Homosexuality and the Church as Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12.12-end

Paul’s letters to the Church at Corinth can be a frustrating part of scripture to read, because we only have one side of the correspondence and we may not even have all of Paul’s side of it. Reading between the lines, together with what we know of the history and culture of Corinth, we can appreciate some of the problems Paul was writing to address:

·         Membership was divided, with different loyalties splitting the church and so reducing its health and effectiveness.

·         Some members felt shame and inadequacy, that they weren’t good enough to be part of the church.

·         Others felt proud of who they were in the church and looked down on other, inferior members. They rejected some others from church membership altogether, saying “I don’t need you”.

In today’s passage he addresses both these kinds of people within this lively but chaotic and divided church. Each person, each member is part of a body, the body of Christ and needs to be functioning healthily in order for the whole body to be healthy.

If you prevent a body part functioning healthily, it will function inadequately or unhealthily, affecting the health of the whole body. For example, there is nothing in the Bible against smoking. But if I choose to fill my lungs with tobacco smoke ten or twenty times a day, my lungs will be unhealthy – and not just my lungs; my whole body will be unhealthy as a result. Or I might decide to wear a patch over one eye all the time, as some sort of fashion statement. It will not only be that eye which can’t function normally, my whole body’s judgement of distance and speed will be impaired. If I wear this patch long term, the sight of that eye may eventually be lost. The eye will become incapable of functioning as a healthy eye.

First (v14-20) Paul addresses those who felt INFERIORITY, SHAME, JEALOUSY vis-a-vis others in the church. “Because I am only a foot and not a hand I don’t really belong here. I am not part of this.” Paul insists that they do not cease to be part of the body just because of their feelings of inferiority. God put them there for a purpose and they need to be living healthily, to their full potential, if the body of Christ is to be healthy.

Then (v21-26) he addresses those who felt SUPERIORITY, PRIDE, SELF-IMPORTANCE vis-a-vis others in the church. He tells them firmly that they cannot say “I don’t need you” to others in the church, without losing something essential to the healthy life of the church, the body of Christ (NB not just some-body or any-body, but the body of Christ).

(V25-26) In a healthy body, all the parts serve and support and value each other. When one suffers, all suffer; when one rejoices, all rejoice. Neither shame nor pride are healthy and the body of Christ needs to be healthy if it is to fulfil its purpose in the world.

Now I’d like to relate this teaching to a controversial issue, which is the position of homosexual people in the church. This was in the news last week because of high profile Baptist Church Minister Steve Chalke’s article in Christianity magazine and interviews he has done.

(Here is a link  to Steve Chalke’s article in Christianity magazine and here is a response from Steve Clifford of the Evangelical Alliance, defending the traditional view.)

Many other evangelicals, myself included, have reached same conclusions as Steve, briefly that the Church should bless and affirm gay and lesbian people who wish to live in faithful, stable partnerships. It is not a matter of throwing away the Bible and just deciding to be nice and liberal and inclusive. This change of viewpoint has been reached through seeking to understand the experiences of gay and lesbian christians and a re-evaluation of what the Bible actually teaches about homosexuality. It is not a subject that Jesus said anything about at all and although there are a few Old Testament and New Testament passages which appear to prohibit homosexual relationships, it is likely that the former refer to temple prostitution and the latter to the sexual abuse of vulnerable people such as slaves. It is extremely unlikely that faithful, stable partnerships between people of the same gender are the target of any of these Bible texts.

Personally I agree with Chalke that there is a strong case for revising the Church’s view of the subject and whilst you don’t have to agree, it should at least give us all pause for thought. Especially when we relate this controversy to the Bible passage we are looking at today. If homosexuality is not an aberration or something that needs to be repented or healed of, but intentional and part of the diversity God has created, it follows that the body of Christ as a whole will not function healthily unless homosexual people can live healthily within the Church. The Church of England’s official teaching currently allows homosexual members to live in partnerships but does not allow blessing services for these partnerships. If one of the partners is a priest, the relationship must also be celibate.  Is forcing people to stay single, celibate or silent about their orientation healthy? Celibacy is a very specific and demanding vocation and not something which should be forced on anybody because of their sexual orientation. Wouldn’t it be healthier for individuals and for the whole body of Christ  to encourage, bless and support faithful, stable partnerships, including same gender partnerships?

The Anglican Communion is deeply divided on this issue, with homosexual partnerships already allowed and blessed in the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopalian church of the USA, but firmly rejected by many other Anglican Churches.For the time being, many of us may have to agree to differ on this emotive issue and I pray that we may be able to do so with respect and compassion and that we may avoid our natural pitfalls of shame and pride.