(Gen 45:1-15; Rom 12:3-8; Mtt 15:10-20) FBCA, J G White

Anybody: This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

Everybody: There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Nobody: Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody: Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody: Everybody thought that Anybody could do it,

Nobody: but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

Everybody: It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Welcome to the Body of Christ. We call it The Church. Here, “you’re a somebody.” Anybody can join us, when they join Christ. We want nobody to be left out. Everybody has a role to play.

Today’s segment of Romans chapter twelve reminds the believers to live humble lives together. The author says: I bid every one among you not to think of [themself] more highly than [one] ought to think, but to think with sober judgment… (12:3) Humility: a virtue that is, well, so well hidden these days.

Where does it come from, in us? How is it cultivated? Humility grows from realizing our talents and skills are ‘gifts’ to each of us. We may have worked at developing them, but life and all its qualities are gifts to us from Creator. This is a lesson we have for our neighbours, part of what we proclaim to our world.

This text is one place among several, in the NT of the Bible, where Paul and others write about spiritual gifts: capabilities that God puts into the lives of individuals: talents. The four great places where there are some spiritual gifts, some graces, listed, are Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. The list is different in each place, which tells us they are not comprehensive. Plenty of blessed abilities are above and beyond what’s in these Bible lists. Here’s a spiritual gift example from author Marva Dawn.

For example, many years ago I went every Monday to visit and sing at a convalescent [long-term care] centre with a five-year-old named Michael. That lad had an uncanny sense about when certain residents needed to hold somebody’s hand; he would simply walk to the person’s wheelchair and extend his own hand. A grinning lady would take his little one in her arthritis-gnarled hand and crush [squeeze] it with affection. Now what could we call that gift? We might have a difficult time trying to categorize it, and yet there could be no doubt that Michael’s grace-gift of holding hands brought Hilarity [Cheerfulness] to the community in that convalescent [long-term care] centre. His gentle gesture of care brought more grace to many of those residents than any of my songs or theological words. (Marva Dawn, Truly the Community, 1992, p. 95)

Our fellowship with Jesus shows us that all of life is gift. We count our blessings - we count everything! And Faith itself is a gift, somehow. I’m not sure what to do with this phrase, but it does remind me that confidence in God has its levels and its growth: think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. God has something to do with the faith you or I have.

And look at the apostle Paul’s injunction in verse 3; he saw his own authority was under the grace of God: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think… With humbleness he writes to tell Christians what to do. His role as a teacher and guide is God-given. Paul’s authority is simply passed on to him from Christ.

Along with the goodness flowing from our lives all being gifts, I’d also say our Humility comes from our roles as parts of One Body, as Members. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ…

Within our ‘church families’ we have group and individual tasks and projects. Like the roles of the organs of the human body. I can’t do my wonderful things without you each doing your wonderful things.

Right now, I am looking for the prayer people of First Baptist, those who have a gift for prayer, a habit of prayer, a private practice of praying plenty. I feel the need for a little team of people who can join me in praying on our own for various requests for prayer each week. Some people in the Body of Christ are gifted in this.

Others are skilled in other things. I am always so grateful in churches for the financial whiz kids - at least, compared with me, you are accounting geniuses! Some of you express the gift of hospitality. Others are visionary and active when it comes to getting out there and helping the needy in our neighbourhoods. And so on.

All these roles are like the various roles of the organs of a human body. Each different, some obvious and some hidden, all needed. The New Testament picks up on this metaphor more than once. As it says elsewhere, how could an eyeball live and be wonderful if it was just an eye, and had no hand or brain or lungs?

The Spirit trains us to be humble while we do our own things, as part of the greater team of the Body of Christ. We who speak or make music in front of everyone have a greater need to be humble, because we are on the front line and ‘performing’ all the time.

One other thing about humility in our differing roles… on the next level up, each congregation is different, with different ways we specailize. So, First Baptist has certain tasks, particular skills and resources now, some of which differ from Trinity-St. Stephen, and from Christ Church, or Amherst Wesleyan, and so forth. To work as a team and love one another, we learn to be humble. To rejoice when another church succeeds and is different from us. To support the others with what we do and what we say and what we pray. One body with many different parts.

This takes us to my third of four points: Humility develops from our roles in partnerships with all the others. Puzzle pieces. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

At Oasis, ten days ago, Pastor Jason Ballard taught that a key to our spiritual recruiting, and to discipleship, is one-on-one (or small group) interaction. To bring someone into Faith in Jesus usually will depend upon one or two or three people connecting. It won’t be based on big group activities, like worship services, for instance. A recent study of evangelical Christian parents in Canada revealed that younger people rely much more on their friends to learn to be Christian parents than on Church programs and teaching resources.

Our Faith teaches us to rely upon one another, to mentor one another, to team up with and support one another. It takes humility to seek and receive help from one of your peers. And it takes humbleness for the Christian Educators in a congregation to respect that people are learning to follow Jesus from many sources, not just us. Individually we are members one of another.

Finally, let me say: Humility comes from always needing to grow and develop. There are at least two reasons for this. One, none of us ‘has arrived.’ We ain’t perfected yet. How God blesses me so I can do good things is different now than it was twenty years ago. What you can do to serve God in your seventies or eighties is new and fresh compared with life in your fifties, I’d surmise.

Two: our spiritual gifts are multiple, and they change thru life, as needed. As Marva Dawn wrote: The pushiness of some churches to “find your gift” is not biblical. Rather, the biblical texts indicate that we each have unique combinations of gifts, very much in the plural. (p. 93) So then, we do as Romans 12 suggests. We take what we are capable of and learn to do them well, very well. Here’s how Eugene Peterson put some of these verses into English. Good advice.

If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

So shall we be members of One Humble Body. Amen.