One Spirit, Many Gifts
finding our calling & identity outside the success model rooted in capitalism
January 16, 2022
Second Sunday after the Epiphany | Year C
1 Corinthians 12:1–11 (NRSV)
TL;DR
- Most churches like to imitate successful churches who imitate successful corporations
- The Corinthian Church found success with the gift of speaking in tongues & started a franchise by capitalizing on it
- Don’t chase success with God’s unmerited gifts
- The road less traveled is living out our God-given identity, calling & gifts
Are you currently figuring out what you want to do in life?
Are you unsure of what you want to do next in life?
Are you still trying to decide your new year’s resolutions?
Now, these questions apply not only to our personal lives but also to our church life. As members of a local church, who are we and what are we called to do next? And I shared how important it is to know the answers to these questions as we look forward to this post-pandemic world.
I must admit that these questions are hard questions to answer for any congregation. It takes a strong gut to be able to ponder these questions with honesty and without subjectivity. It takes wisdom to see beyond our past accomplishments and disappointments so that we can align ourselves with the new realities God envisions. But these are hard tasks. These are hard things to do for anyone.
So instead, we look to shortcuts, which are also the more socially acceptable paths. We look around to see what other churches are doing that make them so successful. We try to hear their stories, learn their models, and purchase their blueprints. We frequently think, “They must get it right to become so fruitful. So, if we follow their exact footsteps, we can be fruitful as well!”
But in our society, the definition of fruitfulness and success is fairly uniform. A church that brings in big numbers is a successful church. A church with a big budget is a fruitful church. And it is these big churches who provide blueprints to small churches. And already-big churches continue to find answers from what’s even bigger, from the likes of the Fortune 500 companies. We might think, “What are the top secrets every church can learn from the likes of Amazon or Google?”
Paul said to imitate him as he imitates Jesus. But we seem to imitate churches that imitate corporations. And its inevitable consequence is that every church’s understanding of success and fruitfulness is to become big. And if it is not big, then something is wrong with your church.
Under this expectation of becoming big through ministry and mission, I fear that many churches are losing their true identity and unique calling. Many churches are focusing more on mimicking success models rather than living out their own callings.
In today’s scripture reading, we hear about a congregation that was so fixated upon their own model of success. The church in Corinth found success when their gatherings offered experiences based on spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of speaking in tongues. The congregants experienced spiritual highs within each gathering, going through these sensational experiences from the atmosphere generated by people speaking angelic languages or languages other than their own, feeling like they were in a world other than their own. These are experiences we often describe as “being overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit.” As they found success from this experience, the congregation started to emphasize the gift of speaking in tongues over the others. Eventually, speaking in tongues became the most important gift for the church and their recipe for success. And their worship gathering became a production of speaking in tongues, which was their joy and pride.
Paul believed that what the Corinthians were doing was antithetical to the confession of Jesus as our Lord. He was deeply concerned about this for two following reasons.
The first thing Paul noted was how the Corinthians considered their success as signs of their own spiritual sophistication and power. What they forgot about was the fact that these spiritual gifts are, as it is called, God’s gracious gifts. These are not achievements or properties. These are not signs of spiritual maturity and faithfulness. Paul stressed how these spiritual gifts come from God as God chooses to give. These are gifts freely given to those who confess Jesus as their Lord. Our confession, our faith, our gifts… all of these are the Holy Spirit’s doing, not ours.
The second thing Paul noticed was how the Corinthians considered one spiritual gift superior to the others; and in doing so, they looked down on others with different gifts or with no gifts. Paul, by listing various gifts as examples, noted how there are many different gifts that come from one source. Therefore, no one gift is superior or inferior to the others. The same Spirit activates all these gifts according to God’s plan. And these diverse gifts also share one goal, which is for the common good. These gifts are not strictly for the upbuilding of one individual or one congregation, but the upbuilding of all God’s creation. In short, these gifts are for the sharing of God’s love with others.
If people use their spiritual gifts not for the common good but only for their enrichment, then their confessions are not rooted in Jesus’ Lordship. Our confession of “Jesus is Lord” unites us and puts our gifts for the upbuilding of God’s kingdom. How can someone who confesses Jesus as Lord despise others for having different spiritual gifts? How can someone who confesses Jesus as Lord exalt themselves above those who share the same confession? How can someone who confesses Jesus as Lord jeopardize the common good for the sake of their personal enrichment?
Let’s use a familiar story from the Gospel as an example: the Wedding at Cana from John 2:1–11. There was a wedding where Mary, Jesus, and his disciples were attending. Mary realized and told her son that there was no more wine at the wedding banquet. Jesus then gave them a gift by turning water into wine. And the scripture tells us that it was not just any wine, but good wine.
What’s the purpose of Jesus providing this gift of wine at the wedding banquet? Wasn’t it so that the host and the guests could all enjoy the celebration? Jesus performing this miracle was like giving a second chance and new life to this dying party!
And this gift of new life was given not because of how likable the bride and groom were to God, or was it because of their accomplishments or prestige. Instead, it was simply Jesus’ doing based on his decision.
Wouldn’t it have been a massive betrayal to Jesus if the host had decided to save the good wine for themselves or decided to sell it for profit? Wouldn’t it have been a massive disappointment to Jesus if the newlyweds started to think themselves superior to others for their wedding brought out a miracle? For the same reason, it was a great concern to Paul when the Corinthian church missed the point of their spiritual gift.
Whether it’s a miracle, a blessing, a spiritual gift, a talent, or wealth, those who confess Jesus as Lord are to consider everything as God’s unmerited gifts for us. Because as soon as we confess Jesus as our Lord, we become citizens of God’s kingdom living in the sphere of the Holy Spirit’s power. Under this confession, we who are many and diverse, becoming siblings to one another regardless of what kind of gifts we have, and becoming members of one body. And our gifts are for the common good — upbuilding of God’s kingdom and bringing new life to our communities.
Just as there are many different gifts, I believe there are also many different models of fruitfulness. Just as speaking in tongues is not the only manifestation of the Holy Spirit, I believe becoming big is not the only measure of success in today’s church. Paul continues to talk about this to the Corinthian church in later chapters, that the body does not consist of one gift nor one model, but of many.
So, the question I want to reiterate to ourselves is, both as individuals and as a church, what is our unique identity? What is our God-given gift and what is our God-given calling? Does our confession of Jesus as Lord unite us together as one body? And how are we utilizing our collective gifts for the common good?
I am posing these questions to us, questions I hope that we will take home to ponder, and questions that we as a church will begin to answer with prayerful discussion and discernment. As I mentioned earlier, following our own calling rather than mimicking someone else’s success model is the road less traveled. Yet, I truly believe that “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Rev. Minoo Kim is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving in the Virginia Annual Conference. He will very much appreciate it if you like and follow his Medium profile. Peace!
