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NOT EVERYONE CAN BE A SENATOR

I know enough about the demographics of our radio audience to not use too many anecdotes from a certain United States senator from the state of New York — one Hillary Rodham Clinton. But indulge me for just a Tuesday moment as we continue to study here in the book of Ephesians, chapter four. In Senator Clinton’s bestseller, It Takes a Village — and Other Lessons Children Teach Us, she starts out by confessing how she prayed earnestly that somehow God would help her to be a good enough mother for Chelsea. At the time, she was the wife of the governor of Arkansas, and she writes, tongue in cheek:

“My pregnancy was so widely discussed I thought the entire state might show up for the delivery. A lot of folks did, although, as far as I know, no one took pictures, or I’m sure you would have seen them by now.”

In the second chapter, though, entitled “No Family Is An Island,” she describes a bit of her own Methodist upbringing as a child. And listen to this:

“The church was an important presence in our lives,” she writes. “My brothers and I went faithfully to Sunday school and were usually back at church at least once more during the week for youth group meetings, athletic competitions, potluck suppers, or play rehearsals.”

And of course, the unstated reality is that there were caring adults — who didn’t all have the last name of Rodham, by the way — who had to run those youth group meetings. Referees to run up and down a basketball court on Sunday night as 10 – or maybe 30! – sweaty kids played a game. Parents who planned the potluck suppers, who drove their kids there, who chaperoned the hand-holding and kissing that went on out under the old oak tree in the back of the rec center. And there were dedicated Cecil B. deMilles who directed those amateur plays that young Hillary Rodham no doubt starred in. Church thrived for these Chicago teenagers because there were many moms and dads willing to “be a village” and create an atmosphere where kids could learn the art of “muscular Christianity,” service with skin on it.

Well, friend, I admit that it takes a length-of-the-court pass, logic-wise, to get from the Windy City and Hillary’s intramural games all the way back to Ephesians 4:6 and what Paul is writing to the citizens of another city with its own Lakeshore Drive overlooking the Cayster River. But in our verse for today, there’s just the faintest hint of potluck suppers and basketball referees. Here it is:

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” The King James says: “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”

Of course, when we read about “grace has been given,” we think — and rightly so — about “Amazing Grace” and what happened for all of us at Calvary. We have salvation by grace. We get eternal life by grace. Grace is the construction of your heavenly mansion and mine when we didn’t deserve them. And for those of us who need more forgiveness than others, it’s appropriate to say that Jesus “apportions” it out as needed. Paul himself admitted needing a whole truckload of grace in order to get into God’s kingdom, seeing as how he was the “chief of sinners.” But here in Ephesians 4, as this humble apostle tries to instruct the church about “Unity in the Body of Christ” — that’s the chapter heading in some Bibles, by the way — I think this idea of apportioned grace has a meaning that moves beyond the salvation theology of Calvary. To pick it up, let me also share the wonderful paraphrase version by Eugene Peterson, The Message. Verse 6 has just pointed out that we enjoy oneness through Jesus. You remember: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Now Paul continues:

“But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift.”

In other words, in addition to Calvary, and the unity it brings, we also have an incredible, marvelous mosaic of other gifts — like preaching and teaching and refereeing basketball games and organizing the youth department at church to do a Christian play. There’s a robust variety to these gifts, and some have more than others, but they all blend together into what truly IS unity . . . because now all the bases are covered.

That young, gangly girl, Hillary Clinton — not to stretch out this metaphor too far — grew up to be a political figure. And whatever you may think of her personally, most friends and political foes alike concede that she is a rather effective part of the United States Senate now. But think about it: there are 100 people in that Senate. Men and women. Lawyers and doctors. People of all faiths. Skilled diplomats who work well in front of a camera, and quiet powerhouses who labor behind the scenes. People who specialize in foreign affairs and others who have made themselves into authorities on medical issues or family leave or the Middle East. But when terrorists attack the World Trade Center, all 100 of them stand in unity on the steps of the Capitol Building and sing “God Bless America” — all in the same key.

I really like what Dr. Francis Foulkes has to say about this verse 7. His writing in the Tyndale New Testament Commentary has truly blessed us in this study, and I want you to especially hear this observation:

“The great heritage of the faith all Christians share, and having this in common they are responsible to guard the unity of the Spirit.” So far so good. Then he continues: “But they may NOT expect their personalities, their gifts and their tasks to be all alike. In His wisdom, and to make each dependant on others, God has ordained NOT uniformity but an endless variety of gifts for the members of the body.” Speaking of basketball refs and soccer moms. “As [John] Calvin puts it, ‘no member of the body of Christ is endowed with such perfection as to be able, without the assistance of others, to supply his own necessities.’”

In other words, “It Takes a Village.” Even here in the church. Especially here in the church. By the way, the Tyndale scholars efficiently shuttle us over to the book of Romans, where the same apostle Paul dissects this concept of gifts and variety even further. Here’s chapter 12, verses 3-8:

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Shades of “apportionment” right there. Paul continues: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently” — Mrs. Clinton, pay attention, please — “if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

Friend, did you find yourself someplace in that list? We have a whole sermon around here someplace just about the fictional “Eleanor Rigby” in the Beatles song, whose assigned job is to pick up the rice in the church where a wedding has been. But for the past two thousand years, Jesus has been looking at His army and then saying: “You — here’s your portfolio. You over here, I have a packet specially prepared for you. And you folks at the Voice of Prophecy, here’s your set of materials and gifts and tools. You and James Dobson and J. Vernon McGee . . . you folks tell our story on the radio, would you please?”

One thing this Bible teaching does so beautifully is to strip us of both anxiety and pride. Is our gift list longer or shorter than our neighbor’s? Well, so what if it is? Whose business is that except Jesus’s? The commentary for my own denomination has something good on that point; take a listen:

“There is manifest order,” they write, “and design in the allotment of work and talent to each person. Every gift contributes its value to the unity of the church. No room is left for pride on the part of those who have large gifts, because more will be expected of them; neither is there place for jealousy on the part of those who have received lesser talents, because they are responsible for developing only what they have.”

So friend, if God doesn’t equip you to be a United States Senator, there’s no reason to feel bad. And if He intends you to be a soccer mom for the Lord, He’ll provide you with the van, the keys, the money for gas, and the time and temperament to put up with the noise. Good luck at the game.