I read a story a number of years ago about a man who went to the United States Naval Academy in the late 1960’s. For a class project he had to do a survey concerning the 1968 presidential election and how those in his class intended to vote. He found that the voting patterns at the Academy roughly mirrored those in wider society with some endorsing Richard Nixon and others endorsing Hubert Humphrey and possibly even a few endorsing the Yippies’ Pigusus. A few days after conducting the survey he and the rest of the Midshipman were going to a Navy football game and were marching into the stadium, as was their custom. Across the street from them was a large group of protestors (having been born in 1970, I missed much of this, but am told that yelling at and spitting on members of the military is what the young kids did for fun back in those days). But back to the point: This gentleman observed the happenings on both sides of the street and noted that while on his side they were all dressed the same they all thought differently while on the other side they all were dressed differently and yet thought the same.
I thought about this story as we read from St. Paul today where he says, “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.” In other words there is a lot of diversity and unity within the Church. And while I realize that to those outside of the Church we may be considered to be cut from the same cloth; To those of us on the inside we realize that we are a mixed bag and thankfully this is the way that God has intended it to be. We are all given various gifts and these gifts will by no means be the same gifts for each person. Or put another way there is no such thing as a standard issue Christian. We will all be better at certain things than we are at others and this goes for clergy as well, which hopefully does not come as a surprise. For I assume by now you have come to learn that I am not the master of all things Christian. In fact there are many things that I lack and I am not just talking about the ability to bilocate. If you have ever had the displeasure of standing next to me while I sing this fact should be blatantly obvious. So while this may be an interesting bit of information, backed up by scripture, what are we to do about it besides getting a celebrate diversity bumper sticker? Well, the two main things that I believe we are to take is a level of gratitude and understanding coupled with a realization that we are to use the gifts God has given us in service of the Church.
So let’s start with the “Subaru bumper sticker” observation of celebrating diversity. God has made us all different and we need to be thankful for those who are talented in ways that we are not. Because, the church is fortunately not made up of one type of person. If it were we would be greatly inhibited in what we can do. As Paul says in 1st Corinthians, “Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Paul reminds us that the Church body just like a human body works most fully when it has all of its parts. And so we need to be grateful to those who have talents similar to us and for those who have talents different from ours. The church is called to be one body, not to be a collection of cells that do not interact nor associate with one another.
There is a church in my hometown of Fresno that my Dad was telling me about over Christmas. This church has in the past few years gained a number of members from people who were disillusioned with their former churches. He said the strange thing is that those who have come have never coalesced into a single entity. Rather everyone sticks with the group that came from the church, which they left. They are not a body, but function more like the Hanseatic League, coming together when it suits. But we are called to be a united group utilizing everyone’s unique talents in the strengthening of God’s kingdom.
Now there is a second part to today’s lesson that has a less groovy kind of feel and has perhaps a more drill instructor like vibe to it. Yes, we are all given diverse talents and we should also rejoice in the diverse talents of others, but the fact is we must do more than simply acknowledge our talents, we must instead utilize them in the service of God and His Church. That is we cannot simply sit around and enjoy the talents of others while doing nothing ourselves. The Church is not an all-inclusive resort in which our every whim and fancy is catered to. Rather the Church is a voluntary collective of people seeking to glorify God in all things. And the Church only works when we all contribute in a way that brings glory to God. But the question such an understanding should raise in us is: Are we contributing in a way that maximizes all of the time talent and treasure that God has given to us or are we just sort of along for the ride? Are we, in the words of St. Paul, using the gifts “given [by] the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good?”
One thing that tends to annoy most clergy is when we hear a person say that they left a church because it did not offer a certain service; as if the Church was the Four Seasons and the clergy just a holy concierge. But that is not how the Church works. As a collection of people manifested with unique gifts, individuals are also called to serve. If a church lacks something it may mean that God is calling us to help make it a reality. A student I knew when I was Dean at Nashotah House used to frequently come into my office and vomit up all of the things we needed to be doing. He would then contentedly leave feeling that his job was done, he had passed on his brilliance. The task of implementing, funding and finding large sheets of tempered glass was my job - a genius like him could not be weighed down by such trivial matters. And while I am not saying that we should not have ideas, the fact of the matter is that is not enough. For in searching the Bible I have never come across the spiritual gift of telling other people what to do. The list Paul provides in Romans 12 lists things like, prophecy, ministry, teaching, generosity and diligence but there is no description for an ideas man. And obviously what we contribute will vary based on types of talents and stages in life, but we can all do something, be it physical labor, singing, prayer or any host of other talents.
So as we move into this year I would encourage all of you and myself to give thanks for all of those who God has brought together at St. John Chrysostom.Thank God for all of the different gifts that are on display here, but also I would encourage you to reflect on what gifts God has given to you and pray about how God is inviting you to use these in service of the Church both now and forevermore.