Our family started watching a new TV show the other day on Hulu, well new for us anyway. The show is part game show, part music show. It’s called “I Can See Your Voice.” And the premise of the show is that there are six individuals who could be really good singers or really bad singers. And the contestant has to eliminate them one by one based on which she or he believes is a bad singer. Once eliminated, the person will sing and everyone finds out if the contestant was right. If the last person left by the contestant is a good singer, the contestant wins $100,000 dollars. We’ve only watched one episode so far, but it was pretty interesting. The thing that I found kind of extra interesting about it was that each of the singers, good or bad, was given a moniker that in some way described them. On that first show we watched, there was the football player, the golfer, the mathlete, the rock climber, the stylist, and the consultant. As each of them was eliminated, they got to talk to them briefly about that moniker. And it was kind of cool to me to see that even the ones who weren’t good singers were good at something else. The mathlete, for instance, could list an incredible number digits in pi. They all had gifts and talents, even if singing was not one of them.

Just like the diversity of gifts displayed on that show, the church has within it a diversity of gifts as well. And that diversity is, in fact, a gift itself. The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, “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.” Then Paul goes on to list some of the gifts of the Spirit. But all of them are a manifestation of the Spirit within us. And Paul says that they have been given for the common good. And it’s that statement of Paul that I want to talk about this morning. What does it mean that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”?

First, what does it mean to manifest a gift of the Spirit? This word “manifestation” has taken on a bit of a new meaning recently…primarily because of the social media app TikTok. The hashtag #manifestation has over 13 billion views on TikTok. And if you watch the videos, you see mostly young women talking about attaining the things you want in life simply with the power of your mind. You focus on those things, believe you will receive them, and then they will come to be. Now, while this is a modern take on the idea, this is by no means a new practice. It’s been happening in the church for years and in other places as well. We’ve seen it in the church with televangelists like Joel Osteen and Creflo Dollar promoting the power of positive thinking to help themselves get rich by convincing others they can get rich too, just by believing it. So, is that the sort of manifestation that Paul was thinking of?

The word in the original Greek that is translated as manifestation is phanerosis, which is derived from the root word phos, meaning ‘light.’ Phanerosis is the bringing to light of the gifts already within us. For some of us, those gifts are easily recognizable. For others, it may take many years, even a lifetime for them to come to light. And different experiences may bring out different gifts in us. I recently read a news story about a car crash in which a dog was ejected from one of the vehicles and then went missing. The dog was a 2-year old border collie/heeler mix named Tilly. After two days of searching, Tilly was discovered on a nearby sheep farm, herding sheep. Tilly had never been around sheep before, nor did she have training to herd them. But a gift that was already in her came to light when she encountered the sheep. What might it take in our lives for a gift that is already in us to come to light? Perhaps it would just take trying something new. Maybe even trying something that we are afraid to try. And we might be amazed what gifts that are already within us come to light.

So, Paul says that each of us is given this manifestation of the Spirit, but he qualifies that by saying that it is “for the common good.” Now, the Greek word here translated as ‘common good’ is the word symphero, which is a compound word from the prefix syn (S-Y-N), meaning ‘with,’ and the verb phero, meaning ‘to bring or to carry.’ So the direct translation of this phrase would be “for the bringing together.” I like how Strong’s Concordance explains this word symphero. It describes the meaning to be to “combine in a way that brings a profit (gain), especially by a ‘concurrence of circumstances’ that results in benefit or advancement.” What I take from that is that it is not our individual gifts that make a difference or do good in the world. But it is when we all use our gifts together that good things happen.

That said, it is our diversity of gifts used for a common purpose that makes the biggest difference. That diversity is important. As I was thinking about this sermon, I came across an article titled “5 Truths about Diversity in the Church” from Outreach Magazine. And I thought the truths it listed were good. So let me share those with you this morning. First, “Diversity is Biblical.” We see here in 1 Corinthians that the diversity of gifts in important, but we see God talking about the importance of diversity all throughout scripture. From the Tower of Babel in Genesis to the early church’s struggles to incorporate the Gentiles to the visions of John of heaven with every tribe and nation and people and language, diversity has been a part of the story of God’s people and God’s plan.

