“Many Gifts, One Spirit”
Isaiah 62: 1-5, 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11, John 2: 1-11
“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…..” (1 Cor. 12:4-7) “There are varieties of gifts……. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good……”
Paul was trying to settle a bothersome situation that had flared up in the Corinthian church as he wrote those words about spiritual gifts. The Spirit of God was moving and changing a lot of lives in dramatic ways – but with some negative results, including much competition, jealousy and egotism. Some of these young Christians were claiming that their spiritual gifts made them more important, or better, or “more Christian” than others. Those who had the most unusual gifts – like speaking in strange tongues, or doing miracles, for example – seemed to have been especially vain, and a major rift was occurring in that new Christian family. What we read today is just the beginning of a very long passage in which Paul tries to teach his young converts that gifts from God are no reason pride or egotism. They are not accomplishments, but just what the name implies – gifts, that come from a higher source - are given not for anyone’s self-gratification, but for the good of the whole Christian fellowship.
In this passage Paul lists nine spiritual gifts, and if you look at the sheet I included in the bulletin you will see that I’ve underlined them. He writes of messages of wisdom and knowledge, the power to heal, faith, ability to do miracles, prophecy, discernment or distinguishing among spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting this speech in tongues. Some of those gifts seem pretty esoteric – not the sort of thing that typically occurs at HPUMC and hard for the average Christian to relate to - so I like to pair this passage with another of Paul’s, in Romans 12, which is also on the insert. It’s another list of spiritual gifts, written at a different time and place, and including a lot of seemingly “ordinary” activities, things that many of you do - among them teaching, encouraging, giving generously, exercising leadership, and showing mercy (or compassion) – activities that seem so run-of-the-mill that you might not even think of them as God-related, but Paul says they are.
“All of the gifts God has given are important,” says Paul, trying to quell the Corinthians’ pride and spiritual egotism. Spiritual egotism can be a problem in churches of today too, but I think many Christians are prone to another problem, quite a different one, when it comes to our gifts.
A few years ago we had a strange little gift-related mystery in our family – using “gift” in the other sense of the word. I mentioned it in a sermon then, but it seems to fit here and be worth repeating. Our daughter Katherine has a birthday in mid-January, so we often buy her birthday gifts in December while in the midst of Christmas shopping. A few years ago we did this, wrapped up the Christmas presents, and carefully set aside the birthday gifts, putting them in a very good hiding place – so good that in January we couldn’t find them, despite several thorough searches through all the closets and logical storage spaces. We knew we couldn’t have thrown them out – several were too large to be easily tossed in the garbage – but Katherine’s birthday came and went with her gifts unaccounted for, and I sent her a check as a consolation prize. And then, a week or two later, I happened to see a white bag that was hung up at the back of my closet, behind some coats, and there were the gifts, safe and sound.
If I hadn’t made that accidental discovery, I imagine we would have eventually forgotten all about those gifts. In the months ahead they still would have been very near to us, perfectly accessible to anyone who knew of their location, but for all practical purposes it would be as if they didn’t exist.
Forgotten gifts,
unacknowledged gifts, unknown gifts, buried gifts…….. Jumping back to the words
of
Over the years it’s become clear to me that one of the ways in which people discover God’s will for their lives is by assessing the gifts God has given them. As a young person that was part of the process that led me into becoming a parish pastor. I looked at my gifts – not in a formal way, but in the normal self-assessing that any young person will do - and it was obvious that some career paths were unsuitable for me. I knew that I wouldn’t become an engineer, a scientist, a military leader, a physician, a farmer, a laborer, an accountant, or an artist because my gifts didn’t match those callings. But it seemed that they could be used in Christian ministry, that the way God had equipped me made pastoral ministry a likely means of fulfilling my commitment to him. In thirty-some years I’ve seen enough confirmation of that decision to reassure me that I’ve been on the right path. It’s not a matter of boasting, but simply observing that while God did not equip me to be lots of things, God’s gifts have made it possible for me to serve in this way.
