Ephesians 4 Tree of Life Version (TLV)Unity of the Body and of God4 Therefore I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you were called-- 2 with complete humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Ruach in the bond of shalom.
4 There is one body and one Ruach,
    just as you also were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one immersion;
6 one God and Father of all,[a]
who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given in keeping with the measure of Messiah’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When He went up on high,
He led captive a troop of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 Now what does “He went up” mean, except that He first went down to the lower regions of the earth? [c] 10 The One who came down is the same One who went up far above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.
11 He Himself gave some to be emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers-- 12 to equip the kedoshim for the work of service, for building up the body of Messiah. 13 This will continue until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of Ben-Elohim—to mature adulthood, to the measure of the stature of Messiah’s fullness. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be like children, tossed around by the waves and blown all over by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men with cunning in deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all ways into Messiah, who is the Head. 16 From Him the whole body is fitted and held together by every supporting ligament. The proper working of each individual part produces the body’s growth, for building itself up in love.
Ephesians 4 The Message (MSG)To Be Mature4 1-3 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
4-6 You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
7-13 But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,
He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.
Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.
14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. Christ keeps us in step with each other. Christ's very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

 In this year of working on and in our own backyard, growing and nurturing relationships inside the church and tending to the place and gifts God has given us as a community, we've looked at ways that we can become the best "we" possible. For the past few weeks we've been working through a series on how our community of faith can be made stronger through Christ, or, as we call it, Backyard Body-Building, as we work our way through Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  The author of that book uses body imagery to illustrate our connectedness and our oneness in Christ.  As I just read, "From Christ the whole body is fitted and held together by every supporting ligament."  It's definitely a cool image. It speaks to our dependence on each other- our reliance on each other. 

More so than any other Biblical metaphor, human body connection is one each of us have experienced first hand- we know what it feels like to have a healthy body, with all parts working properly, and most of us know what it's like to have an unhealthy body, where one or more of our body parts are not working properly.  Who has broken their leg or a bone of some kind?  When that happens, the leg or arm goes into a cast, the whole body is slowed down.  Or, in our body-building metaphor, what would happen if you only worked out your arms, and didnt work out your chest, or back or legs?  Exactly, start looking like Popeye... as the author explains: "The proper working of each individual part produces the body’s growth, for building itself up... in love."

So since in our workout or body building series we've talked about the importance of a good warm up, worked on core training, or, the basics of our faith, (not only does God love you just the way you are, no matter what, but that  the church is to be the new model of social order in the world.  God's saving plan for the world is the church.  We 'work out' in here to get strong to change the world out there!  Last week we got in a good cardio work out that dealt with all matters of the heart, Learning that God's spirit lives in us,  that we are rooted and grounded in God's love, our cardio, or heart workout means choosing every single day to pray as Paul says, for the "power to understand as all God's people should, how wide, how high, how deep God's love is." And also, that no matter how fast you run, you can't outrun God's love.

So it makes sense then that today we turn our attention to individual body parts- how each part functions in the body of Christ- the ever famous, what is our call- what gifts have we been given- how do those individual gifts play out in community, or, the body- and exactly how on heaven or earth this happens on an individual level...

One might think, why on earth do we need to talk about this?  We get it- when a leg is broken, it slows down the whole body. (Bill W?) When someone has a stomach flu, it makes the entire body feel bad. Even something as small as a hangnail can serve to disrupt and distract a body from functioning to capacity... and it's an easy enough concept to grasp. If each of us are included in the body (and we've established that much, right?) then it should be simple- but then there's that next part- we are all connected- that 'fitted and held together' thing...

It's not the same as being 'included' you know... being connected.  Knowing I'm welcome someplace if I want to to, and that I'll be welcome there and loved is included. But seeing myself as a 'connected' part of that place is something different. Connected, means I am 'part of-' that 'myself' does not only belong to me- heck, that means 'myself' doesn't even belong to just "me and Jesus!" Connected means myself belongs to a whole bunch of selves- myself belongs to all of you. And, no offense, but if I play it all the way out, I don't know if I like that.  

I mean connection sounds great when I want to be connected.  When life is going great and I want to share it with all of you, and when I feel energetic, or like I have something to contribute, and when I have nothing pressing in my real life... you know, my out of church life, to take care of, or something that I need to work out by myself... I don't want any interference from anybody- or those times when I just want to be alone- you know- that's scriptural after all, right?- that alone time stuff?... or like we were talking bout last week, when sometimes I want to be here and sometimes i want to sit home and read the paper... you know... 

