1Corinthians 12:1-11
You each have “something from the Spirit.” Do you know what it is? Some call it a gift. Or an ability. Or something about your character. Whatever it is that we call it, according to Paul in this letter, it can be “seen in each person.” That’s the first thing. And secondly, it is “for the common good.” The common good of the church, that is. And probably for the common good of all life.
Are you aware what that “something from the Spirit” is in yourself? How many think you do? I like the way this is phrased, “seen in each person,” because, though it is visible to others, it is not entirely visible to us. That’s one of the things we need other believers for. That’s one of the reasons we need this community of Jesus—to help each other see, what is in us, that “something” from the Spirit.
So here is what I want you to do. There is an insert in each bulletin. If you don’t have one, we printed some extras. Ushers please make sure each person has one. Now, print your name at the top. Pass them all to this end of the pew. Ushers, collect them and mix them up. Once they are mixed up, pass them out randomly. If you get your own back, trade it with someone else. Now take a few minutes and just write one word (or a few) that you think describes what that “something from the Spirit” is that that person has. A spiritual quality, not, “this is the kind of person I think you are.” I would be like, “You have the spirit of…”
Keep in mind what verse 7 says here in 1 Corinthians 12. The New Century Version that was read, states: “Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good.” And in the Contemporary English Version, it states, “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.” So, what you are trying to identify in the person whose list you have is what the Spirit has given them, that is visible to you, that enhances or directs the way this person serves others, or works for the common good.
Here’s an example. I’ll use John and Dona Cochran. I think, together, as a couple, the “something” the Spirit has given them is hospitality. Not everyone’s home is a swinging door like their home is. Men’s Bible Study, Women’s Bible Study, Christmas Eve Soup Supper, just to name a few. It is so visible to me what the Spirit has given them, and it’s not just for them—it’s clearly for the common good. It’s their way of serving others. So if they had a sheet as a couple, I would write, “hospitality” on one of the lines. When you look at John or Dona individually, you may see other “something’s” the Spirit has given them.
When you’re done writing one thing down, pass it along or trade with someone else. If you really don’t know the person to write something down, just pass it along to another person.
Once a sheet has 10 fill-ins, give it back to an usher. The ushers can collect these and pass them back to the right person. Questions?
After you get your list back, look it over. Is there anything there that surprises you? Maybe a difference in what you see in yourself vs. what others have written they see is that special something from the Spirit. Any one want to make a comment about the process, or about something on their sheet?
The reason I’ve had us do this is based on one of my main assumptions that we can’t see in ourselves that certain something. We may look at another person and think, “You have a certain something about you—and it’s got to be from God—because it is so clear.” But the person we’re thinking that about may have no idea.
What dulls us to a sensitivity to that certain something the Spirit has given us for the common good?
One answer will come when we remember which church Paul was writing to: the Corinthian congregation. If you know anything about that congregation, you will know it was a mess from day one. The people of Corinth, were as a whole, infatuated with themselves. Arrogant. Self-centered. Narcissistic to the core. Sexualized everything. They had no thought of the “common good.” They only thought about themselves and their personal good.
One of the reasons the people of Corinth were that way was because of their worship of Diana, also called Artemis, the sex goddess. It got to the point that if someone told you you were acting like a Corinthian, it was not a complement.
But the other reason was, there was a popular philosophy, developed by Greek thinkers, called Stoicism. The Stoics wrestled with the question, as did most ancient philosophies, of, “What makes people happy?” The answer of the Stoic philosophers was to be a completely autonomous individual will. We would call it being a rugged individual. The way you did that was to live a life marked by the quality of, to use the Greek word, apatheia. What English word does that sound like? (Apathy.) Apatheia in Stoic philosophy refers to a state of mind where a person is not disturbed by the passions. In our day and time, apathy means to just not care about anything. But it was different when the Stoics got started.
Apatheia means not being taken over by, or to react with your emotions. It is to let logic rule your life. The Stoic philosophers believed one of the main ways you let your emotions get the better of you was through human relationships. So the fewer humans you allowed yourself to get close to, the more logical and clearly you can think, and the more you can live a life of apatheia—thus, be happy. The more you can be a completely individual person the happier you will be.
I know this is a brief philosophy lesson, but it’s strategic in understanding what Paul is saying here about that special something that comes from the Spirit. Stoicism was the main, and most popular philosophy in Greece, where Corinth was located. The converts that Paul made at Corinth would have been Stoics. These Christian converts would have, previously been trying to discover happiness through apatheia, thus becoming individuals, completely separate from others.
But then Paul comes along and tells them something entirely different. He tells them that the Spirit has given them something, yes, very individual. But what is given by the Spirit is to be used for the common good. You don’t find happiness by cutting yourself off from others. You find happiness by creating community with others by sharing the unique gift the Spirit has given you. That’s the truth Paul was trying to make to the Corinthian converts. It was a hard sell.
Stoicism is still alive and well. Ever been told, “No one is in charge of your happiness but you”? Stoicism. “Don’t let anyone rob you of your happiness.” Stoicism. “The question is not, ‘Why does so-and-so make you mad’; the question is, ‘Why do you let them make you mad?’” Stoicism.
The better, the positive flip side to all that is being given something from the Spirit for the good of the Christian community. Giving of yourself in some specially gifted way that adds to the common good. Not living life for yourself, but for the health and empowerment of the community of believers.
The Stoicism of our day is called social media. Facebook. Instagram. You may think you are connecting with others. But you are literally isolating yourself from others. Keeping yourself at arms length. Trying to create a measure of safety from real human emotional relationship. You don’t have to really care as much, because the reality is, you really aren’t putting the real you out there. Through social media you are protecting yourself from true community and relationship. You are protecting yourself from emotions, just like the Stoics did. Letting people affect you, but only so much.
Paul is saying the opposite. What followers of Jesus are trying to do is build authentic community, where people really get together, and build that community together, using the special something from the Spirit. You all have it. You hopefully got a vision of it through our little exercise this morning. Use it. Help all of us build something for the common good.
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