“Gift Exchange”
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
1/29/12
Story on Today Show Friday: young woman tried to catch ride on
freight train
slipped, went under
wheels, lost both legs
lucky to be alive,
terrific attitude, learning to be active as double amputee
would any of you say that loss of legs didn’t change her life?
no real difference?
of course not! part
of body gone, profound difference for rest of life
we need all the parts of our body: if lose one, or something
wrong w/ one, problems
same thing for
church: need each one of you: if missing, we all suffer
message from Bible
today
As compare way we look at life w/ what NT teaches, consider
how relate to each other
last week: what it
means to be neighbor, community (Good Samaritan)
now, a specific
community, type of human relationship: church
Begin w/ descriptions of community from our American way of
looking at things
see how they
connect w/ what 1 Cor 12 tells us about church
1. Remember analogy someone from church suggested about
community? cornucopia
[ask for summary]:
all different, in basket together, opening to come & go
2. Comment during sermon last week: communities have different
groups in them
police, fire dept,
libraries, businesses, etc: each serve & benefit community
community made up
of entities that serve common good
3. Friend drew attention to Peter Block: community development
consultant
communities aren’t
built up by outsiders giving services, leadership, programs
may help, but
won’t change anything
built up when
gifts, passions, abilities brought forth that are already in community
everything already
there for strong, vital community: just have to recognize & use
core of approach is
“gift-mindedness”
“Community is built
by confronting people w/ their gifts.”
See Peter Block’s point in 2 communities we visited on mission
trips: negative/positive
2010 trip to Indian reservation in MT: wanted to help
for generations,
community had outsiders give assistance “to take care of them”
host warned about
“BIA Syndrome:” passive & uninvolved in own situation
hoped to work
side-by-side w/ residents: didn’t happen, did work ourselves
community suffered
from lack of “gift-mindedness:” challenge to build selves up
much of
responsibility lies on people from outside & what did to them
Different last year at Joplin: community ID’d & mobilized
resources to meet challenge
churches revamped
facilities to host outside work groups
unused buildings
put into service, fast-tracked through permitting process
leaders &
officials took on additional responsibilities to make things happen
outsiders like us
helped, but community members discovered & used own gifts
As Block would say,
confronted their gifts & used them
Now to Bible passage: Paul’s letter to Corinthians: church
torn apart by divisions
evidence of it in
practically each chapter of book
by time get to Ch 12, picture is clear: didn’t know how to get
along w/ each other
so Paul challenges
w/ vision of what Xn community is: metaphor of body
We’re all different, but HS brings us together into one unit
differences enable
us to work together: each fill own function
to make point, Paul presents outrageous scenarios about
person’s body
imagine foot
thinking it doesn’t belong in body because not a hand (better)
imagine ear, thinks
doesn’t deserve to be in body because not eye
no one would agree to that line of thought: ask woman who lost
legs to train
don’t need feet, do
you?
or Pgh School for
the Deaf: does lack of hearing make any difference to them?
In same way, you may think your role in church isn’t very
important
don’t think have role
at all: maybe used to, but not anymore
but w/out you, we’d
all suffer
yes, some church
roles get more attention: pastor, choir director, SS teacher
but w/out prayer
network, lifting up requests during crisis, church would falter
w/out anonymous
& generous donors, bills don’t get paid
w/out person to
greet w/ smile & warm hello, church wouldn’t be the same
just as absurd to think church doesn’t need you as saying body
doesn’t need feet
Opposite also true: one part of body can’t tell another that
it’s unnecessary
eye doesn’t disown
hand, head doesn’t reject feet
but unfortunate fact that in church, sometimes make people
feel unwelcome
fail to appreciate
gifts & what they offer for common good
some parts of body don’t get much attention until something
goes wrong w/
never even knew I
had a medial meniscus in my knee until I tore it
if one seemingly
insignificant enzyme is missing, could kill you
no insignificant parts to your body, and no insignificant
members of church
reason simple: v.
24: God unites or combines us
Gr literally “mixes
together:” imagine God as cook: only adds ingredients she needs
won’t dump in
parsely or soy sauce unless serves purpose
God combines people
into church because they have role we all need
none are unnecessary, even though some get more attention:
just like body parts
pictures of my
family on desk: faces, not shoulder blades
some members treated w/ discretion & reserve, like body
parts always keep covered
How does this relate to our sense of community?
1. cornucopia: each different, like veggies in basket
but unlike
open-ended cornucopia, don’t leave because want to, or kicked out
in basket because
God put you there
2. communities, churches, bodies made up of different parts
that each serve function
body needs liver,
community needs schools, houses of wp, emergency responders
and church needs what
you have to offer
3. churches should be “gift-minded:” don’t look beyond people
of church for what need
recognize God has
already provided us w/ everything we need to be what he wants
need to confront
our gifts, accept challenge to use
don’t know what gifts are? exercises in lobby, will email
