It was a dark and stormy night. The wind howled and snow blanketed the world outside. Mrs. Potato Head was tossing about in bed, alone in the dark. Suddenly, there came a muffled scream . . . from her top dresser drawer! The whole dresser began to move about, as if struggling to hold the contents within. 

Then, in a fit of convulsions, the dresser abruptly emptied the items across the bedroom floor.

“I am the mouth!  I am loud! I get to speak first!” said Mrs. Potato Head’s lips.

“But without me, the ear to hear you, you have no value at all!” answered the Ear.

“Look at me!” said the eyes.  “Oh, that’s right, you can’t!  You are not an eye!”

And on and on went the speeches and arguments, far into the night.  Each body part thought so highly of himself and herself that each was certain that the whole body would be better if he or she was the only part!  Such a silly argument!  We all know that it takes all the parts working together to be the whole body.

If the only body part was an eye, how could you eat!  You can’t put food in your eye!

Jesus told us a body story.  Jesus said we, his brothers and sisters, are the body of the church.  And each one of us is an important part of the body, just like the eyes and ears and mouth are important parts of Mrs. Potato Head’s body

What if Pastor Ed thought he was the most important part of the church body?!  He could preach the Word of God all day, but if there was no one here to worship, he would just be a mouth, not a whole body!

What if the band or the organist or the choir director thought he was the most important?  Or the Council members?  Or what if the church sexton, like Uncle Floyd who cleans the building, thought of himself as the most important part of the body. 

Or what if there were only children in the church?!  There would be no grown ups to be the SCS Teachers.

Jesus taught us that the body needs all the parts to be whole.  And all the parts need to work together.  Each of us is a part of the body of the church!  It reminds me of a song from Vacation Bible School I learned a long time ago.  It goes like this:

The church is not a building.
The church is not steeple.
The church is not a meeting place.
The church is the people!

I am the church.
You are the church.
We are the church together!
All of God’s children,
All around the world,
We are the Church together!

The storm outside stopped it’s raging and carefully and quietly morning arrived, the sun came up and shined on all the bright snow outside Mrs. Potato Head’s apartment at the Retirement Home.  Then the sunshine slipped through the bedroom window and crept across the floor to the body parts.  They had grown weary of the argument and now they slipped back into the dresser drawer. 

Mrs. Potato Head’s alarm clock buzzed, she got up and rolled over to her dresser!  It’s Sunday morning!  She carefully put on her ears, so that she might hear the Word of God.  Then she put on her nose, that she might smell the wine when Communion is served.  Then she put on her feet to walk down the aisle for communion.  Then she put on her mouth, that she might taste the Body of Christ in the bread.  And then she put on her eyes to see the glory of God!  She is ready for worship! 

As you can see, a body is not whole unless all the parts are here working together!  THE END

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