Paul’s words are revolutionary. Christ makes us one, though in doing so He does not rob us of the beauty of our unique creation. Those differences are no longer a source of division, but part of the rich tapestry of the body of Christ. That being said, the differences that are based on human architecture, such as nationality and societal class, are demolished. We are not subject to nationalism or the societal circumstances of our birth. All are freed in Christ. Our citizenship is of the Kingdom, not of any one nation-state. In Christ, my being a middle-ish class Canadian is meaningless. I am no less or more a daughter of God than any Christian in Italy, Uganda, Pakistan or Japan. I am no more freed by Christ than my brothers and sisters who are enduring slavery.
 


This feels fairly obvious with even a summary reading. But looking at the world, it seems as if the patterns of history keep repeating. Racism, sexism, ableism and all other manner of discrimination still run rampant. Around the world, Christians reading their Bibles would be very familiar with this passage, and yet we don’t see its impact on our lived experience. We’re far more likely to mind our business than to preach this part of the Good News. We’re far more comfortable speaking to a personal transformation than to take on the task of working alongside the Holy Spirit to change the world itself.
 


So where does that leave us? This comforting passage is hopefully a little less comfortable. It is a declaration of Truth, but not an expression of the lived reality of the world. We should be uncomfortable with this disconnect. We should be challenged not just to mourn it but to become an active instrument in undoing it. That’s not to suggest that we should be putting special frames around our Facebook profiles or making pithy posts on Twitter (or even posts for Ora) only. We can change the world by spreading the Gospel, inviting the Holy Spirit and accepting the movings of the Holy Spirit to intervene when our neighbour is in need and to listen when they speak to their struggles. By challenging the false structures imposed in this life, we can reveal the glorious truth of our unity in Christ.




Stephanie Potter
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