No schism

And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness…That there should be no schism in the body – 1 Corinthians 12v23-25

There is a scene in the film “A Night at the Museum” where the living was figure of Teddy Roosevelt has been cut in half by a wagon. He is lying in the snow with his upper and lower torsos separated. Through most of the film he is a vibrant, heroic figure, but in this scene he lays there helpless because his body has been cut in half.

To my mind this is a perfect illustration of what it means for there to be a schism in the body of Christ. The normal practice is that we give honour to the most visible parts of the body. Everyone knows that the eyes are important. Everyone knows that the ears are important. But how often do we think about the nose as being important? Everyone knows the hands are vital. To the Corinthian readers there was no more shameful part of the body than the foot. But what can the rest of the body do without the feet. All we have to do is to look at a person who has lost the function of the part of the body to see how important every part is. Folks who have lost the function of some part of their body learn to function, in some cases in amazing ways, but they never can function as well as a person who has all the parts working properly.

In the body of Christ we see the same truth. We focus on the preachers and teachers, the singers and musicians, and other visible roles. But how would the body function is no one made the encouraging phone call or send the encouraging note? How could the body function if no one took a meal to those who needed them? What would happen if no one set up the chairs or tidied up the meeting pace? What if that person who is always there with a hug was gone? When part of the body is missing the body does not function properly.

Back to the Teddy Roosevelt illustration. He could still lay there in the snow and give words of encouragement. But he could not go and rally the troops. Because of the “schism” his body was not as effective.

No wonder Paul says, “there should be no schism in the body.” And yet, it seems far to often that in what might be an honest effort at purity, that we cut off every suspect part. Whereas in medicine amputation is a last resort, in the body of Christ it is often the first option. “Don’t treat it, cut it off!”

Every single part of the body is important. May we ever be mindful of the words – “There should be no schism in the body.”