My wife just delivered our sixth child which has got me thinking about people-gifts.
In my first year of college I was gifted the friendship of the man I usually refer to as “my Buddhist English professor.” One of my only real friends in that season of life, he was a poet with long hair and a big beard and would have made an excellent Orthodox priest had his eastern longings not taken him in a different direction. My Buddhist English professor and his wife introduced me to The Smiths, Mark Eitzel, poetry, wine, classy parties with intellectuals, and most importantly, they treated me like an adult who had a perspective that mattered. I was 17 and neglected so this was enormous for me.
One of the many things my professor taught me is the Japanese concept of Ningen Kokuhō. He had gone to Japan to explore becoming a monk and had brought back his love of Japanese philosophy and ritual which he shared with delight and generosity. When I went to his house he asked that I remove my shoes at the genkan (house entrance) so I would not “burden the spirits” (I think this is more of a Shinto idea than Buddhist); and in one of those many free cultural community events that are such an underrated portion of the value one receives in a college career, he once hosted a short lecture and demonstration of a Japanese tea ceremony. I remember being quite moved by the pains the host took to honor and serve his guest.
My professor introduced me to the concept of Ningen Kokuhō as, together with a group of students, we watched the 1980 National Geographic documentary on the Living Treasures of Japan; I love that the title includes “VHS rip” which we shall also read as “VHS RIP”:
The idea of Ningen Kokuhō, or the Living National Treasure, is that a nation of virtue should identify, honor, and support the people who possess certain “intangible cultural properties” that represent the nation’s heritage. In other words, the people who have dedicated their lives to the perfection of a regionally local traditional art, and who have further made sure to preserve that art by teaching it to others, should be honored. Their people owe them and rely upon them in some way.
My understanding of the idea of people-gifts has grown since I first watched that documentary but I still remember the yearning the seventeen-year-old version of me felt then. I think this ache I felt was three-fold. First, I winced at the total generosity of these artists who gave their lives to their people in the preservation of beauty; the thousand sacrifices of a life spent pursuing mastery of one thing. Second, I felt the dull empty pain of the absence of such Ningen Kokuhō in my experience; where were these generative gray hairs? And finally, it was the hunger pang of hope that I might become the kind of man my people, or really anyone, might consider to be a national treasure.
In the Old Testament Yhwh repeatedly tells the people of Israel that they are his treasured possession. When his people rebel against him, Yhwh declares he will take away the material treasures of Israel and give it to someone else as a consequence. Yhwh wants to be Israel’s treasure just like they are his. All material treasure is ultimately valuable as an analogy that points us to the treasures of the divine life and as an aid that supports us in our pursuit of it.
One translation of Psalm 17:14 says, “You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children…” People-treasures.
In the book of the prophet, Haggai, Yhwh tells Zerubabel, a leader of the Israelite return from the Babylonian exile and a laborer in the rebuilding of their temple,
Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says Yhwh of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares Yhwh of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says Yhwh of hosts. And in this place I will give peace…
But most everyone admits that the temple they built, the Second Temple, was inferior to the first. The real fulfillment of God’s promise is in the temple that is the Church, and the treasure, the silver and gold that comes in, is people. The wealth of the nations comes into Israel in the form of people-treasures. This is you.
Paul says some interesting things about people-gifts in his letter to the Ephesians.
Paul begins the second half of Ephesians–the part that talks about Christian ethics–with an exhortation toward unity. In the beginning of chapter 4 he says that a person who has understood the cosmic significance of the revelation of Christ should respond by walking in a worthy manner. And walking worthily looks like going to extravagant lengths to do what we can to put up with each other’s foibles and to relate to each other with humility and gentleness so that we can maintain our unity. Because every person, though broken, has been gifted with a unique and indispensable portion of Christ. We are all, in part, Christ gifted to each other. We are all, with each other, Christ’s body.
Paul then alludes to a very mysterious story in Ephesians 4:8. In that verse, he intentionally misquotes Psalm 68:18 which says, “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men.” Paul’s misquote or, to be less inflammatory, his “reworked” quote says, “Having ascended on high, he led a host of captives, he gave gifts to human beings."
