The Common
Good
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
by Rev. Randy L Quinn
I’m pretty sure it was while
Melissa was still very young that I first became aware of and interested in and
involved in special education issues. She was still in preschool, I think, when
I started asking questions about how special ed students are treated in the
schools and how their education affects the overall funding of school programs.
I know she was in Kindergarten
when a parent with three very bright children began lobbying for a gifted
program in our schools as well as a special education program. (We lived in a
different school district then, but the same kinds of issues have been raised in
most of the school districts where we’ve lived since then.)
The issues were never resolved to
everyone’s satisfaction, but I was distressed by – and still bothered by – the
use of the term “gifted” for those who excel. While I can’t speak from personal
experience about every child who receives special education services, I know
it’s true that Melissa is gifted too. And anyone who spends time with Melissa
soon learns what some of her gifts are.
The difference between me and the
mother who wanted a “gifted” program for her children is that I believe the
gifts of every student should be recognized and utilized for the benefit of
every other child. That’s why I think it’s so important for Melissa to interact
with students who are not receiving special education services. They need to
benefit from knowing her as much as she needs to benefit from being with them.
The mother of those three bright
children wanted a program where her children could benefit while I want a
special education program where every child benefits.
That may not be possible in the
public schools – though I won’t stop working for it at some level. But it is
not only possible, it is essential for that to happen in the church. No matter
what gift we may have, God intends it to be used for the “common good,” not for
our personal gain (1 Cor 12:7).
God has given each of us gifts.
You have yours. I have mine. And Melissa has hers. Some of them we
recognize. Some of them others recognize in us. Some we utilize and share.
Some we keep to ourselves and hide.
In our society, the tendency is to
look at the people who have exceptional talent and call them gifted, as if no
one else has a gift or that the gifts others have are insignificant. We talk
about basketball stars and baseball stars; we talk about star football players
and coaches. And in fact, some of those players and coaches expect to paid
enormous salaries because of their “star” status.
But none of them can win a
single game on their own. Each player must do use their own particular gifts
for the team to succeed.
A similar argument can be made in
the television and movie industry. We know the names of some star actors and
directors. But without scriptwriters and camera operators and other support
actors, there would be nothing worth watching.
Our tendency is to look at the
“stars” and overlook the people that make them successful. We begin to act as
if those who have highly visible gifts are more important than the rest of us.
Paul was well aware of that
tendency. In fact, there is a subtle difference Paul makes that isn’t always
translated so we can hear it. In the first verse of our passage today, Paul is
actually addressing spiritual people, people who have spiritual gifts, even
though our translation suggests he is addressing the gifts themselves (1 Cor
12:1). Apparently some in the church had come to the conclusion that their
particular gifts were more important so they were more important.
They were expecting to be treated
as a “star” by the church.
Paul is reminding the church in
Corinth – and all of Christianity for all time – that the source of our gifts is
God, and God gives them for our mutual benefit in order that God will be
glorified. No one gift is more important than another.
And in fact, when we allow the
focus to be on the Giver of the gifts rather than the recipient of the gifts,
amazing things can happen! When we allow God to use our gifts, we all
benefit.
I think I’ve told you about Ronnie
before. He was a member of one of the churches I served in Kansas. Ronnie was
an adult, who at age 43 was much more like a 9 year old mentally and
emotionally. But the New Albany Church found ways for him to share his gifts.
He served as the usher in that small church. He always made sure I had water in
the pulpit. And his job was to take out the trash after church functions.
His gifts and his talents were
recognized and honored. And I am convinced that church is a better church
because they allowed him to share the gifts God gave him.
One Christian author tells about
her early experiences in the church. She was a single mother who was having
trouble making ends meet who found help when she turned to the church. Some of
the older women in the church where she began to worship saw her plight and
secretly found ways to help her.
Sometimes they would slip some
money into her purse. Sometimes she would come home and find a little present
hidden in her diaper bag. Often it was as simple as sitting with her children
during church. One woman always gave her a plastic bag with quarters in it for
the Laundromat.
The gift those older women had was
the ability to love.
And what they shared with her was
God’s love. And even now, after she has become fairly successful as an author,
those women are still finding ways to love her. She still gets a bag of
quarters every once in a while, even though she no longer needs them to do her
laundry. In order to honor the gift and the Giver of the gift, she accepts the
quarters with grace – and then donates them to a homeless women’s shelter.
Gifts are meant to be shared for
the benefit of the whole community.
All are important. All are
derived from God. And all honor God when shared for the common good rather than
individual achievement.
Discovering your gifts, however,
is not always easy. Often we need the church to help us see the gifts we have.
Sometimes we know we have a gift but are afraid it won’t be accepted. Other
times we find ourselves waiting for the chance to be the star rather than
sharing the gifts we already recognize with a sense of humility.
If you, like
Melissa, have the gift of making people feel welcome, then stand by the doors of
our church and greet people as they enter.
If you have
the gift of gab, spend time visiting with God’s people, either here after
worship or at the homes of those who are no longer able to join us in worship.
If you are a
gifted teacher, offer to help in Sunday School.
If you know
how to clean, take it upon yourself to clean the kitchen after coffee hour or
after soup supper.
If you can
read well, we would like to make you a regular part of our worship team.
If you know
how to smile, then smile.
Whatever your gift, share it.
God’s spirit has bestowed those gifts upon you. And God’s spirit wants to work
through them to meet the needs of God’s people.
One pastor tells of touring some
old homes and buildings in an historic city. Some of the stories the tour guide
told were about the ghosts that lived among these old homes and haunted
mansions. As they approached the Methodist church, the tour guide said it
wasn’t haunted. In fact, he said, they don’t even have a holy ghost
there.
Sometimes, people look at our
church – or we look at ourselves – and because we can’t see demonstrative
evidence, we think God’s Spirit isn’t present. The truth is God has given us
all the gifts we need to be the church here, in this place. If we’re not
sharing the gifts God has given us that is not God’s fault.
Find your gift. Share your gift.
For your sake. For our sake. For
Christ’s sake.
Amen.
