CMLC 2024-08-04 Sermon

Howdy. You know, I have a truism to give to all of you today.

Is that you never realize how important your toes are until you hurt them.

You don't realize, oh my word, how many times is there where it's like you're going along

and you manage to end up having that one pinky toe that just like off to the side, you know,

like you're walking through a doorway, like you've got flip flops on because you're going

to go to the beach and everything's great and you go through a door and that one pinky

toe just grabs the side of the door, right, oh, right there and you're like, pinky toe,

are you still on my foot? Are you still there? Okay, all right, good. And you're like, pinky

toe, this is going to hurt for a while. Okay, you even know, it's like, like maybe 10 seconds

until you really feel it. But then more than that is then you end up going to China for

a year and end up playing what ends up being the worst game of duck duck goose ever. And

you end up trying to run through a different doorway and instead of the pinky toe having

an issue, somehow it's your big toe that manages to take all of your weight and bang into the

doorway and break into two pieces off to the side there. I haven't played duck duck goose

since then. It's too dangerous apparently for me. And on top of that is like it took

that it took five days just to get insurance to say yes to getting it fixed. I have, it

was crazy. It's like just put it back in. And at that point though, is that a little

toe, you can just bandage it up. It's not a huge deal. You know, you can get through

and it'll heal. Not a big toe. Big toes, three months and you have to be off of that foot.

So there I was hobbling around China trying to get from place to place with one foot in

a soft cast everywhere that I went the whole time just that one little toe and every other

part of me seemed to be doing just fine. But because that one toe, the whole last three

months of my time in China was completely derailed. I had to teach classes with my foot

up. I had to get in taxis to try to go get some food. Wo yo, yega. And then would accidentally

start speaking in Spanish because I don't know that much Chinese and that doesn't help

by the way. But the thing is, is that one small part can make the huge difference to

the entire body, even when nothing else may think that they're feeling it. And isn't that

same thing true for the body of Christ? See, that's the thing about whenever we think about

the body of Christ and Ephesians four is that we take it for granted that yeah, we're all

part of the same body. But do we realize just why it is that it's important to point it

out? See, the thing is, is that when we end up realizing that oftentimes people get separated

from the body of Christ for various reasons. Maybe they felt that they were ridiculed or

pushed away. Maybe they felt isolated by something that had happened or maybe in other ways they

just never got a chance to use their gifts in a way that they thought was meaningful.

Why should I be there? I don't have anything to contribute. The thing is, is that there

are many reasons why we oftentimes feel isolated. But in reality is that we're all meant to

be important because we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, not all not a whole bunch

of different sects or small groups that are meant to all do their own thing as if they're

completely separate. We're meant to be one unified body because it's better to be a part

of the community instead of thinking that our faith is somehow my own personal thing

which has never been what scripture has said. And now this is where I get to give my 30

second commercial for Rally Day later this month. We're going to be having a chance to

get together at 9.30 a.m. on a Sunday morning on August 25th because as we see in Ephesians

4, there are all sorts of gifts that different people have. Apostles, prophets, evangelists,

shepherds, teachers. Apostles being not just the strict sense where we understand the original

apostles that went to spread the church but also the idea of those who are trying to do

something new, something that maybe hasn't been done previously. We've got people who

are bringing back our Stephen Ministries that we had had before. We've got a group of people

that would like to get you signed up if you'd like to be ready to help after disasters and

maybe take care of things that may happen in a person's yard or at their home. But also

even Tracy wants us to get together and do something for Thanksgiving for the local community

and frankly that's something that we're looking to do. And on Rally Day we'd like to see if

we could recruit people. So I didn't tell her I was going to point her out. You're welcome.

That's what I do for people I care about. But with it is even those who are the prophets

is that oftentimes it's not just the pastor who's meant to speak truth into the world but

also that other people have you been taking the time to ask what is it that God's actually

saying not just in you but through you to other people. The evangelists, those who are meant

to be out in the world bringing the gospel to people that don't know. The shepherds,

those who are meant to bring care and love and compassion to people who are in need and to care

for their needs. Not just the pastor but others as well. Teachers, those who are meant to go out

there because one person is not supposed to be the whole arbiter of learning and truth. We need

all of us together working as a community to learn, to teach, to be together. See everyone is

gifted and we're meant to cherish these gifts. See with that is that oftentimes we may have to take

a little time to maybe pause and do something that we're not usually as gifted in. But that doesn't

mean that we don't get to spend more time in the things that we feel God has called us to do.

