Spiritual Gifts: Are Mine Any Good - 1st Corinthians 12:12-31

           One afternoon a 12-year-old boy and his dad were watching football on television.  The boy had just gone out for football at his school.  The team played on Saturdays, but the boy had not gotten to play yet.  So, his father suggested, as they watched the game, “Pick out the position that you play, and watch that person. You'll learn a lot.”

Then, in a few minutes, he turned to his son and asked, “Are you doing what I told you to do?”

“I would,” the boy said, “But they aren't showing the bench.”

Two weeks ago, we began talking about Spiritual gifts—gifts that God pours out onto His people through the presence of the Holy Spirit that can guide us in how we are called to serve Him in building the Kingdom.

Last week, we came to the realization that everyone who comes to the party, the party held each week to celebrate the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, receives Spiritual Gifts from God…this week we turn to ask if our gifts are any good, or, to put it in another way, are some of us benched because our gifts are not as good as the others.

The 2018-2019 NFL football season got underway Thursday night with the Hall of Fame game between the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Ravens.  Now some would argue that preseason games don’t count and so the season doesn’t start until next month.  Giving consideration for that, I would argue that football season is here as East Carteret has already been practicing and will play their first regular season game in just twelve days.  If you will consent that football season is upon us, I would like to re-read our Scripture lesson today from an alternate translation.  If you don’t consent, that’s okay, I am going to read it anyway.

For the team is one and has many players, and all the players of the team, though many, are one team ... Indeed, the team does not consist of one player, but of many.  If the defensive end would say, 'Because I am not the quarterback, I do not belong to the team,' that would not make him any less a part of the team.  And if the right tackle would say, 'Because I am not a wide receiver, I do not belong to the team,' that would not make him any less a part of the team. If the whole team were tackles, where would the running backs be?  If the whole team were running backs, where would the kickers be?  And if the whole team were kickers, where would the cornerbacks be? But as it is, the coach has arranged the players of the team, each one of them, as he chose. If all were quarterbacks, where would the team be?  As it is, there are many players, yet one team.  The quarterback cannot say to the tackle, ‘I don't need you.’  Nor can the defensive ends say to the running backs, 'We don't need you.’  On the contrary ... if one player suffers, the team suffers together with him; if one player is honored, the team rejoices with him.

Yes, that was a football version of 1^st Corinthians 12:12-26.  Now wait, before anyone starts accusing me of blasphemy or sacrilege, think about it.  This football image, or any sports team image works just as easily as the body image that Paul uses to describe the Church.  For in every team sport, such as baseball or stock car driving (which, if you participated in the survey ran neck and neck with each other but fell way behind football), like a body with many parts, the sports team has many players and positions.  You see both the church and football have one thing in common, to be who they are created to be requires a team effort.  Comparing the two makes a great illustration.  With individual sports like golf and bowling, we can go out and play by ourselves.  However, just as we cannot play a team sport by ourselves, we cannot live faithfully as Christians alone, we have to have others on our team.

Being a Christian and being the Church are not solo events.  They are not things that we can do by ourselves.  We require others.  We require a team or a body, and that is just what God knits us together to be.  God calls each of us from different places in our lives, different ages, different educational levels, different backgrounds, different genders, different views, and different gifts, to come together and become one team and one Body.

Why would God call all of us different folks together into one place?  Wouldn’t it be easier if all the people God brought into each church were just alike?  The answer is a resounding “no.”  God calls each of us here from our different walks of life because it takes different folks to make up what the Church needs to be whole.  Think again on our football illustration.  How far in a season do you think a team would make it if it were made up of all quarterbacks, all wide receivers, all defensive tackles or all punt returners.  That’s right, they would not get very far.  Every position on a football team is important, just as every part of our bodies are important.  Can you imagine the horror of a body that was made up of all eyes or ears, fingers or feet?  Not only would it look gruesome, it would completely lack the ability to function.  Eyes or ears without a brain to comprehend what is seen or heard are useless.  Fingers without a hand could not grasp and hold onto things.  Feet without legs could not get anywhere.

The same goes for the church.  As Paul says, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.   Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all possess gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?”

Everyone in the church has an important role to fill.  There are those who preach, those who teach, those who visit the sick, those who lead singing, those who help clean the building, those who handle the finances, those who care for the grounds, every role is important, and none is more important than the other.  If we did not have someone to handle the finances, the bills wouldn’t get paid, and who would want to listen a preacher or a teacher this morning if there were no air conditioning, our listen to First Friday if their mics and amps weren’t working because the bills had not been paid.  If we did not have someone to clean the building, can you imagine the filth that we would be sitting and standing in right now.  If we did not have someone to care for the care for the grounds, it would be so grown up that we could not have gotten in.  In just over a month we will gather for our Wednesday night meals, and if we did not have people who were gifted in cooking, we would all be going hungry.  Every person plays an extremely vital role in our being able to be the church.

“But preacher, I’m too old [or too young or not smart enough or disabled or any other numerous excuses] to do anything for the church.”  My friends, we may come up with any number of reasons why we are not good enough to play on the team, or be a part of the body, but I would like to offer to you another football illustration to show you that we are only as limited as we limit ourselves.

How many of you have heard of Tom Dempsey?  For those of you who have not, Tom Dempsey was a place-kicker for many NFL teams over his 10-year career from 1969 until 1979.  In November of 1970, on the last play of the game, Tom Dempsey kicked a 63-yard field goal to lift his team over their opponents, setting a record that held for over 43 years, and was only matched three times during that 43 period.  What is so impressive about this?  Well, many things, but it just shows that we are only as limited as we think we are.  You see, Tom Dempsey was born with no right hand and only half of his right foot (which happens to be his kicking foot).  Tom Dempsey could have looked at the job he was asked to do and offered many arguments as to why he could not do it, among them the fact that he had a disability and he was  inexperienced (after all this was only his second season in the league), but he was called on to serve his team and he went out and gave it his all.

My brothers and sisters, God calls us all to a vital role in His work.  We each have a place on the team, in the Body of Christ.  God does not call us to do anything that he will not give us the strength or ability to do.  He gives us all gifts to carry out the work before us, and each gift is important, and each gift is vital.  As we watch a NASCAR race at Watkins Glen or the Yankees take on the Red Sox this evening or an NFL games Thursday night, let us remember that we are players on a much greater team, a team called to claim and reveal the ultimate Victory to the world, we are on the team called the Body of Christ.  And, my friends, we are all called to play, for God does not leave anyone sitting on the bench (or the pew).

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.