Today’s scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Linda Bernabie):
I am definitely not one of those fortunate people who has the ability to remember Bible verses and easily quote “chapter and verse.” I am proud when I just remember what book a scripture is from! It’s pathetic, but the only thing I always remember is whether it is the New Testament or the Old Testament. BUT . . . I will never forget 1 Corinthians 12:12-30!
I first read these verses when I was ten or eleven years old, and my Sunday School assignment was to read (as luck would have it) today’s scripture. I was going to a Baptist church, and fortunately they had Bibles written for children. I was old enough to read fairly well, but too young to understand the concept of metaphors, especially since I was attending a fundamentalist church. I kept reading the verses over and over, trying to comprehend the words in front of me (with my mother’s “unchurched” help). I finally reached, what I believed to be, a complete and correct understanding of these holy words.
As best as I can remember, my childhood commentary of 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 went something like this:
We have a lot of body parts that God stuck together to make us a whole person. We need all of our parts for us to work right. If we were just giant eyeballs, all we could do is see. If we were just a great big ear, all we could do is hear. If we were just an ear or eye, we would not have much fun because we wouldn’t be able to smell things, or run, or play, or have a job, or even eat.
God decided we should use all of our parts. Some were important, and some were not as important. But when they worked together, our whole body would be happy because it could see, hear, run, play, and do all of the things we like to do.
God liked the way our whole bodies worked together, so God decided to put God’s own Body together in the same way. God asked the Holy Spirit to stick Jews, Gentiles, slaves, and everyone else together to make God’s own Body. The Holy Spirit called God’s new body the “Body of Christ.” (I now know the “Body of Christ” as the Christian Church!)
After the Holy Spirit put the “Body of Christ” together, the Holy Spirit was so happy that everyone was given presents. Not like birthday or Christmas presents, but things we can use for God’s new Body. Things like being able to heal people, or teach, or sing.
After God’s “Body of Christ” was made, God told everyone to stick together because if there were any parts missing in the new “Body of Christ,” it wouldn’t work right.
The following Sunday I proudly announced to my Sunday School teacher that I had figured out what these verses meant. I read my interpretation to the class, and my Sunday School teacher sat there with just a hint of a smile on her face. After a short pause she said, “Linda, maybe you said it better than Paul.”
Thought for the Day: “The Church is the Body of Christ, and as such it is both heavenly and earthly. The Church is the communion of saints, and it includes as members: angels and shepherds, cherubim and seraphim, and you and me.” (Scott Hahn – Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH)
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.