Author: James Brandenburg

Scripture

15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said:This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”for she was taken from man.
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.

Genesis 2:15-24

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Let me begin with a short backstory.

When I was 12, the public school teachers went on strike. So my brother and I transferred to a catholic school in a town nearby. This was the first time that I got to experience nuns as teachers. These nuns were scary and intimidating. Or they seemed to be at the time.

But one nun stood out in my memory from long ago. Her name was Sister Angelina. She taught religion class. We had homework and tests just like any other subject. What I didn’t realize at the time was that religion class was not like any other subject. It was the most important subject of all!

Sister Angelina spent most of her efforts trying to follow the curriculum which was moving through the 66 books of the bible.

I admit, I wasn’t an A student in her class. And even more so, I didn’t even like her class. We read out of these Good News bibles and I really didn’t understand why they were called good news or what the good news was. I know it was religion class but why did we have to read about all that stuff? Why couldn’t she just tell us all the important stuff? Maybe a bullet point list and have a discussion and a quiz?

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SCRIPTURE

For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body-so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. So the body is not one part but many.

If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? Now there are many parts, yet one body.

So the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” nor again the head to the feet, “I don’t need you!”
On the contrary, all the more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary.

And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. But our presentable parts have no need [of clothing]. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.

So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.

And God has placed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next, miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in languages? Do all interpret? But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

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