Who Is The Most Important?

Pentecost Sunday | Year A | New Testament Reading – 1 Corinthians 12:3-13 | TJ Torgerson

When I first began expressing a call into ministry, I can remember receiving all this positive affirmation, energy, and honor from others. It seemed that everyone began to think I was special, holding me in higher esteem than before.

In the church world the role of a pastor is held in high regard. Those who lead a church, those on stage, and gifted communicators receive more honor than the elderly lady who spends her days alone but bakes and prepares meals for those in need in the congregation. Often, others are not even aware of her actions. Some may not even know she exists. I have heard stories of churches raising money to send their pastor on a cruise while some members struggle to pay their bills.

Honoring certain people or giftings above others is not a new problem; this is precisely what the apostle Paul was addressing in the Corinthian church. For the Corinthians, speaking in tongues was the gift that brought honor. In my tradition, it is the pastor, and the bigger the church, the more honor one receives. Honoring those that the culture deems as "elite" and ignoring or showing complete apathy towards others is not a Kingdom of God mindset. In the Kingdom of God, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Everything is upside down.

Chrysostom, when writing about this passage, says, "The Corinthians boasted of their speaking in tongues, which is why Paul put it last in his list." The Corinthians put it at the top of their list, so Paul put it at the bottom. What or who is at the top of our important list? Wouldn't it be fun to flip the list upside down and watch everyone freak out?

In Luke 21, there is the famous story of the widow and the two mites. The rich guy puts in a stack of cash, then there is the old woman. We never learn her name, but Jesus knows it. She puts in a couple of pennies, and Jesus says she gave more than anyone. We use this story to raise money on special offering Sundays. After all, we want checks from the rich, but we also need to squeeze all we can from the poor (excuse the cynicism). But what if we can apply this story to the Sunday school teacher who faithfully teaches a couple of ungrateful kids each week? What if we can apply it to the lady who is always baking food for others, but has largely been forgotten? No one will ever know their names; they can't organize and plan big events. They can't grow churches, preach a moving sermon, or write a book. They are seen as irritants or obstacles when they express nostalgia for the way things used to to be. But what if Jesus points to that person and says, 'They have given more than anyone else'?

The Kingdom of God doesn't have a VIP section, and if it does, we may be surprised to see who is in it because often the things at the top of our lists are at the bottom of God's list. The fact that commentators disagree on what speaking in tongues, words of knowledge, wisdom, etc., are should indicate the fragility of the things we find important. What we find important, noteworthy, or consider a "gift" changes, but the concept that doesn't change is that these things are given by the same Spirit for the common good.