Archive for September, 2004

On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.  But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.  Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”  He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. - Luke 6:6-10 

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“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.  So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 

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Hebrews 10:24-25 – “…And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching…”

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1 Corinthians 12:12 – “..The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ…”

Common Misunderstandings of This Passage - Many mistakenly read the passage above as addressing a problem with the “majority” of the church not tolerating or accepting certain individuals who are different – i.e., as if Paul was worried about the Body rejecting an individual member like an ear or a hand.  They then use this passage as an exhortation for us to be more tolerant of people who are different than us, and to place more value on the unique contributions each person can make to our church.

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Mark 7:32-35 - ”There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.   After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!” ).  At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly…”

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John 9:1-11 - As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.  As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.  ”Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing…

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Luke 5:24-26 - But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God...

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