2022.05.22 | Being the Body
“Being the Body”
Pastor Nadia Tavera
Eden UCC
Romans 12:1-8
Mar 22, 2022
The body of Christ is a relevant metaphor for ecclesiological reflection that outlines the expectations of the church as a place of unity among all believers. For the Apostle Paul, the church is one body, with many members, not having the same function but interlinked as members of each other.
The author Luise Gosbell says that the challenge of the Body of Christ is to recognize that all members are dependent and interconnected. Human abilities and disabilities do not hinder God's work and through them the body achieves their purposes.
One of my best friends in Mexico represents Mexico in the Open 2022, a CrossFit international competition. My friend has been blind from birth, and despite her disabled body, she is one of the most successful women I know. Not only in her professional career but also in the Crossfit discipline.
When we think about the body of Christ it is easy to get trapped in the idealized and commercialized images of the body. Among the Latinx population, the white-male stylized body is still popular. Are we able to think of a brown or disabled body such as the body of Christ on the cross?
In the same way, it's common to idealize the church and believe that a faith community should be a group of people that looks, speaks, and thinks like you. Let me remind you that the Christian Church historically has been a diverse space where Jews and Greeks, men and women, slaves and free, found a safe place to belong just as they were.
The Apostle Paul was challenged to establish faith communities with at least two different populations, Jews and Greeks. The last ones are also known as Pagans or Gentiles. Paul understood that the only way to create unity among them was to foster equality in daily life and confront the unfair practices among the new community of believers. The book of Galatians tells a story where Paul opposes Peter for forcing Gentiles to follow Jewish traditions? For Peter, Gentiles had to become Jewish in order to be accepted by God. In Peters's mind, the Jews were better than Gentiles. Later on, Christianity learned to embrace Gentiles as they are, without imposing their customs. The rest of the story is about the success of Christianity as a beloved community.
Peter's story is familiar in our days — cultural assimilation in the U.S has been a common practice in the last decades. The immigrant population is expected to assume white culture's values, behaviors, and beliefs to belong to American society. I have heard people who still believe that immigrants must learn English if they want to thrive in the U.S. That may be true based on capitalism and systemic racism, but it shouldn't be like that. In Christian communities, we believe that Jews and Gentiles, Immigrants of color or white citizens are equal before God, and it's our responsibility as people of God to dignify each other as we are, regardless of the culture, language, and beliefs.
Last month I was invited to be part of a panel to discuss the challenges of doing church in 2022. I approached this topic from an analysis of the ethnic composition in northern California and my role as a Pastor, one of the fivefold ministries recognized among Christians in the book of Ephesians (4:11)
In that panel, I shared some data from the last census that shows that the Latino and Asian population are the majority in California. I believe that my role as a Pastor is to step back in making decisions for the whole body and let the members of the body find their place and all together bless each other.
I tend to apply the principle of the body in whatever environment I work. Even in secular spaces, fostering a culture of equity and mutual support makes the difference. Where all people are recognized and valued as they are, the outcome is a success. It takes time to move from the theory to the practice. It is required to be intentional, authentic, and trust others' gifts. In the secular world, the gifts are called skills and sometimes developed through academic studies, professional work, or the beautiful school of life.
As a progressive and charismatic Pastor, I believe that all people are equipped to operate joyfully by being empowered by specific spiritual gifts.
I would never have understood this until I had to live it. In my position as Assistant Minister, I was assigned to lead the Eden Vaxx Team, a group of people from different backgrounds and ways of working. My first strategy was acknowledging everybody's skills and putting them together to do the work in the body. In a bilingual and bicultural environment, I implemented the model of the body. Today, EUCC Vaxx Team is recognized among other organizations as a successful group. Recently we were asked to increase the number of vaccine registrations for an event hosted by our partners. In two days, EUCC Vaxx Team rose from 17 to 70 vaccine registrations.
I believe that spiritual principles based on equity and justice work in the secular world because there is an adequate place for the Holy Spirit to work. Up to date EUCC Vaxx Team has reached 3,300 vaccine appointments, and more than ten thousand residents in our Hayward area have received health education and/or information about COVID-19 vaccines. According to the census data, this number represents the equivalent of 60% of Cherryland's total population.
I acknowledge my role in the body of the Vaxx Team as somebody who motivates, affirms, and above all, celebrates others' gifts among diversity. I see myself as one among equals. During this time, I learned to let the Holy Spirit be the head of the body.
We can make a difference by playing our authentic role in the body. Acknowledging that all gifts are given for free, not for our benefit but to bless other members in the body. Remember, if the feet work, the whole body moves forward and flourishes.
Church and friends do not conform to this age where individualism and segregation are present in our daily environment. Instead, do your work in the body by practicing authentic love. Love is what unifies the body and holds it together. When we truly care for others, we see them as part of us. We spend time knowing them more and affirm their gifts through actions of equity and justice.