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Sermon - We Are All Ministers - 14th January 2007
Saint Aidan's West Epping 8:30am
Readings: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
How many ministers are there in Epping parish? There’s our Rector, Father John, of course. There are a number of Honorary Clergy. But who else is appropriately described as a minister?
I want to suggest that in fact, we are all ministers - or at least, that every one of us is called to be a minister in the church. It doesn’t matter whether you are 23 or 103, whether you wear a clerical collar or not, whether you have been ordained or achieved any formal qualifications, whether you are an outstanding Christian or not. And it certainly doesn’t matter whether you are male or female! God calls every Christian to be a minister.
When Paul wrote his First Letter to the Corinthians, he was writing to a church which had a number of problems. One of those problems was that they didn’t understand much about Christian ministry. They knew that some of them had special responsibilities or unusual abilities: they had members who could preach and teach God’s message; and there were others who apparently could perform miracles or heal the sick or speak
in tongues. Pretty impressive! But their understanding of these things was all wrong.
Today and over the next two Sundays we shall hear in our readings some important and wonderful things that Paul told the Corinthians about life and relationships in the church. And this morning I want us to notice some of the principles that Paul spells out about ministry in the church in our reading from the first part of 1 Corinthians 12.
What was the problem with the Corinthians having these impressive abilities? Nothing at all. They were God’s gift to them. The problem was their attitude. “I healed a broken leg”, said one. “Well, I gave sight to a blind man!” said another. Or someone might say: “I speak in tongues more often than you do!” “So what?” comes the response. “No one ever understands anything of what I say when I speak in tongues. I speak the language of heaven. You can’t get better than me!”
It probably wasn’t exactly like that, but you get the drift of what was going on. People were comparing and competing with one another. There was pride and arrogance. They had missed the point, and so Paul had to take them back to basics.
One of the blessings that we have as followers of Christ is the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. God is at work in us, and one of the ways he works is by giving us what Paul describes as gifts. Some of these gifts I have already mentioned, because the Corinthians were particularly interested in the spectacular gifts. Paul wanted the Corinthians to get the right perspective on the issue. Let’s quickly ask four questions about these gifts.
Firstly, what are the gifts?
I have already mentioned some of the more unusual ones: miracle-working, healing, speaking in tongues. I believe that these are still found today, but mainly in particular places and situations, not necessarily everywhere. However, there is a much larger range of gifts mentioned here and later in this chapter, and elsewhere in the New Testament: teaching, knowing the wise thing to say in different situations, leadership, administration, practical help, generous giving, caring for people in need, and many more. A wide range of gifts: some are spectacular, some seem pretty ordinary; some may impress people while others seem pretty mundane. But they all come under the heading of spiritual gifts.
Which leads us to our second question: where do these gifts come from?
Paul says they are all gifts of the Holy Spirit. They come from God himself, working within us. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to honour Jesus truly as our Lord. It is the Holy Spirit who baptizes us not merely into an organization called the Anglican Church, but truly into the body of Christ, the family of all Christian believers. And it is the Holy Spirit who equips us for Christian service.
These gifts, therefore, are not something we achieve by ourselves: they come from God’s generosity. We cannot congratulate ourselves on the spiritual gifts we have. We cannot shine our halos or give ourselves airs or look down on others who don’t have the same gifts as us. Of course our gifts can be developed and trained, but they are still first and foremost gifts from God, not mere human achievements.
Our third question is: who are the gifts for?
And the answer is that they are for every Christian. We are all equipped with one of the gifts, probably a number of them. I have some gifts that many of you don’t have. Father John and I may share some gifts, and have others that are different, just as we are different people with different personalities and backgrounds and stories. And many of you will have gifts that I do not have. That’s great! We are all different. But the Holy Spirit is at work in all of us. And he equips each of us with the gifts that are right for us.
Which leads us to the fourth question, which is really the key question: what are the gifts for?
The purpose of the gifts is that we can all be ministers in God’s church, or perhaps better, that we can all be involved in Christian ministry. As Paul says: “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”. The gifts of the Spirit are the abilities and insights and opportunities God gives to each of us, so that we may effectively serve one another in the church.
The church needs teachers and preachers, but not everyone needs to be a teacher. The church needs leaders, but it would be hopeless if everyone tried to be a leader. The church needs givers, but some will be able to give more than others. The church needs people who can be caring and supportive of others, but there will be many ways in which that can be done. The church needs people who listen and understand - in fact if that is you, you might be interested in visiting people in hospital, where we are looking for new volunteers. Let me know if you could be interested. The church needs welcomers and practical people and musical people and praying people and creative people, and people who will just be there and help! Each of us can make a contribution in some way, because God equips all of us to fulfil some ministry. The ministry may be an out-the-front obvious ministry, or a quiet personal form of ministry that few people may be aware of. But God knows!
God calls us all to trust and follow Christ. It is personal. But it has a corporate dimension. We are called into membership of Christ’s family. We benefit from the gifts that others share with us, and others need the contribution we can offer. Our ministry is needed, whether it is quiet or public. As we use the gifts we have to offer, we encourage each other, we help each other to grow in faith and love and understanding. We care for each other. We help to supply the needs of the congregation and of one another. We enable our Parish to reach out more effectively with the love of Christ. Whether it is by our words or actions, or even just our presence; whether we can put a label on the gift we have; we all have some ministry to offer within our church.
I notice on many Anglican noticeboards around the diocese that the clergyman in charge of the church is often described as the Minister instead of the Rector. No doubt the idea is to avoid jargon and use familiar language, but I think it is actually not very biblical. I rather like what I used to see in the newsheet of a church I worked at as a student. There it said:
Ministers: all the congregation
Assistant to the ministers: The Rector.
That seems to reflect much more what Paul is saying!
One of the healthy things about St.Alban’s is the large number of people who are actively contributing to our life and worship, our service and witness. People are encouraged to contribute, and those contributions are welcomed, and bring blessing to us all. That is the way it is meant to be, and the ideal is when we all do that. Let me encourage you to think about the contribution you are making, and the contribution you could be making. Look at our Parish, its strengths and its needs. And look for ways in which you might serve. Are there things to be done that you could help with? Are there needs that you could help fulfil? Are there good ideas that could be tried out or put into practice? Are there people who could benefit from your friendship or welcome or encouragement or your practical help?
Speak to Father John or one of the wardens, or whoever may be an appropriate person, or if it doesn’t require any organization, just do it! We have God’s Spirit, we have and God’s encouragement to share in the ministry we are equipped to offer.
Let us all seek to make our contribution to the work of God’s church here and beyond, not in order to impress or compete, but in the Spirit of love and in the service of Christ. Amen.