"Concerning Spiritual Gifts"         

First Presbyterian Church
January 14, 2007
Peter S. Buehler
1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters,
I do not want you to be uninformed.

Do you consider your self to be talented? Do you believe you have a gift, one which is special and valuable -- not only to you bit to others? Do you think that your gift is tied to your faith in Christ? Do you believe everyone in our faith community has a spiritual gift?

Many of us find ourselves making the assumption that only a handful of people are really talented -- well-known and up-and-coming singers, actors, athletes, artists, poets, novelists, professionals, public figures -- and that the rest of us are just normal, everyday folks, good at what we do, but not what anyone would call talented. There's a difference, in our mind; not everyone can be talented. Talent isn't democratic.

Yet Paul makes this astonishing statement, To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. He does not say "To some"; he does not say "To a chosen few"; he does not even say "To most -- are given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." He says "To each."

Eugene Peterson, in his contemporary version of the New Testament, puts it this way, Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. The inclusiveness is astounding. Everyone gets in on it.

And it's not about celebrating ourselves; it's not about how good we are. It's about showing who God is. The Spirit endows individuals, us, with these wonderful ways to show God's glory, God's beauty, God's justice, God's love; we recognize we have a gift when we see others benefiting -- growing in their worship, their faith and life -- from what we do.

And they don't have to be showy gifts; they can be quiet gifts. One Paul lists, very simply, is the gift of faith. Everyone in the church strives for it, you and I strive for it, but some have faith as a special gift, and theirs helps the rest of us.

I remember a Sunday years ago in the first church I served, when I noticed that the choir members, seated in the back of the church, were giggling. I was in the pulpit, trying to give a sermon, and I found it very distracting, because I could see their shoulders heaving up and down, their hands covering their faces, everyone trying not to lose control and burst out laughing. I had no idea what was so funny; I knew I wasn't that funny, at least I hoped I wasn't, because I wasn't trying to be.
It was only after the service ended that I heard what it was all about: one of our ladies, Anna, who came straight to church from an all-night shift in a nursing home, had been falling asleep. And not just dozing off, but falling sideways onto the shoulder of a rather well-dressed and proper visitor to our church, who would then shift away from Anna, until Anna's head would again start coming down toward her shoulder. This happened over and over -- Anna dozing and leaning, the well-dressed lady moving and shifting -- all in full view of the choir.
Needless to say, when church ended the visitor bolted for the door, never to be seen again.

Our Anna, of course, whether awake or asleep, never missed a Sunday. A quiet lady in her 80's, still working long hours to support her family, utterly devoted to the patients she served, often working the extra shifts other nurses wouldn't, Anna had a gift of faith the rest of us cherished. I doubt she knew it; I regret I never told her. If I had thought of it, I would have said something like "Anna, your love of worship, the faithfulness you show every week, your trust in Jesus Christ spill over and fill us all up. You are a gift to us all and you are a gift to me."

Part of what we learn in the church -- and it is a gentle and lovely learning, and somewhat surprising -- is that we cannot believe by ourselves. We start off wanting to be better people, stronger Christians; we want to have a church home where we feel comfortable, we want to be in a place where we can grow in our faith. What we discover is other people. What we discover is that we cannot be ourselves by ourselves. What we discover is that we need each other to be whole, to be disciples.

What we discover, the more we look around the congregation and listen to one another, is that the Holy Spirit is the most generous gift-giver there is! If Christmas is still fresh in our minds, we can associate the Holy Spirit with gifts under the tree Christmas morning, all beautiful -- a celebration of giving, the joy of generosity. We hear the apostle's words and imagine him gesturing: Now there are varieties of gifts, his arms are open wide! but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of services, he continues, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. Gifts, services, activities -- the Spirit makes the church and its ministry come alive in dynamic and joyous ways! And always variety -- a variety of people, a variety of giftedness.

Sometimes, when we think of the church and its role in the community, what comes to mind is the variety of needs -- spiritual as well as emotional and social -- and that it's the church's job to meet them all, rather than it being the church's job to recognize and encourage gifts for ministry in its members, all its members, and then let the Spirit loose.

It's a matter of what we see first: do we see a variety of needs, or a variety of gifts. Robert Schuller tells a story about the day he took his family to a ranch to go riding. The ranch sought to meet everyone's needs. On the way to the corral a sign read: For those who like to ride fast, we have fast horses. For those who like to ride slow, we have slow horses. For those who are big, we have big horses.
For those who are little, we have little horses. And for those who have never ridden horses before, we have horses that have never been ridden.

