As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
1 Corinthians 12:20-26
One body, many parts. The human body remains a fascinating thing in my mind. I have a memory from childhood of sticking my arm under the corner of the table, so that I saw my hand but not my forearm. I moved my hand this way and that, moving my fingers in different ways and twisting my wrist from the palm of my hand to the top of the same. It fascinated me that though I could not see what my hand was attached to, I knew exactly what it was doing because my mind sent it directions. Of course, other times that communication would get mixed up somewhere along the way and I would…trip up the stairs, fall over my own feet, or bang into a door jamb that I misjudged. Through bruises and broken bones, my body would recover with scars and memories and I often shifted my behavior to better care for the vessel given me.
In the passage above, Paul lets the Church know that they (we) are Christ’s body, put together by God to provide one another with what we ourselves may lack. Today, the truth remains the same: we need one another – now more than ever.
The left cannot say to the right, “I have no need for you,” nor vice versa. The younger cannot say to the older, “I need not see or call you,” nor vice versa. We have been called to one body under one baptism, One Lord, and One Holy Spirit. If one part of our body suffers, then we all suffer. Have you ever stubbed your toe in the middle of the night? Your body will surely react and respond until the pain is gone. As the body of Christ, we need to continually call, check up on, visit (as able), send cards to, and message one another. In this time of isolation where depression and anxiety can run high, connecting with a brother or sister in Christ can ground those emotions and remind us: we are One in the Lord….I am not alone.
My challenge to you: Grab your directory, call, message, send a card, email five (5) people a week for the next month. Give them a call, identify yourself and let them know you attend HCOB, and see how each other are doing. How can you pray for them? How can they pray for you? Do either have a physical (food, a ride, etc) need to be met? We need each other. Let’s be the body