Back in college when I was studying music, I began to experience some discomfort in my arm. I chalked this up to hours of practice at the organ each day. I assumed that the area of pain in my body was the area that had been overworked. But as I began to learn more about how bodies work and of the complexity of human anatomy, I realized that the focal point of my discomfort was likely triggered by another place in the body that was being strained. Tension in the neck would prompt soreness in the elbow. Slouching shoulders caused lower back pain. I quickly learned that no part of the human body is unrelated to even the remotest part.
St. Paul must have intuitively known a few things about human anatomy, for his theology of the body of Christ is a brilliant use of metaphor to convey a theological reality. In short, Paul tells us that no part of the body can disregard another. If the right hand is injured, we will probably put extra strain on the left hand. If we overuse one part of the body, another part will atrophy. It is the same in ministry. If one part of the body—one person or one group of people—decide to lie low and not use their gifts, then another part of the body will wear out. The overcompensating part of the body will get tired and possibly burn out. If the Church is to be healthy and vibrant, then she needs to constantly attend to Paul’s theology of the body of Christ.
Although it can be unwise to make assumptions, there is one assumption that we can make without any regret. Every single one of us has gifts that God gives us and that God intends for us to use in ministry. Full stop. None of us is let off the hook! Of course, we make excuses. I’m too busy in extracurricular activities. I live too far from the church. Parish ministry is “not my thing.” I don’t have enough time. But God doesn’t want us to make excuses! God calls us to respond by making good use of our gifts.
This season after the Epiphany is an appropriate time during which to focus on our God-given gifts. The thrust of this season is from Christ’s manifestation in historical time as the Messiah toward the way in which Christ is manifested in our own lives to the world. One such way that Christ is manifested through us, his chosen body, is through the use of our gifts.
At this moment in the life of our parish, there are unused gifts. Some parts of the body are overfunctioning, and we should notice this and correct it so that we do not witness burnout. There is so much life in this parish, but to sustain this activity and vibrancy, all of us need to play a part. Our own portion of Christ’s body here at Good Shepherd is weaker than it needs to be if each of us is not giving selflessly of our time and gifts.
As a new vestry is seated this week, it is an opportune time to look ahead to strengthening ministry in the parish and to recalibrating the body. Like going to a body worker to realign our spine, we, as a parish, need to constantly realign our parochial energy. Are their areas of ministry that you can take on to help those who are on the verge of fatigue? What gifts are you hiding under a bushel that God is calling you to let shine?
At last Sunday’s parish meeting, I mentioned some specific ministry areas in which we need help. I am confident that the gifts to assist with these ministries are already here. For those of you who were not at the annual meeting or who didn’t see the signup sheet, I have created a digital version. Would you please take a look at this signup and pray over the ministries listed? Please consider signing up to help with one or more of these ministries. We will gladly provide training, and I will do everything I can to help you as you seek to use your God-given gifts for the health of the body here at Good Shepherd.
Even as we engage in personal discernment of the ways in which God is calling us to serve for the sake of the Gospel, please continue to join me in praying for those, as yet unknown to us, whom the Holy Spirit will send to this parish to participate in the life-giving ministry that is already happening. And please continue to pray for our existing parish ministries as we seek to realign the body for its full flourishing.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle