Use readers that are different ages and genders.
1: The human body is made of many parts, but those parts—cells, muscles,
organs, and bones—still make up one whole body. It is the same with the body
of Christ.
2: Some of us are Jews, some Gentiles.
3: Some are black, some white; some brown, red, and yellow.
2: Some can hear and others are deaf.
3: Some can run; some cannot walk.
2: Some are slaves.
3: And some are free.
1: But the breath of the same Holy Spirit makes us one.
1: The body has many parts, and they are all necessary and to be
valued.Though the foot might say, “I am not a part of the body because I am
not a hand,” it is not so. It is still a part of the one body. The ear may
say it is not a part of the body because it is not an eye; it also is not
so. Each is of equal importance to the whole.
2: And it is the same with the church.
3: The ones who cannot read from the scriptures are still a part of this
body.
2: The ones who are poor, do not have Sunday clothes, and share by
offering gifts other than money, are also important to the whole.
3: The ones who can’t sit still for an entire service, are distracted,
and don’t appear to be in tune with what is going on, are no less important.
1: God has placed each one just where he wants them. If we were all the
same, how strange the church would be—how boring.
2: If we were all students, who would teach us?
3: And if we were all sad, how would we know joy?
2: If we were all ill, who would care for us?
3: And if we were all poor, who could see to our needs?
1: People who can make music cannot say to those who don’t, we don’t need
you. Those who can prepare wonderful meals cannot say to the ones who don’t
cook, you are not needed here. Still others who clean and garden to make the
building comfortable and the grounds beautiful cannot say to those who do
not do these things, you can go. We can do it without you.
2: In fact, the weakest and least important are actually the most
necessary. And those that seem less successful are the ones we need to
provide with the greatest care.
3: Honoring and caring for one another makes for harmony among the
members. The compassion and caring we have for one another should know no
bounds.
2: When one suffers, the whole should suffer.
3: When one is honored, the whole should celebrate.
1: All of us together are Christ’s body: The weak and strong The educated
and the illiterate The able-bodied and the disabled The brokenhearted and
the ones in love The dark skinned and the light skinned The old and the
young The liberals and the conservatives The impatient and the patient
2: We are all gifted.
3: And the gifts of us all are needed for the body of Christ.
1: So then let us celebrate the diversity that makes up the body and look
for and value the giftedness of each one.
