On Azimuth

²¹ 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!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ 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, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. I Corinthians 12:21-26 English Standard Version

            As we consider how God changes our viewpoint, we must consider how we view and treat our fellow Christians, or the Body of Christ. Sadly in the Body, we often embrace the views and practices of the world. I doubt we mean to; but, often we maintain our worldly way of viewing people. Perhaps it is our modern focus on a “personal relationship” with Jesus that leads us astray. Or perhaps, it is our modern community practice which focuses on Sunday morning attendance with little emphasis on the radical life change that discipleship under the Messiah-carpenter entails. Our modern isolated culture mitigates and devalues true and deep fellowship. This self-centered approach to fellowship savagely curtails what Jesus desires for His bride, the Church. God calls us to willingly submit to His reordering our priorities and lives, something we often refer to as sanctification.

            This change includes how we view and treat our fellow believers, especially those the world disdains or discards. Take a moment to consider verse twenty-two, “²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” Here Paul speaks out against our worldly penchant for categorizing our fellow humans into some sort of hierarchy. Interestingly, this was a problem in the first century as well as today. As the writer of Ecclesiastes said, “⁹ What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9.

            The world categorizes people, saying that some are useful, beautiful, and worthy while others are less useful, beautiful, or worthy. We praise and honor those our culture says fit this arbitrary mold. However the reality is that some of us think and perceive the world differently. Many of us are what we call neurodivergent.

When it comes to these types of differences, the world employs negative language like ‘poor culture fit’, ‘different’, or ‘abnormal’ to look down upon, despise, or push these members off to the side. Jesus calls us to a different way of looking at people. He wants us to embrace the humble, halt, or different. Unfortunately, we in the Christian community too easily embrace the world’s idea of who is important, beautiful, or worthy of our attention.

            It is important to note that what society defines as despicable – Paul describes as “indispensable. It is important to note the word that Paul uses to describe those despised by society, “indispensable.” This word in the Greek, anankaia, means: Necessary, essential, vital, items or actions that cannot be done without. Now I am not a Greek scholar…perhaps not any type of scholar…but it seems to me that Paul, through the Holy Spirit, is making a significant point. Those people I tend to look down on or push aside are crucial or required for successful body life. In our modern practice of Christianity, we tend to consider the pulpit minister, often referred to as the Pastor, or other public leaders as indispensable or required. We honor them with a certain amount of deference. We pay close attention to them. Sometimes they get a parking spot. When they speak, we listen. Their voice counts. We tell our children, “Be like them.” But those who process the world differently and do not fit our preconceived ideas of what’s acceptable, we tend to ignore. At best, we consider “accommodating” them.

            I do not accommodate any part of my body…well perhaps my receding hairline…but I do appreciate and cherish how it all works together so that I can live a pleasant and reasonably productive life. In a like manner, I need to learn how to appreciate and cherish those parts of my spiritual body that I may not fully understand. After all, I cannot explain how much of my body works. I just accept and rejoice that it does. In a like fashion, I cannot always explain how important some of my brothers and sisters are. I just accept the fact that they are indispensable because God says that they are. When I talk about accommodating my brothers and sisters, I am in some way devaluing them.

            Instead of accommodating, I should listen and love more. Those who perceive the world differently often see things that I do not. They intuitively understand things that I find mysterious or downright incomprehensible. The Lord has constructed them to provide the body of Christ a viewpoint that is necessary for thriving. This may require me to slow down and adjust how I view our interactions. I should be okay with that. Keeping in mind that the person who makes me a bit uncomfortable is actually indispensable and placed in the Body of Christ by the Lord should generate a bit of humility on my part. This is part of how we show love to each other. We cherish and approach each other in a way that generates safety.

Some parts of the body may not easily hug. When announcing a time to stand, greet, and hug our neighbors, we could include language that lets people know that it is okay not to embrace.

Some parts of the body may find very loud music threatening. If we are handing out earplugs in the foyer, maybe we should remember that this is a worship service, not a rock concert.

Some parts of the body may rarely interject in a conversation. In a classroom setting, we need to make sure that everyone understands that it is okay to just sit, listen, and process.

Some parts of the body may find the Western Cultural norm of looking at someone in the face threatening. We need to gracefully stand back and provide them the needed a bit of space.

Some parts of the body may find sitting still through a long service challenging. We could provide a physical space in the back or side for them to move about, making sure that other parts of the body do not stare at or look down on them for moving about.

Whatever we do, we should not use the language of accommodation. Instead, let us use the language of love and acceptance. Telling someone that I’m accommodating them puts me in a position of control or authority over them. This is the antithesis of love. I do not accommodate members of the Body of Christ. I love them. I meet them where they are. I listen to them because through them God speaks and ministers to me. I treat them this way because God tells me they are…the indispensable.

Thought Questions:

1. How do you feel about those who act differently than you do?
2. Do you have any behaviors that others find different or bothersome?
3. What makes you feel welcome in a congregation?
4. Why do we treat those who behave differently so poorly?
5. What do you think a normal response is?