February 8, 2009 Sermon

Many Gifts
I Corinthians 12:12-31

Tom Brokaw wrote his book, The Greatest Generation as an homage to the men and women who had lived through the Depression and World War II, then worked and saved and led our nation into prosperity. These people were dying by the thousands per day. Brokaw wanted to document their stories before it grew too late. He respected their work ethic and their sense of morality. He believed—as I do—that without repeated recommitment to patriotism, personal responsibility and faith in God, no nation can long survive, let alone thrive. The Greatest Generation became a phenomenon. The title itself entered our cultural lexicon. And that Generation responded. Wherever he went, Brokaw found himself surrounded by folks who wanted to thank him. Perhaps more importantly, they wanted to tell him their stories. He started a national conversation which has not yet stopped.

So many of the Greatest Generation wrote Brokaw he published a follow-up book, The Greatest Generation Speaks. In it Brokaw wrote only briefly, giving historical context to introduce excerpts from the thousands of letters he received from people of all ages. For example, Joe Coppola of Paramus, New Jersey, wrote:

“I was almost twelve when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and my memory of that whole era is very vivid…In 1980 we helped close the Westinghouse Elevator plant by conducting an outplacement program for their last 220 employees. Many of the men were World War II veterans who were employed as machinists, electrical technicians, and maintenance workers. Several had unusual hobbies. One had played the piano at Carnegie Hall, another made artistic wall creations from sheet copper, one was an artist and another owned race horses. If I were ever marooned on an island I'd like it to be with these men because they could build a city. The greatest generation could and did do it all.”

In a very real sense we are marooned on an island. We are stuck in the midst of a culture that does not share our Christian faith. Many of us feel lonely, cut off from meaningful human contact though crowds envelop us in the stores, on the streets, in the schools. We are the Body of Christ, the church. We are all in this together, yet we often lack the sense of togetherness that defined the Greatest Generation. They were all on the same team and they knew it. They had a mission: Defend freedom. Everybody could and did do something to accomplish that mission. And they always kept their sense of belonging to a greater whole. We need that feeling of belonging and we can have it, in Christ. In I Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul tells us that through the power of God's Holy Spirit we are made one. But do we believe it? God has gifted each one of us in a unique way that the body needs. You belong. We need you.

Our passage opens with Paul's insistence that in Christ we belong to one another. The human body has many parts, yet it remains one body. “So it is with Christ,” Paul writes, “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.” Baptism dramatizes a critical spiritual truth: when we believe in Jesus Christ we get attached to the Church. We join the body. Consider the word “join”. In carpentry, a joiner has learned the skill of attaching pieces of wood so perfectly you often cannot tell where they come together. They appear and perform as one. So in the church, the Holy Spirit joins us. We fit. We work together.

Paul points out that the Body of Christ requires each member. No matter how humble, each person offers a necessary gift, something the Body needs. Paul states that in the Body of Christ the eye has no more importance than the ear, or the elbow for that matter. This is the point I illustrated last week with Doug Gauthier's sidewalk ministry. The gifts he uses to accomplish his ministry are not flashy: personal warmth, responsibility, willingness to work. Yet there might not be a more important ministry conducted at our church. We need toes as well as eyes. You belong. We need you.

Paul comments that God has even arranged it so the less impressive members of the body receive greater honor. This is perhaps more of a wishful thought than a fact. Most churches honor the obviously gifted. The soprano who sings a solo during the offering gets an ovation. The gifted teacher of adults hears praises. The skilled administrator gets a pay raise. Meanwhile, people performing essential, but humble, works seldom get thanked. This is not how God wants us to behave in the Body of Christ. In the church, preachers and soloists need sidewalk ministers and coffee cup setter-outers and schedule planners.

Paul admits churches have a hierarchy of gifted members. Apostles come first. That is, people who go out into the world and preach Christ have pre-eminence. Then come prophets, people gifted by the Holy Spirit to speak the truth as God gives them the message. Then come teachers, and so on down the list. Yet the Body truly needs every gift. Paul repeatedly asks the same rhetorical question at the close of the chapter. Are all apostles? (Answer: no.) Are all prophets? (Answer: no.) Etc., etc., etc. The Body of Christ needs all its members. You belong. We need you.

Our elders and deacons held a retreat last month. They prayed and talked together on the question of what specific ministries Jesus Christ has called upon the Northern Lakes Community Church to perform. The agreed that God has called us to focus on accomplishing a short list of ministries to the best of our ability. That is, the Holy Spirit has gifted us to do certain things, not everything. From that starting point our church officers worked together to create this list of the six ministries God has called NLCC to accomplish right here, right now: local, hands-on mission; Christian education; fellowship within the church; small groups; the Shepherding program, and worship. Obviously we already do most of these things. Our church officers have committed to leading us in doing them to the best of our ability, as an offering we are proud to lay at the feet of Jesus Christ.

You belong. We need you. We need you to help us make the love of Christ real for lonely, hurting people inside and out of our circle. The Apostle Paul concludes I Corinthians 12 with a reference to the “greater gifts” and “the most excellent way.” This is his transition into chapter 13, where he defines Christlike love. We will examine these famous words next week. For now, let us say only that to exercise our spiritual gifts is an act of the highest love. Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation Speaks includes this quote from Patricia Matthews Dorph, a soldier's daughter:
“During the war my parents wrote every day. About their hopes, dreams, fears, and their love and dedication to one another. It was not until I read all the hundreds of letters they wrote to each other that I realized my father was my mother's one true love. No one could ever take his place.”

True love almost always finds expression in action. So in the church we take the love of Christ and put it into action. We accomplish this great feat by receiving the gifts the Holy Spirit has given each one of us and using them. You belong. We need you. We need you to help us do mission, Christian Education, fellowship, small groups, Shepherding and worship. You belong. You have gifts. We need you. Jesus Christ waits to use you as part of his Body, the church. Find your place to give your gifts and then, give them.