But now, in ways that I have not initiated, and have perhaps even resisted in the past because of uncertainty and personal insecurity, I have been hearing people say to me “You have other gifts to employ, and another arena in which to use the gifts you’ve applied to parish ministry.” My superiors, some of my colleagues, members of my family – they’ve seen some gifts that I haven’t been using very much, gifts that I will be challenged to develop when I begin my new assignment. As a superintendent I will be overseeing the work of about 60 pastors in 100 or so churches. I look at the 3rd scripture reference on the bulletin insert, from Ephesians 4, and some of the gifts mentioned there seem to fit. I don’t really identify strongly with the words “apostle”, “prophet” or “evangelist” – I don’t feel especially gifted by God for those tasks – but I do identify with “pastor” and “teacher.” In my new calling I will be a pastor to other pastors, and a mentor and teacher to those who are younger in ministry than me. Others have said they see these gifts in me, and I am trusting that they will grow and flourish as I exercise them, and that God will enable me to fulfill my calling – and develop gifts not yet apparent – as I follow in faith.
But that’s enough about me. God has given you gifts. God has filled this church community with gifts – to some extent with the gifts Paul mentions in Corinthians, and to an overflowing degree with the seemingly “ordinary” gifts he mentioned in Romans. Because of the giftedness of God’s people here this will continue to be a strong church family – and in the future, when you have a new pastor, with gifts of his or her own, I will not consider it disloyalty if there are times when you say “Well, Jim was a good minister, but he couldn’t have done what Pastor So and So just did, with these gifts that we need today………….”
You have many gifts, but because we sometimes bury these gifts, or downplay them, or fail to honor them as the spiritual gifts they truly are, I’d like to name a few of the gifts I’ve seen here. I’ve seen the gift of compassion and showing mercy – in this church which has always seemed to take it for granted that mission and service to others is nothing extraordinary but just a basic part of being a church…... I’ve seen the gift of generous giving – not only in the financial gifts that people make to support the church’s work, but the way people give time and care and friendship to others….. I’ve seen the gift of faith, as individuals have faced illness, loss, transitions and challenges with God’s help, and as our church community took on the challenge of the recent building project….. I’ve seen leadership – people using their capacity to organize, inspire and lead, for the good of the whole - from the paid staff and the elected leaders, and also among the teens and children…… And, because it matters how people use their gifts, and for what purpose, I can affirm Paul’s words, and say that so often I have seen people here using their gifts not in self-aggrandizing ways but “for the common good,” and for the well-being of our God’s church. And above all these things I have often seen one more gift, the gift Paul mentions in the next chapter as the highest gift without which everything is useless. I’ve seen in you, many many times, the gift of love.
You are gifted, gifted by God.
A few years ago I wrote a little piece for the Messenger about JS Bach the composer, and it seems like a good way of closing this talk about using our gifts. I’ve read that most of Bach’s manuscripts are marked with a set of initials at the very beginning and the very end: The letters “JJ” before he had written a single note, and “SDG” after the last note.
“JJ” – with which he began – is short for the Latin “Juva Jesu”, “Help Me, Jesus.” And “SDG” – which he wrote when everything was completed – stands for “Soli Deo Gloria,” “To God alone be the glory!”
It seems to me that this is the attitude we should be cultivating if we want to live a life in which God’s gifts are being used. We start with “Help me Jesus,” not because we are incompetent or incapable of anything on our own, but because we know that we are at our best when we are intentionally open to the inspiration and empowerment and guidance that come from God. So – when we are doing the job that brings a paycheck, or fulfilling the responsibilities that come with a family, or trying to do something significant in our church or community, we say “Help me, Jesus – Help me to teach this class, deal with this patient, care for this child, repair this automobile, deal with this customer by using the gifts you have given in the way you intend…..” And that is certainly what I am saying now as I think about my new work, and will probably be saying quite frequently when I start as a superintendent – “Help me, Jesus!”
And when all is said and done, when the day is over and the tasks are completed, how shallow we would be if self-congratulations are the only theme we can sound. How much more satisfying to say “I tried to serve God by teaching at my school today, and to God be the glory for all the good that occurred……” Or “I tried to serve God by giving my customers an honest job, and now to God be the glory for all that was accomplished!”
Or, “I have tried to be a faithful member of my church, and to God be the glory for what I’ve been allowed to do.”
None of us are likely to create anything that rivals Bach’s compositions. Some of us are gifted with numerous spiritual gifts, while others may have fewer. Paul says “there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” But regardless of the kind of gifts, or the number, we can live our lives with the Bach’s attitude – calling on Christ for help, and praising God for the results.
You are gifted. “There are varieties of gifs but the same Spirit; there are varieties of service but the same Lord; there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit, for the common good.” May God bless us and enable us to use our gift-filled lives in ways that are a blessing.