Embodying Our Faith

 

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  1 Corinthians 12:12-13

 

You are a combination and culmination of countless experiences and encounters.  You are a traveling art exhibit that has collected and curated in your one wild and precious life.  Some of the pieces you carry bring smiles to your face ~ like the beauty of a sunset at the Grand Canyon or the mystery of savoring one solo jellybean.  Other parts of the exhibit are a bit tattered and torn, weathered and worn, like that sweater I have with the elbows threadbare and buttons hanging on for dear life.  You are multitudes.  Just as your fingers help you hold your spoon at breakfast, your eyes help you read these words, and your mind is questioning, “Where is Wes going with all this?”, each part contributes to the collective.  In the verse above, Paul reminds us of the beauty of community and the necessity of diversity.  This is a lesson we are struggling mightily with right now.  More and more, we compartmentalize ourselves into groups that agree with us.  More and more, we prioritize belonging to certain groups.  More and more, we tribalize with those whom we accept, cancel those who are not, and demonize anyone who dares challenge our opinions.  Paul is saying to the Corinthians (and to us) that we need each other.  In fact, the more we can be close to someone who lives and moves through the world differently, the more I can see the world in new ways. 

 

C.S. Lewis once said that while reason is the natural organ of truth, imagination is the organ of meaning.  We keep arguing about truth (without ever talking about how our emotions and experiences skew what we understand or articulate as true).  What we are really thirsting for is meaning.  Meaning can be found in those times when our minds, hearts, souls, and energy of life are aligned with God and with others.  Meaning can be found when my life resonates with your life and the Spirit connects us.  Meaning is deeper than words; more than seeing is believing.  Meaning is always more than one person’s conclusion or conviction.  Meaning is an invitation to be held communally and collectively.  Meaning isn’t static but is always evolving and expanding.  Just as your body is constantly changing ~ shedding dead skin cells, blood flowing, thoughts forming, and life growing ~ so too meaning will never fit in the Tupperware containers stored in our minds. 

 

Today, I invite you to ponder the question, what is meaningful to you?  Where do you find meaning?  With whom do you search for meaning alongside?  On Easter, I asked the question, “What are you searching for?”  But that question is never explored in a vacuum.  It is a question that needs others to help us both listen to ourselves and expand beyond our own limits.  Who is someone who will both lovingly listen to you as you respond to this question and can help you discern the limits of your own conclusions?  If you would like to talk more about this, please contact me.  May our Easter-ing ways continue to expand and embrace the “more-than-ness” of our communal life.  Amen.