1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Friday morning, I received a picture of a walleye in a text message. The message was from my daughter in West Fargo. The fish had been caught by my grandson, Blake. Blake is 10. He was in Warroad for a hockey tournament this weekend. With school in West Fargo being virtual on Friday, they figured they might as well go to the hockey tournament a day early and go ice fishing on Lake of the Woods. There was another picture of Blake, with three of his friends/teammates standing holding this 15-18 inch walleye. The snow-covered frozen lake stretched almost as far as you could see. In the evening, Nell's brother in New Orleans, was complaining about how cold it was. The temps overnight had dropped down to the lower S0's. Blake has never lived south of Fargo. Nell's brother has never lived north of Louisiana. Are they just used to the weather? Or does each have the ability to be better able to handle the weather where they live?
In the past year I have been to more hockey games that I had been to in all the previous years of my life combined. Many of you know that the reason is because of going to hockey games for, Blake, my 10 year old, grandson in West Fargo. I am far from an expert on hockey. Lots of the technicalities of hockey are unknown to me. I am learning. Often the penalties are things I do not understand. I will ask my grandson, Blake, to explain things to me. A number of times, I have asked Blake why he did something in a game and not something else. He often says that he does what he is supposed to and trusts his teammates to do what they are supposed to do. He told me that some on the team can do some things better and some can do other things better. He says that they do not all have the same abilities, but when they work together, they get more done than any of them could do alone. That is probably the most important thing that we can learn from team sports; we usually get more done when we work together than we can get done by ourselves.
Our lesson this morning is not about hockey or ice fishing. At least it is not directly. To many church people this is a familiar text, or at least one that we remember that we have heard. I am not saying that it is a scripture lesson that we all know and understand and can give brilliant explanations to everyone, but at least it sounds sort of familiar. Part of that is common sense.
We all know that not everyone has the same gifts. Not everyone has the physical gifts to be a professional athlete, or the intellect to be an accountant, or the ability to be a professional musician. Not everyone is a good cook or good at sewing, or mechanics, or a brilliant surgeon. Different people have different gifts.
Over the years, I have been asked to do, or help with, many different things in the churches that I have been connected to. But no one has asked me to be the pianist or organist. I just plain do not know how. Maybe I could learn, but right now, I just do not know how. No one has asked me to be the church treasurer. I just plain am not that good with numbers. Some of you do amazing things that I am not able to do, and maybe I even do some things that some of you cannot do. Different people have different gifts. Paul tells us that there are a variety of gifts.
A variety of gifts. We have heard that. Most of us realize that. But then Paul ups the ante a bit by telling us that all of our gifts are given by the Spirit of God. Think of that simple sentence. All of us have gifts and abilities and all of those gifts and abilities are given by the Spirit of God. If we are able to acknowledge that our gifts come from God, then every time we use our gifts we are really speaking or acting on behalf of God. Don't get hung up on the word gift. This is not like a wrapped present. This usage of the word gift is really anything given to us without our earning it. So, baking on behalf of God. Singing on behalf of God. Doing repairs on behalf of God. And the list could go on and on.
I have heard a number of sermons and Bible Studies that have looked at this text. Often, I have heard people get hung up on Paul's listing of a variety of gifts. But, the emphasis is on everyone having a gift or gifts, and that the gifts all come from the same Spirit-the Spirit of God. The emphasis is not on each individual gift. This is not Paul giving us a comprehensive listing of all the gifts that anyone and everyone has received or will ever receive from God. This is a listing of some examples.
If I ask you what you saw on your church today, you will be able to tell me some things. It is very unlikely that you would be able to tell me everything that you saw on the way to church. And if someone was riding with you, their listing will be different than yours. Paul is trying to explain what he has been telling us, and so he gives us some examples. We have examples here of gifts from God.
Sometimes people get hung up on which gifts are more important. Paul is not giving us a listing that either comprehensive, all encompassing, or in an order of some hierarchy. He gives us some examples.
The purpose of the gifts is not whose is the best, but that they are all from the same spirit, the Spirit of God, AND that they are all given for the common good. There is no attempt here to define each of these gifts listed. The emphasis is on all being given gifts from the same Spirit and that all the gifts are given for the common good.
Look around at the people that you see today. If God gives gifts for the common good, then they are for the common good of the Body of Christ, the believers in Christ. They are gifts for us to use for the benefit of all of God's people, which means for everyone. They are for all of us as the Family of God. They are for all of us. They are not for the purpose of dividing people or excluding people. They are for all of us. They are all given from the same spirit, the Spirit of God. They are all for the same purpose, the common good of all.
May each of us be able to always use our gifts and abilities for the common good of all-in our families, our church,
or community, and even our world. Amen.
— Pastor Neil Lindorff