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After the Gospels of the New Testament, there is a variety of books of the bible, a majority of which is correspondence. Among them are letters and messages to apostles, to early churches around the Mediterranean, and members of those churches all centered around the story and resurrection of Christ. Among those letters and writers, the most prolific was the Apostle Paul. Paul primarily wrote to the early churches and their people. Those people faced a myriad of issues, from external persecution from the Romans to internal disputes over the structure and hierarchy of the Church. Paul tried to assuage their fears and focus these churches on looking at the people’s gifts. Paul spoke to their belief and encouraged the people’s spiritual gifts of wisdom, love, and the common good. Recently in our worship readings in January, we saw this advice in 1 Corinthians. The spiritual gifts that Paul encourages in the letter pertain to that specific church. But the gifts described and encouraged, even the letter itself, were meant to be read by other congregations. They are intended to guide all of us, even in the modern-day.
In First Corinthians, Paul recognized the diversity of gifts in that early church. Paul knew that they were different than the more rural churches and knew that they would have different values and worries they had to face. The Corinthian church needed to be aware of the number of people and those drawn to them in their city. They needed good leadership, and due to their size, they had an extensive range of social standings in Greek society. Paul knew that the people’s gifts in Corinth were essential to the church’s health and working. Some with the gift of leadership took up those roles of that church to continue to draw those people. Paul recognized these leaders in his letter and did not ignore those within the church that were working among the people. However, the Corinthians emphasized their talents more than the work to form a solid community. Paul knew that the spiritual gifts of the city of Corinth are diverse, but he pointed out that they were not building leadership nor teaching one another as a community in Christ. Paul emphasized to them that each of the members was given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good and gave them a way to think about that. Paul says in the Epistle they are all parts of the main body, all together, with Christ at its head. This encouraged them and us today to better understand one another, and the differences in people’s gifts can work towards the needs of the many, not just the one of the few. Paul wanted to build camaraderie and a willingness to use their gifts for one another and act as a community. And as we read them today, we can take that encouragement into our churches and modern lives.
Our circumstances as Christians changed drastically over the 2000 or so years that our religion has been practiced. What would it mean to us to be encouraged like the Corinthians? Surely Paul could not have guessed the rise of the digital age. Yet these spiritual gifts exhorted by Paul from the earliest instances of Christian communities can inform us of the needs of any community. Where there are differences, the community draws on that variety of skills and backgrounds of people. Where there is confusion, those who teach collect the wisdom of others to continue developing the people. Where there is no direction to a community of faith, there are those who lead it or those who shepherd others to Christ. All these gifts, throughout the communities, faithfully work to draw each individual into a better relationship with one another. In the end, this allows us to serve each other as members of one body. As community members, we are meant to be together and work together. We each have unique and beautiful gifts and things we excel at that can work towards a common goal and good, but most of all, our gifts can work for one another.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend William Strand of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
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