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The Activation of Service I Corinthians 12:12 – 31a; Psalm 19 This is one of the more familiar texts of the letters of Paul. We use this text, these ideas, these concepts whenever we talk about and try to build up community. Some of us know these examples by heart: “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”; or “the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” And yet, we still have such trouble incorporating these truths into our lives. We still get stuck in thinking one way, one portion, one idea is the only way. We have already begun the 2008 political campaign. It actually began before the 2006 elections. We will soon become more and more embroiled — in this country and in this state — with politics than most of us can imagine. The health of our particular system of government is based on the truths of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. But we are not very healthy, in my opinion, because we work against these truths. Good Democrats need good Republicans — in fact, they need each other for us to have a good system. But let’s start at the bottom. Individuals of both parties are healthiest when they cannot be identified by a pure party line, but rather by each's own passion about an area of concern in our world community. Each party will be vibrant only when there is lively discussion, repartee, disagreement and growth toward education within it. The body of the party will be alive when each portion takes a vital interest in the development of the whole — whether it be a local, state or national concern — and when each portion takes seriously its contribution, and service. Sure, consensus within a party is necessary when we get to election time, but that’s only for a vote. Then we should go back to non-monolithic thinking and more ever-deepening and ever-expanding idea sharing. In my simplistic mindset (and I was only a political science major for 1 year in college), voting — two choices — has become the all consuming and polarizing activity of our political system rather than the discussion, idea building, generating new thought, mixing possibilities times through which our communities could discover ways that are truly new and not merely fighting over old entrenchments. Well, all of this rambling about politics makes me quite satisfied that I work in the church – where it is ever so much different. (joke!) Seriously, political activity in the world’s community is mirrored in the church. That was Paul’s concern centuries ago. When I realized today’s scripture was coming up for the lectionary a week following a major volunteer blitz in this congregation, I knew my words couldn’t hold a candle to what I had seen here: with as young as 10-year-olds shoveling dirt and as old as 75-year-olds wheel barrowing it out of our sanctuary…with people carrying organ pipes…jack hammering clay… cleaning furniture and closets…vacuuming cushions, designing this worship space…fixing soup for the workers. contributing out of their own abilities. Granted there were times when I got bossy and suggested one of the bigger, full wheel barrows was too heavy for certain folks, or that we just had to turn out the lights and go home, but most of the time, those 30-plus individuals who came because of a little invitation in the newsletter each figured out what they might do for the project at hand and did it. And most of the time, each person knew how much could be done, according to their own ability or strength. And the heightened respect among the people gathered will live in our collective memory much longer than the aching backs, or probably even the accomplished work. That experience preaches what Paul was intending, and we have been blessed to live it recently. We do need to transfer that physical work experience to the more daily and larger arena of community life and celebrate that every person has a distinctive and important contribution and service to the whole. No one’s ideas, no one’s abilities, no one’s need can be counted as negligible, minor, or insignificant. Neither does any individual need to be jealous, resentful or lustful for anyone else’s abilities or ways to participate. But whether it is an ideal democracy — with a party system for which I yearn — or the recent participation in our building project, there is still an important part of Paul’s words that we dare not slough over. Paul claims that God arranges the members of the body. Indeed, he implies that God chooses the gifts for each of us and then figures out how each will contribute to the whole. If this is so, the negotiation of which gift we have, which gift we are, happens with God. Our responsibility and work in life is not to climb to the top of the heap…not to yearn for the most successful position of the company…not to desire the ability to do what our neighbor can do… not to seek the education and experience and personal connections to be in place for the most opportune situation, but, rather, to realize our seeking and searching is less creating a path than it is discovering a given. I am not suggesting that God is a puppeteer, pulling strings to determine our lives. I am not suggesting any sort of fatalism or pre-determination of life. What I am suggesting is that our individuality and the gifts we have are humanly un-imaginable and divinely inspired. When we can adjust our thinking this way, it means no less work but probably a bit different kind of work. When we turn our understanding to believe that God has done the arranging of our particularities it does not mean any less need to be with others who will affirm, help us tweak, encourage us to move in particular directions, but we will be relating to others with a different attitude. When we can shift our faithfulness to accept God’s significant contribution to our gifts, it means no less conflict, confusion, frustration or lack of clarity about precisely what we are supposed to be contributing to this life, but we will be able to remember that the path is not one we are forging on our own but, rather, merely clearing so it can be seen and walked. I find great comfort in that shift. This discovery about gifts — that God does the selecting and the arranging — can be one of the most freeing revelations of our lives. Accompanying the revelation is the assurance that we will not be left alone. When we commit to the process of discovery, there will be all sorts of openings, markers along the way, assurances through other servants on the pathway AND a community in which our gifts can be utilized, magnified, honed and celebrated. When God activates our service, we can set aside the disturbing concept of being self-made, or self-absorbed. Just as the gifts of logic, oratory, or compassion are not nearly as valuable in and of themselves as they are when used in a community, neighborhood, government or church, neither are any of the other gifts each of us possess. Our faith teaches us that a magnificent God has created a world with distinctive gifts, distributed them among us and then activated them so that we will use, grow and find their placement within the larger community. When that happens, we bring glory and honor to the God whom we love…to the God whom we serve, and will be the beloved community for which God so longs. SW |
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