Laity Sunday is a reminder, a visible sign, of our commitment as a community of faith that we are all ministers and that our journeys have led us to this place, this community of Midway to serve. It also centers us in the knowledge that our God works in glorious and mysterious ways and that no two faith journeys are alike.
January 19, 2025
“One Spirit, One Body”
1 Corinthians 12: 1-11
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
1 Corinthians 12: 1-11
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
One Spirit, One Body 1 Cor 12:1-11
In preparing for our new Sunday School series, I was reminded of two statements which have become unofficial mottos for us as denomination: “Unity, not uniformity” and “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity”. I think if the Apostle Paul heard these statements, he would completely agree.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses the fact that the community of faith in Corinth is fighting over everything. From worship to table manners, to who has the best spiritual gifts, the community of faith at Corinth could not agree on anything.
Paul reminds them that “God had called them as a community of faith together in Christ to live and serve in a specific city, with its historical and cultural context that generally pays little attention to God, to the call of Christ and the richness of life in the Spirit.” Paul uses the refrain of “the Same Spirit, the same Lord” to refocus the community, moving them away from their fighting to how God is bringing them together for a time such as this. Paul wants them to see that God has given them these spiritual gifts to build up the Beloved Community on Earth for all people, that all these gifts are needed for them to fully live out their distinctive identity and purpose as a community of faith.
This theme of unity, not uniformity which Paul discusses with the community of faith in Corinth over two thousand years ago, is still relevant today. We as disciples of Christi hold that we are part of the priesthood of all believers, meaning that all of us are minsters, all of us are needed for the building up of the Body of Christ, all of us are called to share our gifts.
This is the Truth behind our Laity Sunday Celebration. It is a reminder, a visible sign of our commitment as a community of faith that we are all ministers. that our journeys have led us to this place, this community of Midway to serve. It also centers us in the knowledge that our God works in glorious and mysterious ways and that no two faith journeys are alike.
Welcome to our Laity Sunday Testimonial speaker, Janie Stout (see video).
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, January 19, 2025 – One Spirit, One Body 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11.
Additional sermons are available in the Sermon Library.
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