1 Corinthians 12:12-20, 26-31
For just as the body is one and has
many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it
is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews
or Greeks, servants or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot
would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would
not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I
am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a
part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it
is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as God chose. If
all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many
members, yet one body. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if
one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.
Now you are the body of Christ and
individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first
apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of
healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent
way.
Luke 4:14-21
Then Jesus, filled with the power
of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all
the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was
praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,
he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to
read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the
scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of our God is
upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. The Holy One has sent
me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of God’s
favour.” And
he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes
of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
*****
Will you pray with and for me? Holy
One, creator of galaxies and of cats, of trees and of peacocks, of the Rocky
Mountains and the Great Plains, of the storm and of the sunshine; remind us of
your presence with us now, as we seek to understand your grace and your
all-encompassing love. Amen.
In this letter to the Corinthians,
Paul is encouraging them to stand on their own two feet a bit. He reminds them
that everyone has a gift to give in God's service, even though that gift might
not seem like much to others. He uses this familiar metaphor of the body--we
need all the parts of the body, even the least significant, and while people
can and do live quite well without parts of their body, usually some other part
takes over at least part of the job of the missing part.
The metaphorical body that Paul is
referring to is, of course, the church--small c church, meaning all Christians.
Taken all together we are the body of Christ in the world, and each of us, as a
member of Christ's body, has a gift and a task.
We all have gifts and none are better
than another, just different. We each
have a purpose—every one of us—the seniors, the ill, the toddlers, parents,
accountants and line workers and retirees. More important, without each one of
us, each with our special gift, the body of Christ—the church—could not
function. We need ribs as much as we do
hands, elbows as much as hips, shoulders as much as toes. We need teachers and
and toddlers, cooks and carpenters, grandmothers and gardeners--they all work
together for one purpose. No one has all gifts, and all abilities, but we do
have our own unique gifts and talents. This metaphor of the body is not about
equality, but about "completeness." All those different gifts and
talents are to be not only accepted by the church, but are needed by the
church.
Our gifts may seem minor or not very
valuable to us, but to others they may mean the world. Take the work of a
church treasurer. Now, this is not a job I can do at all; but there are those
who love the work, playing with numbers and making the statements balance,
analyzing the information to identify trends, etc. A friend of mine and former
church treasurer thought of her time working in the church office on the church
books as “her time.” For her it was a break and relaxation, full of interest
and challenge. She had a gift for numbers.
To me, that would have been another chore—my “me” time is walking by the
river or reading or gardening; certainly nothing to do with number-crunching!
But for her, this was relaxing and interesting.
We are diverse, and God created us in
diversity—God loves diversity! We are many and varied—in race, gender,
ethnicity, talents, and gifts—we are all needed and all make up the beautiful
mosaic that is the body of Christ. Some of us like to work with numbers, some
prefer words; some are skilled mechanics and engineers who like to figure
out how things work, and others want to know why things work.
Now, Jesus had a special work, a
special task—“to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to
proclaim the year of God’s favour.” We may not be able to heal with a
touch, or turn water into wine, but with God’s grace and our own
God-given gifts, we can share the good news of God’s love, release the
captives, relieve oppression, and proclaim that God is present with us, in hope
and in grace.
Every one of us has gifts and graces
to offer, to share in and build up the body of Christ, the church. What is it
that brings you deep joy? What is it that you love to do so much that you can
spend hours doing it and not realize how much time has passed? Or what is it
that you do that makes people seek you out? It might be any of those listed by
Paul--caring for others, through the ministry of caring and counseling--or it
can be teaching, sharing your knowledge of a subject with others, helping them
come to an understanding of that topic, whether it is woodworking, or cooking,
or preaching or tying a shoe. Maybe it is prophecy--a clear-sighted vision of
how the world has gone astray from God's intentions. Whatever it is, that is
your gift.
And note this well--Paul says that no
one has all the gifts; everyone has a gift unique to them. We can't all be
teachers--who would be the students? Not everyone is a leader; only a few are
called to prophecy. But whatever your gift, Paul says, use it to the best of
your ability.
One of the first things I learned as
I began moving towards ordination, as I answered the call of God on my life,
was that clergy don't, and aren't expected to have, all those gifts. One of the
reasons I had resisted my call for so long was because I knew I didn't have all
those gifts. But in that process of discernment, I learned that it is not
expected that one person would have all those gifts. Some pastors are excellent
preachers, others are empathetic and are gifted counselors, some have musical
talent, some are able to see "the big picture" and are able
administrators. Part of the process is to tease out what your own personal
gifts are, and how you can use them as a called, ordained clergy person in the
body of Christ. I knew I was not and am not, especially gifted in working with
youth. I like kids, have one myself--but by no means do I have the abilities,
the skills, to be a youth pastor. I appreciate music, I can read music, I have
a passable voice--but I am not gifted with the talent to be a minister of
music. And thanks be to God! Because that leaves room for others, who do have
those gifts and talents and skills, to do that work of the church to which they
are called--and I am not. When we follow our own calling, and only our own
calling, we leave space for everyone else to follow theirs. Remember Paul said
that the body cannot be only seeing, for then where would hearing be? We can't
all be youth pastors, because then who would be the altar guild or the parish
visitors?
And these aren't all fancy, in the
limelight tasks, either--we are not all prophets or preachers or healers. But
our gifts, whatever they are, are unique to us--it is your gift of teaching;
even if there are six teachers, every one has a unique style and talent.
Talents may be large or small, famous or unseen. But they are ours.
Every one of us is needed in the body
of Christ--each of us, with our gifts and talents and skills and graces.
Together, we become the visible Church, doing that work of Christ that he was
called to do--and that we are called to do. The Spirit of God is upon us; we
have been anointed to bring good news to the poor. We have been sent to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim that this is the year of God's favour.
Take your gift, use your talent,
share your skills and calling with the whole body of Christ, knowing you are a
part of the body, and as needed as any other part. Go and be Christ's
comforting, healing, feeding, liberating body to this hurting world. In all
God's names, amen.
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