ONE AND THE SAME SPIRIT

Psalm 36

I Corinthians 12:1-11

Stephen Hamilton Wright

First Presbyterian Church, Wausau, Wisconsin                                           January 17, 2010

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            Have you ever heard of a church that argues?  There are rumors about such places: congregations with groups that get into disagreements.  Sometimes they involve ministers; more often they have to do with competing interests between groups, like who is really in charge of maintaining kitchen supplies.  Often they seem pretty insignificant, when you get right down to it.  One favorite story is about a church in Kansas that called in a Presbytery committee to mediate a mysterious dispute.  There were a lot of frosty feelings floating around, but no specific information.  Finally, the news came out that two long-time members thought the minister was damaging the church’s image in town.  When asked for details, they said, reluctantly, “Well, he jogs.”  And what’s wrong with that?  “Well, he wears shorts when he does it.”  That was the actual, bottom line complaint, and that’s a true story.  Too bad such silly things blow up into huge conflicts, but you know they do.  It didn’t start yesterday, either, or in the twentieth century.  Less than a generation after Jesus, the church in Corinth was chewing itself up.  Paul tried to stop them, but it didn’t work.  Churches, and the whole church, still argue.

            Some Christians think they are better than others.  Have you ever noticed?  Some Christians think they have figured out the right way to follow Jesus, and that others are wrong.  They don’t necessarily claim to live it out perfectly, but they do believe that they know what the best way is.  They worship three times a week and do private devotions twice a day.  They can quote chapter and verse by memory.  They are sure they know the right Christian answer to every social and political question.  There is another kind of Christian who are sure that theirs is the best way: they don’t quote the Bible much, but they sure are proud of having members on every community board, serving meals by the thousands, and having the freedom to think whatever they want about faith without fear of getting kicked out.  Both kinds are sure that theirs is the best way to show how much they love Jesus.  This is very much the problem Paul writes about to the Corinthians.  Their enthusiasm for religion has led them into competing camps who want to show the right kind of devotion.  They treat following Jesus as a competition, which turns into claims about who has the best understanding about Jesus, and the best knowledge of Him.  Paul says it was the same way before they became Christians: they got caught up in the spirit of their old religions and went crazy over the symbols of those gods.  Now some of them get so carried away that they say, in effect, “The Jesus part doesn’t count.  That’s just human.  What counts is the Christ who can take us out of this world.  We want nothing to do with Jesus.”  But there is no such separation.  “Christ” is not separate from Jesus, as some purer, higher spirit.  Jesus is the Christ.  No Christian is better than Jesus.  No Christians should ever claim to be the best.

            We want to be humble about other religions, too.  Just as we need to keep our feelings of superiority about knowing the right way to be Christian in check, we want to follow the example of Jesus in dealing respectfully with those who practice different religions.  In such encounters, Jesus seemed to point beyond such differences toward a new reality in which all people of good will would be united in safety and peace.  Earlier, I spelled out a couple of stereotypes of Christian behavior.  The lines are not that sharp, of course, and that is part of the issue.  Many, many followers who demonstrate their love for God by taking meals to their neighbors or building houses for strangers do so precisely because of words they know from Scripture and prayers that they say every day.  At the same time, many who are lampooned as “just me and Jesus” Christians engage in very significant works of compassion.  Both kinds of Christians are still cleaning up the mess of Hurricane Katrina, and both kinds are already working in Haiti.  There are also very likely to be Mormons, Muslims, Jews and others in the effort.  In other parts of the world, the Red Crescent relief organization serves the same compassionate mission we see from the Red Cross, and other faiths have their agencies, as well.  When Paul writes that the Corinthians used to be pagans, he means mostly that they were not Jewish, and he notes that their religious behavior as Christians is no better than it was before they converted.  And, of course, Paul himself continues to point to the value of his Jewish roots.  So, we need to guard against spiritual superiority.  Be humble in dealing with other faiths.

            All people have something to offer.  All of us have some capacity to reach out.  There is a way for every person to serve God by reaching out to neighbors.  We need to learn to recognize those gifts and encourage their use, both in others and in ourselves.  Again, humility is in order.  Not all truth and not all truly good deeds come through Christian channels.  Martin Luther King, Jr., a conservative Christian by many measures, took much of his inspiration from Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi.  As King’s life went on, and his work became more and more public, his thinking widened from focusing primarily on race relations in this country to include concern for women’s advancement, understanding other faiths, and international peace.  When we make the effort to listen to other voices, we discover amazing gifts.  Workers with the Good News Project and other kinds of mission trips regularly report how much they learn from those they go to serve.  When we actually pay attention to generations both older and younger than our own, we also discover amazing knowledge, insights and skills.  Out of the mouths of babes sometimes comes profound and simple truth.  Preaching is not better than praying in a hospital room; they are different activities, and we need people to do both.  Teaching church school and being there as learners are both important, and good teachers are prepared to be taught by their students, as well.  Managing the dishwasher at a community meal is as much a gift as talking to a TV reporter, and maybe a better use of time!  Everything we contribute to serving others is useful and valuable, and it all comes alive through the love of the Spirit.  However old you are, whatever your job or interests, whether you are poor, rich, female, male, whether you feel more comfortable with a rake or a Greek dictionary, the Spirit has an important job for you.  Everyone has a gift to use for others.  When we put them all together, that is the greatest gift of all.