Here’s the thing: Paul tells us that we who believe in Christ are “members of one another”.
As in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Ro 12:4–5)
“Member” means “body part” (as in “dismember”), not “dues-payer in the Kiwanis Club”. To be a member of the body of Christ means that “each is responsible for all”.
Paul says this as a consequence of what Christ has done by joining us to himself in baptism. Joined by Christ to himself, each person is necessarily joined to all the other parts of his body. More than this, we are all called and gifted by him to carry out our particular call. As Sherry Weddell is fond of observing, “If you are called, you are gifted and if you are gifted you have been called.” God does not send us on a mission without equipping us to do the job. Nor does he send us alone, even when we may feel very lonely indeed.
Sometimes the corporate nature of the mission of the Body of Christ can be seen and felt very clearly as member work together for common purpose. It can feel glorious, like when musicians or improv actors riff off one another and create something wonderful.
That’s a warm and fuzzy feeling when you are thinking about the ways in which Christians often help and care for one another in charity or work together creatively.
But we don’t get to opt out when other Christians are selfish assholes. Our union continues even then, because Christ’s union with them continues too. That’s because the Holy Spirit, not any human member, is the soul of the Church. When Christians sin gravely, we and they remain members of the one Body of Christ and we must bear the burden of their sins. Why? Because he who knew no sin became sin for them and us and we are members of his body, called to suffer with him even when we have not sinned ourselves. Given that he does this for us when we sin, that is what charity looks like when we are called to exercise it.
That’s why Jesus was baptized even when he had no sin to be cleansed of. He identified himself completely with all those who did need to be cleansed, especially you and me. The water did not wash him of sin. He sanctified the water that would wash us of sin in our baptism. In an hour when many Christians have chosen to whore themselves out to a dimestore antichrist, those who have not done so should not waste time saying, “Don’t blame me!”, much less demanding “Pay me what you owe me!” as we throttle those who failed and betrayed us. We should be taking our sinning fellow Christian’s place and saying, “Forgive us, for we crucified Christ too.” It is on us to take the burden of responsibility as Christ did, for the sake of those with whom we are united in baptism who do not take responsibility. That is part of the burden of the cross Christ lays on our shoulders.
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