Spiritual Gifts

John 2:1-11

1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 

9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." 

11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God

I Corinthians 12:1-11

1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 

7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God.

Y’all don’t hear a lot of “Get right with God” sermons from me. Y’all don’t hear much “turn or burn” when I’m in my pulpit. Y’all don’t hear too many messages about “getting saved.” Thinking back, I don’t think I’ve ever delivered a sermon which was meant to encourage conversion. This passage, and others like it, is why. “...No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” I assume that the Holy Spirit is working through every person who comes through these doors to worship. I believe just showing up to a worship service is an act of faith. The Holy Spirit is guiding every person who attends, participates, and is joined with this congregation. My assumption is that all y’all are already saved, whether you know it or not, and whether you like it or not.

Salvation and Conversion are not my job. They’re way above my paygrade. Jesus saves. No one else can do the work of salvation, at least in our tradition. Conversion is an act of the Holy Spirit, changing a heart from faithlessness to faith. While God can use me, or any other person, for that purpose, I am at best an instrument of that work. The Holy Spirit alone empowers people to say “Jesus is Lord.”

So what, then, is my responsibility?

Same as y’all’s: Using the gifts the Spirit has given me to glorify God and enjoy God forever.

Fifteen years ago this April, I sat in front of this Presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry. They were helping me explore the possibility of a call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament, becoming a preacher. One of the people on that committee asked me, for the first time, what led me to believe that pastoring was a possibility for me.

I don’t remember exactly what I said, it was fifteen years ago, but I remember that I listed what I saw as spiritual gifts. I remember that I reasoned that these gifts were all beneficial in ministry. I remember that I quoted that great theologian, my Mom, saying that God gives us gifts so we can give them back. I remember that the faces around that conference table were not expecting that kind of answer. They also voted to enroll me under their care as I worked through the process of training for the ministry to which God has called me.

My gifts led me to where God was calling me. While my career has taken a specifically religious arc, The Holy Spirit is active in every member of this family of faith. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” My vocation, as a Christian, is the same as y’all’s. We are to use the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us to glorify God and enjoy God forever.

In a church our size, we all know one another and something about each other. I could probably just about go around the room and name some of the spiritual gifts I see in every member here. We did some of that at Lunch Bunch this week. But I do want to highlight some of the gifts I have seen in our soon-to-be-installed elders.

Joy Webb has incredible gifts for youth ministry. Her instincts on how to love and care for the youth of the church are a rare gift, even in a congregation that loves youth as much as we do. She also has wondrous gifts at thinking creatively and expressing herself through visual arts.

Richard Hand has a keen eye for details, this is a tremendous gift as we discern how to change our structure to suit our Mission to grow faith together as taught through God’s Word. He also has spiritual gifts of generosity and humor. These will continue to keep our family of faith a warm and welcoming place for us, as well as for our neighbors.

Rob Grissom has gifts of honesty and vision. The Spirit has given Rob a unique perspective on the world in which we are all called to for faith together as taught through God’s Word, and he is willing to share his perspective with us in ways that will help us see around corners.

I didn’t tell them I was going to compliment them so heavily in this sermon, so they might be a mite embarrassed, but the praise is always for God. For “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;” These three are called to a specific service for the next three years.

But all of us are given gifts. If you don’t know what they are, ask one of your brothers or sisters in Christ. The gifts listed in this passage are not comprehensive, they’re representative. Each of us has a variety of meaning and important gifts that God has given us. “All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”

God created you, redeemed you, and is sustaining you. Your chief end, your holy ministry, your Christian Vocation, is to glorify God and enjoy God forever, using every gift the Holy Spirit has given you.