“Red or
White?”
Text: 1
Corinthians 12:3b-13
Aldersgate
1) Like a mother, the Holy Spirit gives life to a
variety of gifts
a) At first it was the reading about various gifts that
made me think of my siblings,
i)
but when I
realized that this is Mother’s Day,
ii)
I decided to tell you a little about diversity in my
family
(1) my mother’s kids has seven children
(a) so many we kind of have two families
(i) the first born my older brother
(ii) myself
(iii) and my sister who is 16 months younger than me
(b) second family made up of
(i) my second and third brothers
(ii) my baby sister
(iii) and then my youngest brother
iii) Does anyone else come from a large family?
(1) If so you know that there is lots of diversity
(a) Two of my brothers work as electricians
(i) One installing equipment on large ships
(ii) The other building office space and homes
(b) Another brother is a disabled veteran
(c) Another worked in a paper mill until it was shut down
(d) One sister runs a continuing ed
program for teachers at a university
(e) And my other sister is a retail manager
(f) Some of us like to talk politics
(g) And others can’t stand it
(h) About the only thing we agree on is routing for the
Red Sox
(i) Even my brother in
(2) Imagine being the mother of this brood
(a) Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that my Mom
gave life to all of that diversity
(b) I’m not sure my mom appreciates the variety of gifts
shared by her children
b) Paul talks about the variety of gifts present in
i)
visited
(1) on the Peloponnesian Peninsular
(a) tiny isthmus of land
(b) short cut to
(c) in Biblical times, hauled boats across one mile strip
(d) today there is a canal
(2)
(3) transportation crossroads for a variety of people
(4) in addition,
(a) on top of acropolis
(b) highest place in city
(5)
(a) The Greek God of medicine
(b) Whose symbol was a serpent entwined on a staff
ii)
iii) but rather than bemoaning this variety as my Mom
might do from time to time, Paul sees it as a blessing
iv) Biblical
evidence tells us that
(1) “known for squabbling amongst itself,
(2) undecided about its purpose,
(3) theologically confused,
(4) at times enthusiastic but rarely in agreement over
what to be enthusiastic about”
v)
Sound familiar?
(1) Sounds like
(2) “how to be the body of
Christ on earth when you are composed of such faulty, sinful creatures as human
beings.” (Homiletics,
c)
Paul is nto the only Biblcal author who talks about diversity
i)
In The
Great Awakening,
(1) In a chapter entitled “Equity and Diversity,”
(2) Jim Wallace reminds us of John’s vision of Beloved
Community
(3) In John’s Revelation, the final book of our Bible
(a) Every nation,
(b) tribe,
(c) people,
(d) and language represented (p. 156)
ii)
Eugene Peterson includes in The Message angels
and animals in the crowd gathered at God’s throne
(1) All of creation
(2) In all its diversity
iii) Members of God’s community are assumed to be
different
(1) and that’s the way God intended
(2) not one homogenous race
(3) not even limited to humanity
(4) but people retaining cultural diversity
(5) with a variety of gifts
(6) and creation with its full range
2) Paul reminds us in today’s reading from I Corinthians
that the variety of gifts are all from the same Spirit
a) while recognizing this diversity of gifts, Paul also
asserts the unity of the Spirit that imparts these gifts
i)
In verses 4-6,
Paul sets up three parallel sentences that structurally represent the triune
God (might want to open your Bibles again)
(1) varieties of gifts and same Spirit
(2) varieties of services and same Lord
(3) varieties of activities and same God
ii)
gifts, services, and activities in parallel with
Spirit, Lord and God
b) Seems that Paul sees variety and diversity as a
blessing
i)
vs. 7 “To each
is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
ii)
When individual churches try to limit the diversity
of the Spirit,
(1) they create a false image of God’s people
(2) and damage the common good
c)
important to be aware that Paul is speaking in these
verses against those who would disrupt the unity of the Spirit
i)
some new
Christians felt they could continue in their old cultural practices
(1) even if they were rituals to other gods
(2) without loosing their connection to their new
community
ii)
but Paul stresses in chapter ten that these rituals
tie the worshipper to the other gods and disrupt the relationship with the
Spirit
iii) and in chapter 11, he corrects those who would come
for the early agape meal, a full meal known then as the Lord’s Supper, and eat
before all were gathered consuming more than their share of the meal
3) For Paul, two factors involved in judging the
authenticity of the Spirit’s gifts
a) one was source – Holy Spirit
b) and second was that all gifts given for the common
good
i)
no gift intended
for the benefit of the individual Christian
ii)
note that one of the more dramatic gifts, speaking in
tongues
(1) followed by interpretation of that speaking
(2) necessary for common good
c)
“When [this variety of] gifts are linked together in
the church, something mysterious happens.
i)
“Large numbers
of people with a variety of gifts come together to produce an explosive effect
not otherwise possible.
ii)
“In other words, the sum is greater than its parts.”
(Homiletics,
d) Christians are like PCs … or MACs
(I had to add that for our Apple people)
i)
On there own
they can function and do some things
ii)
But when they come together like computers do in the
World Wide Web, they are exponentially more powerful.
iii) “When Christians are linked by the Spirit into a
community of faith, their individual spiritual gifts create fabulous power called
the body of Christ.” (Ibid)
iv) “Each believer has a gift to offer to the
church. No member has a gift for his or
her private use. Connectivity is of
supreme importance.”
e) In 1998, Kevin Kelley wrote in New Rules for the
New Economy:
i)
“The atom is the
icon of the 20th century.
(1) “The atom whirls alone.
(2) “It is the metaphor for individuality.
(3) “But the atom is the past.
ii)
“The symbol for the next century is the net.
(1) “The net has no center, no orbits, no
certainty.
(2) “It is an indefinite web of causes.
(3) “The net is the archetype displayed to represent
(a) all circuits,
(b) all intelligence,
(c) all interdependence,
(d) all things economic,
(e) social
(f) and ecological,
(g) all communications,
(h) all democracy,
(i) all families,
(j)
all large systems,
(k) almost all that we find interesting and important.”
iii) In 2008, we recognize the power of www.
iv) And these prophetic words
(1) written ten years ago
(2) by Kevin Kelley in 19989
f)
For Christians
living in the 21st century our world wide net is the Holy Spirit.
i)
The Spirit is
our “archetype”
ii)
That gives life to all gifts
(1) From prophecy to wisdom
(2) Knowledge and miracles
(3) Faith and healing
(4) All gifts
(5) All services
(6) All activities
(7) Variety to the max, all connected by the web of the
Spirit
g) Sometimes this variety creates a dizzying experience
similar to being drunk
i)
When shared with
Worship Planning group
(1) Change proposed title “Drunk on the Spirit”
(2) To “Red or White?” as in wine
ii)
Good expression of the variety of gifts offered by
God’s Holy Spirit for the common good of the God’s Beloved Community
iii) So the answer to the question is not reed or white…
iv) It’s “Both!”
v)
No, I don’t mean a blush wine
vi) But rather the manifestation of the Spirit
(1) in a variety of gifts
(2) all for the common good!
(3) Amen.