Loading...Dear St. Peter’s Family and Friends,
It is perhaps a sad reflection of my naivety or our extant culture that, when I performed an internet search using the terms, “Pentecost and Spiritual Gifts,” the great guide, Google, immediately presented me with an array of tee-shirts, coffee mugs, bracelets, pendants, windchimes; a cornucopia of material items which could all be purchased to show the true meaning of Pentecost according to the sellers!
Somewhat further down the page were children’s crafts, then below that articles from various faith-based publications. Much lower still was the type of scholarly information I sought. Clearly, I thought, the era of Bable and the confusion caused by a lack of clear communication has not yet passed. This is an area when, we the church would do well to listen to Paul’s advice in chapter 12 of his letter to the Romans: “Do not model yourselves on the world around you . . .”
Gifts mean so much more than something we purchase from a shop or a website. A satisfactory commercial transaction should be more than simply an exchange of money or goods. Part of the joy of perusing a Farmer’s Market is relational. It is learning about the products from the store holders, seeing the rapture of a small child eating a strawberry as large as their little fist, or tasting the distinct types of olive oil or nuts. The jar of honey I received from my daughters after their weekend away in Ojai last year was accompanied by a story of how they paid for a honey-tasting experience, learned about the flowers whose nectar had contributed, and the different valley, fields, and woodlands where the hives were located. The object I received was a jar of honey, but the gift was the care and attention, the history, and the time we spent tasting the honey together with homemade scones and, of course, a cup of tea.
The spiritual gifts mentioned in Romans 1:11 refer to the ability of an individual to perform a particular act of ministry such as healing, teaching, or preaching, which is needed by the church for its mission. These are not gifts we hold close for our personal use, but which we employ as good stewards of God’s grace for the greater good, in the benefit of other people (1 Peter 4:10). While we all possess various natural talents and abilities, the delineation between these and spiritual gifts lies in how we apply them. Paul writes not about quantities but about dimensions of grace, that is, whether we use our gifts for their intended purpose without thinking more highly of ourselves for doing so. Gifts are given so that God’s cause might be served, for the benefit of the whole community, and in ways that complement other people’s gifts. Like a well-balanced orchestra, each person has a role to play, and every gift is needed to achieve true harmony in the world.
As we celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit, this Pentecost, we may wonder what our gifts and talents are, and whether they are spiritual or mundane. However, it often true that though we might not recognize our own gifts, whatever we possess has been given to us from God, and each one of us contributes incrementally to the whole ministry of the church in the world.
Rev. Courtney +