“Diversity is [also] sacrificial.” In order for our diversity to be for the common good or to come together for some benefit or advancement, we have to find a way to work past our differences. And that will undoubtedly mean some sacrifice…probably from both sides. When the Jews and Gentiles were trying to find a way for the Gentiles to become part of the Christian church, both sides had to sacrifice some of the things they wanted so the partnership could flourish. I’ve seen that happen time and again in this church with good results.

“Diversity is [also] humble.” That fits with the previous point. In order for us to sacrifice in working with one another, we need to be able to put our own needs aside and humble ourselves in order to do what is right for the most people. In order to work together with others who have different gifts and skills and opinions, we need to set aside our pride and be willing to include and learn from others. That can be a challenging task, but an essential one. Alex Haley, the author of the book Roots, reportedly has a picture of a turtle sitting on a fencepost hanging on the wall by his writing desk. The picture is there to remind him to be humble. Because if you see a turtle sitting on the top of a fence post, you know that he had help to get there. Diversity is humble because we have to know we need help in order to be able to work together effectively.

Fourth, “Diversity is Intentional.” We don’t just naturally have the ability or inclination to work with people who are different from us. It is something we learn. And in order to learn it, we must be intentional about it. We must choose to expose ourselves to diversity in order to grow and change because of it. I think we can see this even on social media. It’s so simple for us to block out all the voices that we disagree with and only listen to the ones that sound like us, that believe the same things as us. When we do that, we isolate ourselves. And we simply marinate in a pool of the beliefs we already hold. But when we are intentional about engaging with those who we disagree with, when we try to maintain friendships even when we don’t see things the same way, it actually helps us to strengthen our beliefs and often helps us to find some common ground. It can be difficult, but it is important for us to be intentional in opening ourselves to diversity.

And finally, “Diversity is beneficial.” Here is what Trevin Wax, in his book I Want a Bigger Bible, says about diversity as it relates to our understanding of Scripture, “The more voices we have access to, the bigger our Bible gets—the more we see what is there, behind our cultural blinders.” It’s important as we read and study Scripture that we see the words from perspectives other than our own. And there are a couple of reasons for that. First of all, the Bible was not written in 21st century America. These writings came out of a different time and different place and there may be others who have a better understanding of what the original people the Scriptures were written to would have taken from a particular passage. And secondly, no one person of culture has the full picture of who God is, so wouldn’t it make sense for us to all combine our perspectives in order to build a fuller picture of God?

God granted us a diversity of gifts that together we might be of benefit to the church and the world. That is the vision of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 and the vision for the church even today. As we seek to live into that vision, I want to close with a poem by pastor and poet Charles Bennafield. It is titled I Am Diversity, Please Include Me.

I ‘m present in every place you go

Depending on your lens I’m friend or foe

I’m a force to be reckoned with

Like the winds of change I move. I’m swift.

I’m present when two or more are together

If embraced I can make the good even better.

I’m not limited to age, gender, or race.

I’m invisible at times and yet all over the place.

Don’t exclude me due to a lack of knowledge

Welcome me like the recruit fresh out of college.

Let me take my seat at the table

Even though I may be differently able

My experience, my passion the authentic me

Can help add value for your company.

Learn about me; improve my underrepresentation

And I can provide a competitive edge to your entire nation.

I exclude no one I am strengthened by all

My name is Diversity and yes I stand tall.

Recognize me and keep me in the mix

Together there’s no problem that we can’t fix.

I am your best hope towards true innovation

And to many, I reflect hope and inspiration.

Your lives and companies will continue to change

Thus the need for Diversity and Inclusion will also remain.

Do all that you can to truly embrace me

And experience life’s fullness totally

I’m the thought lurking behind the unfamiliar face

I’m the ingenuity that helps your team win the race.

I’m the solution that came from the odd question that was asked.

I stand out in the crowd when I, Diversity, am allowed to be unmasked.

I’m diversity embrace me and we’ll journey far.

I’m Diversity include me and we will reach the shining star.

Coupled with Inclusion our lights burn longer

Together we are smarter, better and stronger

I am Diversity

Yes, that’s me

AMEN!