I was recently reminded of a line in an article I read 11 years ago. Newsweek columnist Robert J. Samuelson, commenting on the many economic and social problems that American society confronts, wrote, "We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where groups selfishly protect their own benefits."

While this statement still rings true as it did a decade ago, in actuality, the common good is an idea that originated over two thousand years ago in the writings of Plato and Aristotle. And, so it would seem, the Apostle Paul, scholar, evangelist, church planter, and follower of Jesus of Nazareth.

I 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we find a list of spiritual gifts. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but sufficiently long enough to illustrate that there is a wide variety of gifts, and all of them given by the One and the same Spirit. And each manifestation of the Spirit is given “for the common good.”

Basil, a fourth century church leader, wrote, “No one has the capacity to receive all spiritual gifts…One who receives any of these gifts does not possess it for its own sake but rather for the sake of others.” We have each been given gifts. Gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ, gifts for the common good.

As pastors we are called to equip the saints for ministry, not do all the ministry ourselves. If we believe the truth of this text in 1 Corinthians, then there are plenty of people who call Grace Chapel home, with the gifts the church needs to do the work of ministry.

I want to take a moment to celebrate some of the gifts I have heard being used in this time. Our friends in Foxboro were using their gifts of service and mercy as they came alongside their neighbors at the YMCA and helped distribute food, as have some of our ELX friends through Arlington Eats.

A friend in Wilmington with the gift of compassion and justice, reached out to the Kidstown community to create cards for her to send to elderly folk who are shut-in and feeling isolated from their friends and family.

One of the Kidstown volunteer leaders with gifts in teaching and communication in Watertown has been spending some of her time looking to bring a KidsTown lesson to her children!

A 9-year old who usually serves with her mom in KidsTown, has been continuing a project they had started at her school. At her urging she and her mom have been filling bags with needed supplies to take to local food banks. Even young people have gifts to share, for the common good.

I’ve also been so impressed by our staff members who are making the Sunday worship experience happen each week. Our tech and video team understand live streaming, audio and visual needs. Our worship team members, each with their own musical gifts they use to prompt us to worship our God. Our Creative and KidsTown teams thinking each week how to continue to make our services engaging for adults and kids alike. And our Teaching team and preachers who have been digging into the scripture to bring God’s word to us. All different gifts. All being used for the Body of Christ. For the common good.

Gordon Fee, my NT professor was a gifted preacher and teacher. He wrote a commentary on First Corinthians, and when addressing this text, he wrote, “The gifts are for the building up of the community as a whole, not primarily for the benefit of the individual believer.”

Friends, in the church we are a community, we are called to be in relationship with one another. It’s part of what makes this time so challenging for us – we want to be together!

One of the lessons of this particular season in our life together is that we have been reminded that we are also a global community. While we may feel we have the rights to go wherever we want, wear a mask or not, physical distance or not, we are being asked to think of the common good. So, let’s be patient as we wait to re-gather, but actively look for ways we can use our gifts differently in this season, not for ourselves, but for the common good, and then let’s give all glory to God when we see the church Being the church, even while we can’t meet at the church.