For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12: 12-13
Each of us has been blessed with unique abilities, gifts, and passions. Like the snowflake pictured here, we have been given an identity unlike no one else. We may share characteristics with members of our families, with parents or grandparents or siblings but there are no two of us exactly alike. The beauty of who we are is a gift from a god who promised long ago to be our God, when the Lord of Heaven and earth claimed us as his people.
Consider, what good is one snowflake? It is beautiful but what work can it do all on its own? Can it cover the earth and blanket the fields and keep the frost from going too deep? Can it provide enough moisture to nourish the ground and prepare it for spring’s seedlings? One snowflake cannot do these things. Many snowflakes can.
We hear in our scripture that the body of Christ is made up of many parts. Each part given to its own uniqueness yet intricately woven to support and provide for the whole body. As a single flake is to the snow, so is each member in the body of Christ, called to work together for something greater than it could on its own.
I am grateful for the way that you work together to share the work of Christ in this community and around the world. Our witness would not be possible if we worked on our own. There is power in our togetherness. There is blessing in the way individuals, then congregations, then the parish are able to share the good news of Christ in this place.
Thank you for your gifts of time, talent, and treasure given in support of the body of Christ. Thank you for your prayers and encouragements for the children and youth we are called to shepherd. Thank you for caring for your neighbors in times of joy and sadness. Thank you for the ways you have been blessed to share in this ministry.
With one, none of this is possible. With many, and with God, all things are possible. Thank you for sharing your individuality with your neighbors. May we celebrate this good work we are blessed to do.
