What Nourishes the Body...

I Corinthians 12:12-31

"... and we were all made to drink of one spirit." (v13)

It is a strange and beautiful image to link baptism with drinking - this is the drink, after all, after which we will never thirst again. But so closely linked, it is almost as if during the baptism we are supposed to take a big gulp of water! Drink in the Spirit - be transformed inside and out, totally remade new. Drink of one spirit, breathe in the spirit, clothe yourself in the spirit - how many ways can we say it? But the important part mustn't be lost on us - we drink of one spirit. We breathe one air and clothe ourselves with one garment. For better or for worse, we are united, and what one of us does affects the taste in everyone's mouth.

I wonder if this is where Augustine might have started his ideas of the corporate or social nature of sin (and conversely righteousness?). We never sin in a vacuum, and the ripples of our actions do not stop before they hit another person. Take global warming, for example - I may sin a little by not carpooling, but absolutely everyone is affected by that decision. Likewise, if I reduce my personal greenhouse gas emissions, everyone is affected. (And typically, even strategies to conserve energy themselves use energy to be created or implemented - buying a fuel-efficient car or adding new insulation to a home - revealing how inmeshed we are in sin, there are few ways to genuinely escape it.)

For better and for worse, however, we're in it together. The scripture reminds us forcefully that a person cannot say they are not a member - or that even if they do say that, it doesn't change the fact that they still are. Also, and perhaps more importantly (because it is less intuitive), a person cannot be told by another that they are not a member. Paul here is writing about the church and the community of Christ, which many Christians would do well to remember when we speak too sternly of denominations, authority, membership in Christ, and so on. We cannot say with any hope of accuracy that someone else is not a member of the community of Christ, that someone is beyond the redemptive and loving arms of Christ and those who would follow him. And as Jesus accepted everyone at his table, it may be fair to extend this sentiment to the world beyond the Church as well: we Christians cannot tell Muslims or Jews or Buddhists, for example, that they are not members of the body. We have no rights of exclusion from the embrace of the Spirit, and have no grounds to make such claims or distinctions. (I feel I'm treading on a universalism that is very postmodern and not just a little dangerous for doctrine and dogma.)

I am also struck by the language in verse 26, coming so close to the beloved labor mantra: An injury to one is an injury to all. The noblest sentiments of the labor movement are rooted in a radical Christianity.

And, speaking of radical Christianity, note that "forms of assistance" is counted among the gifts of the spirit, and ranked among the acts of apostles and prophets. Do those Christians who promote gifts like the speaking of tongues also recognize the gift of the spirit that manifests itself in helping other people? This is incredible! Paul is virtually declaring social justice work and compassionate action as a gift of the Holy Spirit, worthy of prophets and apostles... and you and me.

I must say that I found the closing of this scripture passage comforting. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? No. There are different kinds of testimonies to give. Just last night, I was talking with my wife on the phone and joking about learning all this doctrine and dogma development in Christian history and how so many people took it so seriously, and for me (showing my postmodern stripes again) what these people considered essential beliefs for salvation are really not that important at all. I find myself driven, rather, by the social gospel, the vision of a new world possible, of changed relations (power, economic, social, personal, international), the imperative to creatively resist the Powers and Principalities, to stand up to oppression and forces that denigrate humanity. This is what for me is redemptive and necessary for salvation - working to transform oneself and one's world radically and creatively. This is what I feel is required to be a faithful Christian.

And that is, essentially, a prophetic testimony - social justice as the true worship of God. Apostolic witness, I imagine, is something more along the lines of getting people to declare that Jesus is Lord - change their allegiances, give them a new heart. That's important, of course. But the scripture here allows me not to have to do everything - I can recognize that some people are apostles, some teachers, some prophets (in the Old Testament sense of someone who critiques the status quo and calls the faith community to reify their faith declarations in the lived world).

And, this scripture affirms, that is a voice that also needs to be heard in the body. I can't pretend I'm not part of the body (although sometimes part of me wants to). And others can't tell me I'm not part of the body (as has happened more than once). The gospel will taste differently coming from my hand, but we're all drinking from the same spirit.