You know they call
corn-on-the-cob "corn-on-the-cob," right? But that's how it comes out
of the ground, man. They should just call that "corn", and they
should call every other version "corn-off-the-cob." It's not like if
you cut off my arm you would call my arm "Mitch", but then reattach
it and call me "Mitch-all-together.”
- Comedian Mitch Hedberg 
Mitch Hedberg is one of my favorite comedians of all time.
Before his untimely death, he quickly became known for not only having a
practically flawless sense of comedic timing and delivery, but also for being
one of the absolute masters of observational humor. Hedberg was so funny
because he routinely noticed and observed so many of the absurd things in life
that we had forgotten about and learned to ignore. This was the power of
his humor. He was able to rediscover things in everyday life that we had been
taught to ignore. Not only was it humorous, but it also felt like pure
discovery and exploration.
The “corn-on-the-cob” joke above is one such example.
Hedberg astutely wonders aloud why we refer to corn
as “corn-on-the-cob” when that is, in fact, its natural state. It begins
on the cob, and so it feels absurd or necessary to refer to it
as “corn-on-the-cob.” Wouldn’t it make more sense, Hedberg suggests,
to just refer to canned corn as “corn-off-the-cob”? Its as ridiculous as
if we were to refer to me as “Brent-all-together.” I’m just Brent… My
primary state is already to be united and together. So,
with “corn-on-the-cob”, how did we get to the point where saying
this sort of phrase became accepted or normal? Truly, when did the primary
state of corn become the “unusual” one?
The absurdities of this observation provide
fertile ground for humor as Hedberg demonstrates, but this week I wondered
about another situation where the primary state of something has become
the “unusual” one; though a situation perhaps not as humorous. This week
as I read the Scripture passage for Sunday from the book of Ephesians, it
reminded me of how, in today's society, we may be confused about the
natural and unnatural states of a reality.. the ideas of community and the
individual. In the Scripture for Sunday, Paul, in writing to
the church at Ephesus, reminds them that the true reality which they
inhabit is a community, the Body of Christ which is the church. Using this
idea of a body to its natural conclusion, Paul urges the church to remember that
they “are the body of Christ.” Paul’s point is simple, but profound for us
today. The true reality of the life of faith is not our individual
development and growth, but instead who we are as a community. Paul
asserts that we are not individuals who gather as the church, but instead
a church community which sometimes acts as individuals. Our primary state is
community.
But I think we live in a time that tells us otherwise. The
core of our taught reality is the individual… individual rights, individual
freedoms and individual choices. And while I am not necessarily denying these
things, I do see a danger in these phrases teaching us that our primary state
is the individual, rather than the church or body of Christ. This may mean that
when we come to church, we are thinking about being fed spiritually,
rather than thinking “How can I build up this community and those
around me?” This week, we will consider how to reclaim the idea that our
primary state is community, rather than the individual. If you would like to
read the Scripture passage before then, you can find it here. See you on Sunday!
- Pastor Brent
4650 Mansfield Street, San Diego, Ca
92116
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