— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
Something happened this past weekend that caused me to remember a passage that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians. While cutting a watermelon, my finger was in the way of the knife. I automatically dropped the knife and the watermelon rolled and fell to the floor.
As my finger bled the rest of my body was called into action. My brain took the lead and quickly developed a plan. My other hand grabbed a dish towel and wrapped it around my finger to stop the bleeding. My legs, hips, knees and feet worked together to bring me to the drawer that held the bandages. My eyes quickly saw what I needed after looking at the cut and seeing the size. Then my mouth was alerted to call a neighbour to help me with the bandaging. My ears heard the words of my neighbour and the doorbell when they arrived. In the end my entire body was activated to take care of the small tip of one of ten fingers.
In 1 Corinthians Paul illustrates the church, the body of Christ in comparison with the human body.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12
We, the body of Christ are dependant on each other. Each of us has a place in this body and each of us is dependant upon the other. Not one of us can operate alone since we are dependant on each other.
Just as my finger would have continued to bleed without the help of the rest of my body, the church remains healthy when all the body parts work together.
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 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. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 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!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 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, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.´
I Corinthians 12:12-27
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 
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