40 Blogs of Lent – Day 40

Church is for everyone

What is church – Day 8

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body”, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body”, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

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.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honourable we bestow the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.
1 Corinthians 12:15-26

Together we are God’s family we are baptised into the body of Christ, the Church. It is important that we work together and recognise different tasks. In Holy Trinity, Huddersfield we have the words of our hymns projected so that everyone can sing if not off the same hymn sheet then off the same screen. Yet in order to do this there has to be someone at the back of church faffing about with a computer in order for everyone to see the lyrics. Two very different tasks, but working together for the same end.

It is important that we help each other to help each other find what we are good at, to find the gifts are that we have. People are really good at something but do not volunteer, whilst others will volunteer and it is clear that this is not where they are talented. We need the right people in the right positions.

We tend to say that all jobs are equally important, but we don’t live like we believe it thinking that the more up front jobs, the glamorous ones, are the ones to seek. But what about after service coffee? We get a coffee, we chat, discus important issues or have a laugh. Is that less important than a church musician? Only a short time ago I had someone come to me thanking me for something I said over after service coffee which had helped her Christian life. That was after 15 years, and she still remembered. I have never had that sort of compliment in 40 years of being a church musician.

Two different parts of church that feed into each other. Church isn’t something we go to it is something that we are. We feel each other’s joy and feel each other’s pain. We are called by God to live as he has called us to and worship as he has called us to. We meet together because we have been called to meet together.

It’s not what the church can do for me, it is about what God is calling me to do in the church.

So what should you be doing in your church?

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.