Oct. 5, 2025: One Body

The Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12–27
The Gospel:  John 17:20–23
                        
To open the Raising Hope Conference last week in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Pope Leo XIV blessed water that delegates had brought from all over the world along with a block of ice from Greenland that was over 20,000 years old, as a sign of compassion and urgency from the earth and the poor. 

“God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world He created and for our brothers and sisters. What will we answer?” Pope Leo asked, ending with, “Let us work for the flourishing of all creation.”

Our scriptures today echo this call for one body working together. 

In the scripture from John, Jesus prayed to God that his disciples would all be one, so that they could continue his work in the world after he was gone, but that was not all he was praying for. He asked that the disciples be one not just with each other but also with God and Jesus, “As you Father are in me, and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world will believe that you have sent me” and later he adds that being one, it will be clear to all that God loves the disciples as God loves Jesus. 

This message was not just about the disciples in Jesus’ time. Jesus begins the prayer saying, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they will all be one.” Jesus knew that the disciples needed to be united, to work together, in order to show that they are followers of God and to draw others into the family of faith. This is still true for us today as people of faith 2000 years later, but it is also true for humanity as a whole. 

When we as humanity work together, when we become one body, it is clear that God is with us and that we are loved by the Creator who goes by different names in different places. 

But when does it ever feel like we are One these days? We live in a divided country and a divided world where it is far easier to use technology to send messages far and wide making fun of one another, criticizing and threatening or to drop bombs from drones rather than to sit down at the same table and learn to work through our differences.  

And yet, we are called to be One Body.

The effort to be One Body begins with each one of our bodies as the Corinthians Scripture reminds us. Take a look at your hands for a minute. Lift one up, turn it around and glance at it. Do the same with the other. Consider, what have these hands done lately? They probably helped you get dressed this morning, helped prepare your breakfast, maybe even helped serve someone else breakfast. They may have held a book or a remote control, typed on a keyboard. Have they fixed anything lately? Have they patted the hand of someone who is suffering? Written a check for someone in need? Dug into God’s earth to help something grow?

Now consider your eyes, what have they been doing? Reading to nourish your mind? Watching children or grandchildren or friends to enjoy their company and keep them safe? Binging on Netflix (that’s ok too sometimes)? Have they been watching the news and seen the suffering in the world?

Now consider your ears. What have they been hearing? Have they heard the laughter of children, soothing music and the sharing of stories among friends? Have they heard of famine in Gaza, Sudan and Yemen? Have they heard the sounds of the explosion of bombs in Ukraine, Gaza, Russia, Israel, Sudan, Syria and the 54 other countries that are involved in wars today? Have they heard people blamed for what “they” have done?

Think about your mouth. What has it been up to lately? Is it sharing words of encouragement and rejoicing in someone’s accomplishments? Is it inviting someone new to share God’s table or spreading negative words about even an enemy that keeps the fire of division going?

Now look at your feet. What have they been doing? Have they been taking walks in a garden or forest? Have they been dancing with joy? Have they walked away, crossing the street when a homeless person pleads for help or walked towards them with a word of encouragement and maybe a dollar that can be spared?

Our minds direct our body parts and we get directed in all these different ways. But what if we led with our hearts? Would we be more like one body if we did?
Our hearts would tell us to look and really see, to listen and really hear, maybe even to fact check what is happening in our country and world today. Seeing the division, the suffering and pain, hearing the cruelty, our hearts respond by directing our hands and our feet to do what we can whether that be volunteering, writing a check, or sharing a word of encouragement. 

When we lead with our hearts, we open up and look around and see others doing the same and we come together. We help deliver meals, serve on boards, visit the sick, clean up the environment, and host dinners to raise money to help people. In these actions, and so many more, we become part of the One Body, like the disciples, working together.

But the real goal is for a larger coming together. For the foot that is Ukraine to work with the hand that is Russia. For the ear that is Israel to listen to the mouth that is the Palestinians. For the Democratic hand to reach out and embrace the Republican hand, inviting the Libertarian and Independent mouths to the same table. 

“God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The 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.’ “  
 Neither can we as humans in this large world that God created, say to others who are different, “I have no need of you” or “you are less worthy than us.” 

“On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” creations of God”, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honourable” are probably because we never took the time to really get to know them. If we did get to know each other, we could come to respect each other as wonderfully made by the Creator, despite any differences or perceived weaknesses. It won’t be easy in our divided world, but if we could do this, we could work toward being one body with all parts working together to benefit all of God’s creation: human, plant, animal, water and land. We could work to care for one another, to end dissension, truly understanding that “when one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together in it.” 

God created this beautiful earth for us and Jesus gave his one body for us. It is our responsibility as humans and our calling as people of faith to follow Jesus’ model by learning to respect and work with all parts of this One Body of creation. Amen.

Pastor Michelle Fountain

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