The word of God that engages us this morning is found in St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter four, verses 11-12. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teacher, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” This is our text.

I am not qualified to evaluate art. The only art classes I’ve ever taken in my life are limited to three photography classes and a graphic design course in high school. So when Emily and I visited the St. Louis Art Museum a few years ago, I’m not convinced we fully appreciated what we were viewing, even though there was an exhibit of the famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt at that time.

Museums are aware that the average patron lacks the sophisticated and time consuming training that a true art lover shares, and for that reason they almost always have a museum curator on hand. Museum curators are trained, and they have studied art and history for years. Museum curators can spot the subtle differences between brush strokes and shades, and with a single piece of art they can tell a story of its majesty and give you a glimpse into the life and times of the artist who created the work.

If ever there was a day when I needed a museum curator at my side, it was on that day when Emily and I visited that Rembrandt exhibit on the top floor of the St. Louis Art museum. I was vaguely familiar with Rembrandt. I was aware of his status as a masterful painter. I could even recall in my mind one of his famous self-portraits, but I would see none of these, because, unbeknownst to me, Rembrandt was also a famous etcher. And this exhibit was an exhibit of his etchings, not his paintings.

Emily and I were a bit disappointed, but we were there and so we walked through the dimly lit room draped with black felt curtains and viewed Rembrandt’s etching masterpieces. And along the way, I learned something. The exhibit was organized wonderfully. There was no curator available, but placed next to each etching was a beautifully printed card that helped explain the intricacies of each work of art. About halfway through the exhibit, I’ll never forget it, there was an etching of an old man by Rembrandt, and to help you appreciate Rembrandt’s unparalleled skills at etching, there was placed next to that Rembrandt etching another etching of the same man by one of Rembrandt’s students.

The difference was as obvious as night and day. It was like comparing a stick figure to an actual human being. The comparison between master and student helped. Thanks to that comparison I had a newfound respect for Rembrandt’s etchings, so much so that I walked back to the beginning of the exhibit to look once again at the etchings I had passed by in ignorance.

Comparisons: they work great in museums, but they are debilitating in the church.

Today in our epistle reading, St. Paul leads us away from the comparisons, and reminds us that the body of Christ is not built up by comparisons.

Comparisons rarely if ever build up the body of Christ, in fact, they usually do the opposite.

For example, I once attended a church far away from here called Immanuel Lutheran Church, and to my abject horror the attendance that Sunday morning was eleven people. Fourteen if you counted the usher, the organist and the pastor. I was outraged. I was further appalled when I learned that the church only had one service. As a vicar I just couldn’t believe it. And what I did next does not even resemble those words found in our epistle reading for this morning. I stopped being a vicar and turned into Sherlock Holmes. I went to a computer and I looked up Immanuel Lutheran Church on our Synod’s website and I discovered that the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church doesn’t have a call anywhere else, this church isn’t even one part of a dual or tri-parish. One pastor, for one church, eleven in attendance.

And even though St. Paul tells us that God has provided apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers, and yes, even vicars, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. Even though St. Paul has said all these things, I did the opposite.

I didn’t bow my head in prayer, instead I logged into a forum with other seminarians and vicars and I shared my horrors and judgments with all of them. And together we formed a community of sinners who did not equip the saints of the ministry. Instead, we tore down the body of Christ.

After all this I looked at Salem Lutheran Church, with all its warts and bruises. I looked at the devastatingly low Sunday school attendance, and an even lower youth participation that weighs heavily on my heart and on pastor’s heart. And I smiled. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I smiled and thought to myself, “Things here aren’t so bad after all.”

Our attendance was better than theirs 21 times over. We had twice as many services as them. We even have a sign out front that tells you who we are and when we worship, they did not. And I was feeling pretty good. We were better. Better by comparison. After all, it works great in museums. Unfortunately, God’s Word doesn’t support it one bit. God’s word doesn’t talk about lives and churches that are dominated by “comparisons,” but rather lives and churches grounded in unity.

Through the words of St. Paul to the Christians in Ephesus, our Lord gives us a glimpse of the blueprints of Christian unity. He shows us structure, Ephesians 4:11 “[God] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip the saints,” and He shows us purpose, Ephesians 4:12 “for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.”

And we’ve heard him. You and I have heard these words from the Lord. And it has propelled us into action. Our greatest deficiency of our church is its youth and we all know it.

It weighs heavily on my heart. I promise you it weighs heavily on pastor’s heart. And I can tell that it weighs heavily on your hearts too. You’ve tried the DCE. You’ve tried the new programs. You have even dug deep into your pockets during an economic crisis, and in one month a bigger and better youth room will be completed.

Unfortunately, what was true for Kevin Costner, is not necessarily true for us. If you build it, they still might not come.

We know what we want, we know what we don’t have, we know what we’ve tried to fix the problem, and when every avenue appears exhausted, we start comparing. Many of you don’t have children of Sunday school and high school age anymore, and so you may start comparing. And it usually starts with the same eight words. “Back when my kids were in Sunday school…” Back when my kids were in Sunday school there was a stronger sense of community. Back when my kids were in Sunday school there weren’t sports tournaments or games scheduled on Sunday or even Wednesday night. Back when my kids were in Sunday school, everyone went to Sunday school.

And while all those things may be true, I’m here to remind you that we are not gathered together today in a museum. We are gathered together in a church.

In a museum you can take two separate pieces of art, and when you set them side by side you can compare and contrast, and you can decisively determine which one is better. You can take Rembrandt’s masterpiece and prop it next to his student’s work and the difference between the two is like night and day. The body of Christ does not share such distinctions. St. Paul makes this very clear in today’s epistle lesson when he says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

If we are going to build up the body of Christ we need to dispense with the comparisons and focus on the one thing that got us to where we are today, and that is Christ’s gift. St. Paul writes, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

Too often we get hung up on the many and various gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the gift of hospitality, gentleness, kindness, preaching and teaching, but all of these gifts amount to nothing if it weren’t for the ONE gift of Christ: when Christ gave to us himself.

Christ’s gift was that time when he allowed his body not to be built up into an impregnable fortress of solitude, but rather broken down into the frail figure of a man nailed to a tree. The only reason why we can even talk about building up the body of Christ, is because he first allowed sin and the devil to tear it down. It’s ironic, but it makes sense, because when you look at the body of Christ you always see the cross, that place where comparisons die.

When you look at the cross you don’t see Salem Lutheran Church more prominently displayed than those sparse 14 members I worshiped with at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Instead you see a disheveled and dying Jesus. When you look at the cross you don’t see a bustling youth group crucified there, you see Christ’s body, bloody and broken.

The cross is always a sobering reminder of the consequences that result from our petty actions, and left to ourselves, the body of Christ would remain pinned to the tree. But we are not left to ourselves, and the body of Christ did not remain dead on that tree. Jesus Christ rose again in glory, and now he gives to us himself and he builds us up. As a body builder increases his strength by lifting weights, the body of Christ is build up through the preaching of sermons. As a house is constructed when a skilled craftsman expertly nails two boards in place, so does Christ construct His church through the teaching in Bible class. And just as a jeweler cannot fashion a gold ring without gold, our Lord refuses to building up the body of Christ without Christ, which is why he delivers Christ’s body and blood to each one of us at the rail of grace.

And with Christ in our hands and Jesus on our lips, the comparisons cease. The church and its ministries is never meant to be something you place behind glass and evaluate like a Rembrandt etching at the St. Louis Art Museum. It’s the living, breathing, walking and talking body of Christ, that is forever equipping you, his saints, for the work of the ministry.