Each person grows in their own way. It is no different in a community. Paul addresses the church in Rome in his letter to the Romans. In the twelfth chapter he comes to speak about the way of life. It is about how the Gospel is put into practice in everyday life. Because each person is different, the apostle deliberately blends in these differences.
From Romans 12:4 it says as follows:
“For as we have many members in one body, but the members do not all have the same function, so also we, the many, are one body in Christ, but individually members one of another. According to the grace given to us, we now have special gifts of grace:
If it is a prophetic word, let it be used according to faith;
If it is the gift of service, use it in service;
Whether the teacher has the gift, so he works in the teaching;
If the promisor has it, he exercises it in the promise;
Likewise, do the one who shares with others in simplicity of heart,
the foregoing with diligence,
the one who has mercy, with joyfulness”.
Rom 12:4-8
As different as the parishioners are, so are the gifts that each received. Even in one body, not all members have the same task. An arm is not a leg and the head does not have the same function as the foot.
Paul emphasizes that while all differences are there, we are nevertheless all “one body in Christ.” There is unity in diversity. Among ourselves, therefore, we are like limbs on a body – each with a different task. In simple words: everyone helps the other with the possibilities he has. The gifts are different.
Significantly, this is not about “special effects.” Neither special prophetic speeches nor speaking in tongues nor healings are central here. These all belonged to the proclamation of the Messianic Kingdom. Paul’s proclamation, however, does not have the messianic kingdom at its center. He stands in a time of transition and points to the essentials in the Letter to the Romans. Paul writes here, among other things, about the gift of mercy, that one should exercise this gift with joy. This is completely unexciting, but precious and of great importance in a community.
In the listing of these verses, Paul refers according to the “measure of faith” in order to express this difference again. He has already spoken about this in the preceding verse (Rom 12:3). The measure of faith does not concern the result of our own effort, but the measure of what has been given to each of us by God. It is not a yardstick. Paul only emphasizes the difference that is given and given by God. This term is not about judging ourselves or others (see: “Showing Common Sense”).
What does that mean in concrete terms? No one is above the other. Everyone works with their own gifts given to them. Modesty is in order. We are one body, but with many different limbs.