So, I guess, while I like the connection idea... I would kind of like it to be a connection when I feel like being connected, and when I don't- well, then I can turn it off- dis-connect from all of it- from all of you! Otherwise i think it's a little creepy- otherwise I have to worry about everyone else every time i make a decision!  Connected all the time means I can't move around as I like, because it's not just me anymore- connection means I can no longer do anything I want, or show up just when I feel like it, because it limits what the body can do... just like that broken leg we were talking about earlier... 

And isn't that a little bit unnerving?  We live in a society that thrives on following our individual heart- our impulsive purchases, our individual right to vote- or flitting from one thing to another, or from here to there on a whim- my life is based on my individual choices- or individualism in general is what fuels capitalism- greed, money, power!  Individualism teaches us to be free thinkers, encourages us to stand out, to go for the win and be better than others.  Even in some religions, individualism- it's just me and my relationship with jesus that counts" speaks to the way we have left our connection to others as a sidebar... something we like to say, or a way we like to think of ourselves, but not necessarily enough to give up our own stuff...

Seeing ourselves as intrinsically connected means we have to think of all of that differently... because being connected means that everything I do, affects everyone else...for good or for bad.  Being connected means we give up the freedom to do whatever we want to serve our own interests because there are others to consider beside myself.  I don't think of just me anymore- I have to think of "us." Being connected means that if I want to take a risk, I put the whole body at risk- my actions affect all of us. It means that if I decide to exhaust myself, it takes energy from all the other body parts to help heal and bring me up to speed. Even when we argue about things...

You know when I do premarital counseling, one whole session is devoted to arguing.  Just because 'two become one flesh' it doesn't mean those two automatically agree on everything... and we talk about respecting each other through differences, and the art of speaking the truth in love, and we talk bout the basis of arguments being fighting for oneself, or ones beliefs, or ones ideas... but I tell couples, once you are married, you give up arguing so that you "win." Once you get married you're no longer fighting for yourself- you're fighting for the marriage.  

The same is true in the body of Christ.  We put our personal, individual needs 'here'- and yes, we maintain personal integrity, but we are always, even when we disagree, always looking toward to growth and edification of the church.  We always have the big picture front and center- will this help or hurt the ministry? 'We' are first and foremost agents of peace- ministry of healing and reconciliation... being connected means that we wear that on tee shirts, we have that message on the bathroom mirrors, and over the front door- we internalize it as our group motto! 

Being connected means what I do affects the whole community- and ok- maybe by now you are thinking, "sure, if pastor Linda does something, or someone on the leadership team, or someone like Howard does something, sure it affects us because they are "in charge." 
Can I share a secret with you?  I'm not in charge.  The leadership team is not in charge (don't tell them).  Not even Howard, as much as his music brings to worship, not even the congregation is in charge... (sorry).  The only one in charge around here is Christ.  Christ is the head.  Christ is the visionary.  Christ is the brain...or in the words of Ephesians: "We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. Christ keeps us in step with each other. Christ's very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." Every single one of us is included (and connected) in that "we!" What we do, or don't do, matters to all of us.

Now bring it back to what that means for you and me in our backyard- 

Of anything I have ever taught you (except maybe for God loves you just the way you are, no matter what) this is the most life changing for both individuals and our community of faith.  Because it means that each of us, just like all the parts of our body, have a specific gift or call to fulfill in this community.  And sure you can look at the list , pastors, teachers, evangelists, that the author of Ephesians names in this passage and try to fit yourself into that box, but the diversity of gifts that God has brought to this community are as numerous as there are people- and here's a bigger truth- those gifts that are in you, and me, in each of us,  are an exact fit for some type of ministry that God is calling us to! Let me rephrase that... your gifts, each skill, talent, calling that you possess, God has specifically provided and brought to this community of faith, to be used for the ministry we are called to do as a community of faith.  Do you understand that?  All the ministry that we are capable of doing as a community of faith, and every resource for carrying out that ministry is already present in our backyard.  Think about that- it's a little bit mind blowing.

Now, admittedly, can be taken as a little bit of a 'you need to do something' or performance message.  Because what it means is that unless we are each using our gifts, we are not doing the work God is calling us to.   It also means that we cannot become the best version of ourselves as long as there are some not using the gifts God has given them.  And to some who have been made to feel guilty about not doing enough, or giving enough, or being enough, this thought can hit like a huge guilt train.  But I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty- I'm saying that your gift, your personal gift, is so valuable to us- to the body of Christ, that we can't do without it and live out our mission.  Every person, ever gift matters.  

And try looking at this from the flip side.  There is a sense inherent in connection that we also need to help each other find our gifts- and then encourage each other to use our gifts... "You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly." We are all responsible for each other- to encourage each other to become all that God has designed us to be.  But there's one more thing the author wants us to know...

​That wherever you are on this jouryen, youre ok.  Whether you haven't yet discovered your gifts, or still in process of find