The misquoting occurs when Paul changes the original passage from “receiving gifts from men,” to “gave gifts to humans.” The point is that, while it is traditional for the people to give a conquering king gifts of tribute, Jesus is the conquering king who instead gives gifts to the people. This is all in the context of a story we will talk about when the wheel of the year rolls back around to Holy Week. For now, let us just say that, after having descended to the Underworld, Jesus conquers the Underworld and rebellious spiritual powers and then ascends to the heavens (spending forty days with his friends as a pit stop on the way up). In his Ascension, Jesus leads captivity captive. Ten days later, at Pentecost, Jesus and the Father send the Holy Spirit down to fill the new temple, the temple that Yhwh told Zerubabel about, the Church, with the life of Christ. And in this giving of the Holy Spirit, Christ fills all things (Eph 4:10).
But what are the gifts that the conquering king gives to people? It turns out, the gifts he gives us are other gifted people. So in Ephesians 4:11 Paul describes some of the people-gifts he gives to the Church in a list that has come to be known as the fivefold ministry: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers. Better yet, let us translate, rather than transliterate, them into something more interesting for English speakers: Ambassadors, Foretellers, Good-News-Bringers, Shepherds, and I don’t have a better word for Teachers (it would have to be something like “Learner-Makers”.
What does this fivefold team do? They serve God’s people and help them achieve their end in Christ.
To summarize: Jesus, in his crucifixion, descent into the Underworld, defeat of the rebellious powers, resurrection, ascension high above the Skies, enthronement with the Father, and Spirit-outpouring, is the conquering King who, in his victory, gives treasures to his people by the Spirit in the form of people-gifts who serve to restore his people and build up his body and help her achieve unity and completion as the body of Christ. Re: Ephesians 4:1-16 for the whole passage.
So, I guess in a way he is the conquering King who receives gifts from people. The gifts he gives to us are the gifts he gives to himself inasmuch as the Church is his own body and bride that he seeks complete union with. In giving people as gifts to each other he gives us to himself.
And while this passage highlights the fivefold servant-team, the real beneficiaries and subjects of the passage are the people of the Church, otherwise known as the saints or “holy ones.” While these five ministering roles are foundational there is no reason to think they are the most important or that the list is exhaustive. Every person is a gift of Christ’s own self to the world.
In the middle of this writing some of our co-church leaders visited and brought steak and veggies to grill as part of our newborn-baby meal train. They are people-gifts to my family, to our church, to the world. As we grilled and drank whiskey, I mentioned I was writing about the idea of “people-gifts” and my friend, Tim, told me that this term came into our community through a man named HB who is something like a grandfather to my local church. He and his wife spent years and years serving as people-gifts to the Church, pouring themselves out in establishing countless people in the way of Christ. Their DNA is part of our community’s life and their stories are part of our lore. While the nations of the world might have no idea who they are, my friend, Tim, our friend HB, their wives, they are all Ningen Kokuhō in God’s Kingdom. I know many others.
As I hold my newborn daughter and marvel at her soulful gaze on the new world, I wonder about the nature of her giftedness to us. I marvel at the extravagant gift of my wife’s life for this baby girl, poured out in sleeplessness, suffering, and constant care. I wonder too about all the other babies on the way (new babies are competing with mission to the lost for which will be the greatest vector of new life into our church this year). I also wonder about the children my wife and I have lost through miscarriages and the children others in my community have lost. What particular expression of Christ are we missing out on in their absence? But then I like to imagine our departed little ones as they exercise their giftedness for our sake in intercession. I like to imagine them cheering for us.
It is a blessed thing that death does not separate the members of Christ’s body. Indeed, the Ephesians story of the people-gifts to the Church is established in the wake of Jesus’ invasion and lovingly hostile takeover of the Underworld. If I ascend to the skies, you are there, O God. If I make my bed in the Grave you are there. If we die you maintain the gift, O God.
Beautifully said! People are a gift, and people are a *giving*, which somehow completes that thought for me. I’ll be thinking about this all day as I move among the people-gifts in my own life.