Better hold on! Actually, we wonder if that's why we may be reluctant to try something new, to do something we haven't done: we don't want to fall.
There are other reasons, of course. We have limited time, we have limited energy. And we know very well how it goes in the church, that once you express interest in anything at all, before you know it you're chairing a committee, serving on a task force, and committing two nights a week for the next three years of your life.

So we say No. And it's OK to say No, as long as we are not neglecting a gift in us. Paul urged his young protégé, Timothy, to not neglect any gift given him by God, and we hear him speaking to us. Are there spiritual gifts we have that have gone unused, gifts that would not only build up the church but bring us a new sense of joy and purpose?

When we think of places in the church where we might use our talents and skills -- in teaching, in leadership, in music, in caring, in listening, in sharing our faith -- it is fair to ask ourselves Is there something holding us back? Are we waiting to be asked? Are we wondering if our gift is needed? Are we unsure of what we're getting into? Are we worried about falling, about failing? Do we feel we need to receive more of something -- more knowledge, more faith, more certainty -- before we can give something? Are we waiting for Jesus himself to call us?

Maybe his is doing that. Maybe he is calling our church, our congregation, to grow in recognizing and encouraging one another's gifts. What a difference it would make if we said to one another what we saw, encouraging one another to not wait but go ahead and use our gifts, even those we're not sure we have, for the sake of building up the church and serving the community in Jesus' name.

By faith in him we have many gifts. Paul lists nine, each is vital. We don't all have them all, but as a congregation we have them all -- and need them all -- just as we need each other.

To certain people is given the gift of wisdom, the ability to listen as well as to speak in such a way that God becomes present, real. Such people have a way of weaving their faith and their life together into a seamless garment: they follow the Lord not because they are perfect but because they know he is trustworthy.

Others in the church are given the gift of knowledge: the ability to explain, to make reasonable the mystery of faith. To them the Bible and the teachings of the church are deep and wide, their truth always waiting to be learned.

Others have the gift of faith by the same Spirit. An openness to Christ's leadership in their lives, a confidence in what God is doing, a love of worship.
Especially in times of hardship and suffering these people are our rock. When we think of Christian faith, their names and faces come to mind.

Others have the gift of healing. They are the rare souls we call when we need a friend. People who speak the truth in love, friends whose very presence is healing, whose acceptance of us is beyond doubt. God seems to choose their words before they speak. Like the Lord himself, they are physicians of the human spirit.

There are those, says Paul, through whom the spirit works miracles -- the ability to translate spiritual things into physical, tangible things. Like Mother Teresa, who turned a dream to help the poorest of the poor into a ministry of compassion recognized around the world. To such people, the word impossible is a call to prayer, to faith, to action.

To others is given the gift of prophecy. They understand the needs of future and choose to make a difference today. Rarely popular people, God gives them special courage to speak about the requirements of justice and peace. Martin Luther King, Jr. had this gift, and if he were alive today he would be challenging us again to pull down the barriers of race and class that keep us apart.

Paul lists three other spiritual gifts. The ability to discriminate among spirits -- identifying not only the obvious but the subtle true to faith. Those with this gift know that God chooses not only charismatic and convincing people to get his message across, but quiet messengers as well.

And while Presbyterians don't generally speak in tongues (at least not loudly enough for others to hear), we learn a lot from those whose worship is pure joy, people who sing out loud, people who smile and clap their hands. People who have a gift for beautiful prayers which flow from their hearts.

Finally, there are believers who have the gift of interpretation, those who can explain what their tongue-speaking friends are saying. Again, not part of our Presbyterian experience, though I wonder if interpretation is not a special way of listening, of being present to a friend with complete understanding.

There are other gifts; the list is not exhaustive. Get involved in the church at any level and the talents of believers become obvious. Gifts of energy, humor and hospitality; gifts of financial genius and culinary skill; the willingness to fold hundreds of worship folders and church newsletters; a commitment to stay close to junior and senior highs and take their questions seriously. The desire to help new believers navigate their journeys of faith. The commitment to support the mission of the church, to carry the gospel into the world.
Many gifts, all given by the same Spirit.

God be with us as we use our spiritual gifts, as we encourage our neighbors to use theirs, and as we celebrate the generosity of God's Holy Spirit, the giver of all gifts.