God gives us gifts for the common good

A Sermon preached by The Rev. Tom Pumphrey

At St. Mark’s Church, Honey Brook, PA, January 14, 2007

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany (year C), 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1-11(NRSV) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 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. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Here’s a story of a Pot Luck Supper. Only this isn’t any ordinary pot luck supper, this is a Corinthian Pot Luck Supper. When the church at Corinth gathers, there is a great combination of good food. José brings his homemade guacamole dip, Bill (who isn’t that great a cook) brings a bag of chips anyway. Mrs. Perkowski brings her famous pierogies; Dr. Davidson brings his roast beef, Janet brings her sherbet punch, and Sue brings her green bean casserole. With such delicious food, you would expect a very joyful gathering.

But this is a Corinthian Pot Luck. In Corinth, each person takes the food he or she brought, and going to separate tables, they eat only their own food. Oh, how José would have enjoyed some of Bill’s chips to go with his guacamole, and how Bill would have liked some of José’s dip. Mrs. Perkowski sure would have enjoyed her pierogies with some of that sherbet punch and some green bean casserole. And Sue would have really enjoyed roast beef with her green beans. And they all would have enjoyed each other’s company. Sadly, a few came unaware of their abilities to cook or to bring food, and they left hungry.

Then the close of the Corinthian pot Luck is the special desert. However, if you look in the kitchen, you find Joe filling out two bowls—one of sugar and one of brown sugar. Carol sets out a plate of butter, George whips up a bowl of raw eggs, and Kristin sets out a bowl of flour. This strange arrangement is called a Corinthian Cake.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself so hungry right now! I’m hungry for a delicious homemade cake and hungry for some connection between these crazy Corinthians. God has given them wonderful gifts of food and cooking. But they don’t realize the joy they are missing by sharing their gifts for the common good.

In today’s New Testament reading, we hear from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians—the real ones whose problems aren’t really with their pot luck suppers, but who operate the church just the same way. Paul helped found this church in Corinth. They are a motivated group of believers. They are energetic and open to the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Thy have discovered the joy and power of their life in Christ, and they have discovered the spiritual gifts that God has given them.

However, they have become prideful and divided in their discoveries. Some feel that they are particularly important because they work miracles, others see themselves as special because of their gifts of healing, still others see the gift of tongues as most important—or wisdom, or knowledge or discernment. So when they come together, they only see their own gifts and do not share them for the common good. That’s why I call that pot luck supper a Corinthian pot luck. They love their gifts, but they don’t realize how God gave them their gifts for the common good—for the whole church.

This is problem is certainly common. Think about the guy at work who could care less if his customers buy the wrong machines, as long as he gets his commission. Or what about the team member at the office who spends more time watching his back than helping the company to succeed? Our schools and sports teams see this as well, where ‘looking out for number one’ means letting and sometimes helping the other person fail.

In our own homes, we can become so focused on our immediate family that we shut out our extended families or our neighbors or our community, simply because they are “lower priorities.” And so we teach our kids selfishness from a young age.

As with the church in Corinth, so churches elsewhere see this same disease still today. We don’t see this so much here at St. Mark’s, but every church faces this risk. Each of us can be so protective of our own time or energy that we fail to share our gifts with others. Or sometimes clergy and leaders of ministry take so much ownership of their gifts, that the ministry is their possession and not the ministry of the whole congregation. Or perhaps some of us become so overcommitted that we become resentful to those who come with needs rather than gifts. Some don’t take the time in prayer to find out what gifts God has given them.

This is a recipe for Corinthian Cake in any congregation.

But Paul takes the time to reach out to the Corinthians and to admonish them and call them to a greater promise and a richer reward. Paul acknowledges and appreciates their gifts. He agrees that these precious gifts come from God. But Paul reminds them: “There are a varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are a variety 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. Notice the Trinitarian language that connects the Father, Son and Holy Spirit… Paul then emphasizes: To each of them is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Paul reminds them that these gifts of the Holy Spirit that I mentioned last week—gifts of miracles and knowledge and healing and wisdom and tongues and discernment—all these gifts are given by God for the common good—for building up the body of Christ, the Church. Paul wants the Corinthians to share their pot luck around, to share the joy of being the church together, and to take their ingredients and bake a cake for all to enjoy because they used their gifts for the common good.

God calls us, as he called the Corinthians, to shake up our Corinthian pot luck in life. When we use our professional gifts for the benefit of our customers and our team-mates, our customers benefit, our suppliers benefit, and the whole company benefits. When we reach out to our classmates and neighbors and teammates, our gifts become their gifts, and God’s grace is revealed. When we see our neighbors and our church and our community as a family priority, then our small gifts of time and talent transform the world around us, and we train our children to be generous in spirit with their gifts as well.

In the church, when we embrace God’s call to share our gifts for the common good, we become the body of Christ—we become the church. Each one of us can prayerfully seek out and find the spiritual and natural gifts that God has given us. Each of us has gifts—gifts of talent in music, gifts of administration and leadership, gifts of mercy and generosity, gifts of carpentry and gifts of time.

In this congregation there are gifts of prayerful listening—gifts of prayer—gifts of healing. God has given us gifts of finances, gifts of teaching, gifts of knowledge and wisdom. God gives us gifts of hospitality and friendliness, gifts of experience and gifts of curiosity. God gives each one of us gifts for the common good—gifts from the same Holy Spirit and the same Lord Jesus—gifts to bring to the St. Mark’s pot luck of ministry in this place.

In the days ahead, seek God in prayer. Take time to listen prayerfully to God and seek to know what gifts God has given you. Pray about the needs of this community, the needs of your family and your schools and workplaces. Ask God to show you what spiritual and natural gifts you have to offer, and bring them to the feast.

I have seen the St. Mark’s pot luck suppers. I have seen the casseroles and roasts and salads and cakes and drinks and nibbles. I have seen the joy around the table in the sharing of these gifts. And I have seen that table overflow with food and generosity, crying out to a hungry world to come and join the feast.

May God, who has begun so great a work in us, bring it to completion to his glory.