There are times whenever I end up dropping a pen on the floor and I don't know maybe I'm being

laser whatever and I'm trying to pick it up off the floor with my toes and everything and I'm like

come on I almost got it. I almost got it right. Sometimes toes aren't really meant for that but

you're you're gonna try that anyway. But sometimes it's just not only more effective but a little

more gratifying when you get to do the thing that you're designed and meant for. The thing is is

that I broke my toe. I didn't try to replace it with something else. I mean did I try to replace

my broken toe with an eye? No because that would be really weird and it's not covered by insurance.

But the thing is is that instead of trying to be someone else is that God is wanting us to be more

of ourselves. The thing is is that sometimes we're almost afraid of the gifts that we know that God

has given us. We're afraid of taking those things on. You see the thing is is sometimes we need to

be strengthened in the things that we've been called to do. We need others to encourage us not

only to share those gifts but to be happy and joyful in being a part of this community. See the

thing is is that maybe maybe you're looking at doing something that you're afraid might be a

little bit too noticeable. Yeah I could do that but people might pay a little too much attention to

me and I don't know. I feel like I might end up letting people down. See that's the thing is that

sometimes we're afraid of hurting the body because we know that we have weaknesses. We know we have

struggles. We know that we don't have it all figured out. And the reality is that as much as

we're afraid of being noticed and that people can realize that, is that it's also not something to

fear because that's when we need the body even more. The thing is is that as much as you know

like my broken toe was over there in pain and I couldn't walk, am I going to be over there just

yelling at my broken toe? How dare you toe? How dare you be broken? What's wrong with you? Stupid

toe? Okay maybe I did do that every day for three months. But the thing is is that the point of

whenever we're struggling and we're hurting is that that's also the time when we need each other

more. That's the time when we need the community. When we need the body of Christ. Because we need

to know that we're not going through that alone. The whole body had to take the time for the one

but because that one part mattered. And that's the thing is that sometimes we need a little tender

loving care. We don't need to be afraid of sharing our gifts just because someone will discover that

we don't have everything all figured out. But even more than the times when we have failures,

what about the fact that we're kind of weird? I know it's hard to believe but there are some

people who occasionally think I'm a little strange. I know, I know it's okay. I know you

don't get it. But the thing is is that you know sometimes you're kind of like man why is there

that weird toenail right there? It's always kind of off to the side a little bit and you're kind

of wondering about it. It's like maybe you're afraid of being involved in the community of God

because you're like I'm different. I don't see that I'm gonna fit in all that well. I mean for

crying out like nobody seems quite like me and I don't know how it is that my oddity is supposed

to be a part of the church. You know what's interesting about the church? Wouldn't it be weird?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could help others enjoy their uniqueness? Has anybody wondered

about that little dangly punching bag in the back of your throat? Okay you're over there,

you're brushing your teeth, you take a look and there's a little dangly hanging piece of flesh in

the back of your mouth and it's weird looking okay. It's this one little piece of flesh and it's kind

of dangling down okay and you're kind of like that's the yufila, that's a weird name for that okay

and you're kind of looking at it you're like that's so strange why do I even need it to be there

and then you realize that without it you know like that helps with saliva but also it keeps the

food and the drink from going up into your nose when you swallow. So you know you could be the

part of the body of Christ that keeps meat and potatoes from going up into the nose of Christ.

So you know there is a part for everybody no matter how weird and dangly it may be. The truth

is is that our uniqueness it's not because we're trying to gain attention or importance but because

we're meant to bless others with the uniqueness. See that's the thing about this, the body of Christ

is kind of complicated. We don't always get it, we don't always understand every single piece.

Lynn Osborn said earlier that he was the appendix of Christ and I'm like well I don't know about

that but sometimes I know we sometimes feel that way but the truth being told is that it's

complicated as we are it's the complexity that's needed. The reality is that before we debate and

argue about who's important what's important what's necessary is that maybe instead we take the time

to appreciate the oddities because all the different parts they end up working together in ways we

didn't even realize. As my toe was healing and my hands needed to stretch the tendons so that it

could move again and then I needed to use my mouth to ask questions of what to do and how to care

for it. All the different parts that are there is that without the entire body there's always

something missing. There's always some part that we can't do when one part isn't connected to the

whole. I don't know what may have caused any of you to feel like you weren't a part of the body

like you didn't matter to the body and like maybe you weren't missed but the reality is that you are

completely vital because you belong to Christ because Christ you matter to us so wherever you

may be whatever you may have been feeling you are needed here because you always have been.

Thanks be to God.