PRAYER: God of all creation, remind us today of our calling to serve others, not just ourselves. Inspire and enlighten us that we may find common purpose for the common good of all those whom you love. May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
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A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to be part of a strategic planning committee for the Frenchtown Elementary School. In fact, I was invited twice – by two different members of the Board of Education in Frenchtown. The school is struggling (as many schools are all around the country) with declining attendance, reduced aid, lower test scores, and a handful of other problems.
We had our first meeting on Tuesday. Since I was personally invited to be part of the committee, I expected that there would just be a small handful of folks who would make up this strategic planning committee. So, I was quite surprised to see that over 50 people showed up for the meeting – each one of them invited to be part of this strategic planning for the school.
In addition to me, there were parents and grandparents of both young and older children, some seniors, local business owners, teachers, borough council members, and much more. Some of the people there have a greater stake in the success of the school than others who were there, but what they had in common… what we all have in common is a commitment to our community’s success. Everyone there brought their own skills and talents to the table that we could work together to help enable the success of the school in general, but all of the children specifically.
Our reading from 1 Corinthians this morning reminds us of the abundant gifts of the Spirit – gifts that are generously given, but they are not gifts that are given in equal measure to each one of us. It is sometimes human nature to try to look at the gifts that we have been given and either feel jealousy that our particular gift does not seem to measure up to others’, or to look at the gifts of others and feel some sense of pride or even arrogance that the Lord has been particularly good to me. But Paul writes that spiritual gifts are given in a diverse and variety of ways that lead first to a confession of Jesus as Lord and then to an even wider variety of services for the common good. The Lord has blessed us all… The Lord, the giver of life, the one from whom all blessings flow.
Paul was writing to the church in Corinth to address issues that had arisen there about how to interact with the unbelieving culture around them. The church was becoming somewhat insular, and he was responding to the specific problems of a particular group of believers. He was convinced that the Spirit graced believers with gifts for the continued building up of the body of Christ in faith, hope and love. And he rejected the idea that we should be separating ourselves from those around us who don’t happen to belong to the church body.
It was for this reason that Paul listed the many and diverse gifts here in chapter 12. He recognized that the church in Corinth was in danger of closing themselves off to their own community by declaring with a black and white certainty what is and what is not of sacred worth. Paul counters here by saying that all of these gifts belong together and are affirmed as equals under God. He was writing to ensure that the church acted inclusively and that they should be welcoming to groups that are sometimes rejected by society at large. So as Paul is listing the individual gifts in verses 4 through 11, and claiming that not everyone has every gift, he is making it clear that together we all comprise the church with our own unique gifts given by God. Paul is making a statement about diversity rather than uniformity.
That is why, in verses 4-6, he writes, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” The Spirit does not produce sameness, all Christians looking and acting alike. The Corinthian community needed this pointed reminder because, in their context, there was a belief that Christianity is and ever shall be defined according to a very narrow framework with no room for others. The people in the church of Corinth were forming a little clique unto themselves, and Paul would have none of it.
One of the environments that we see that word used a lot – cliques – is way back in high school. High schools are famous breeding grounds (whether good or bad) for cliques. In fact, one of the concerns mentioned at the strategic planning meeting this past week was that the Frenchtown school is so small, that when the kids get to the high school, they’re not prepared to find their own people – their own cliques.
In my high school, I was in the theatre clique. All of my people, including Anna, were involved in the school plays, in the concerts, and other forms of performing arts. In my senior year, we put on a comedy called The Man Who Came to Dinner, and one of the football players tried out and got the lead in the play. You can imagine that the people in my little circle were horrified that this guy… this interloper was coming into our group, never having been involved in a play before, and he take the lead part. We thought the play was ruined.
I will say that it didn’t take long for us to embrace this football player because he came in with humor and charm and left his ego at the door. It turned out that he had some pretty remarkable talent and he made this play better for having been a part of it. We embraced him and vice versa. He brought his talents, his gifts, we all brought our gifts and we did something really great together. And in all of this, the two very different high school cliques came together for a brief time and, I would like to think, we learned something about building community.
It should come as no surprise that the modern church more often than not, needs such a reminder because while we live in a pluralistic society, the church very often remains steadfastly opposed to the concept of radical hospitality and welcoming of others who do not fit our framework.
The diversity of gifts in the church, according to Paul, is rooted in the character of God. All of the gifts that Paul references – and this should not be seen as an exhaustive list, by the way – come from one Source. Diversity is not an accident or cultural phenomenon that needs to be eliminated. It is inherent in God’s nature. Paul lists these diverse gifts and says in verse 7 that they are “for the common good”. The Greek translation of this paints a picture of usefulness for others.
These gifts are given to individuals, but they are not intended for their private benefit, nor are they intended to be reserved for the inner circle of the church. Again: “…for the common good.”
I am convinced, as I hope you are, that we all possess spiritual gifts. And I am equally convinced that all of our gifts, along with the gifts of others outside of this place, are activated by God and to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. And as such, it is incumbent upon each of us – as theologian Howard Thurman put it – to “not shrink from the world, but to work in it with courage and high purpose, with the full consciousness that this is God’s world.”
This is not insignificant because, as many of us know, much like our local elementary school, the United Methodist Church has been in a difficult season of losing members and even whole congregations. Mostly over the issue of human sexuality, since 2019, more than 25% of all United Methodist congregations around the world have disaffiliated from the denomination over the church’s expanding, more welcoming stance of the LGBTQ community. I think that most of those churches that could not embrace a more expansive welcoming stance would have done well to remember Paul’s words that “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Which is why we must remain all the more vigilant and all the more committed to remembering Paul’s admonition to the church in Corinth that there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit. The same Lord that blesses me, blesses you. The Lord has indeed blessed each of us today. And it is the same God who activates all of those spiritual gifts within each of us, within everyone… all for the common good.
There is a quote from George Bernard Shaw, which has taken on new meaning for me especially in the last 10 weeks, and I hope this resonates with you:
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
We are part of God’s vast and ongoing creation, living in this moment to use our gifts for those around us and those who come after us. So, let us celebrate that fact, and not shrink from the diversity of the world, but to live into it with courage and high purpose, bringing God’s world into the beautiful community that can be achieved, with God’s help, in and because of our diversity. That is a strategic plan that offers our gifts to be put to great purpose, and God’s beautiful community will thrive well into the future.
To God be the glory!
