Living Energized ~ 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 ~ Day of Pentecost

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I happened to be watching a show on TLC called “The World’s Strongest Toddler,” which was about a three-your-old boy who had a genetic condition that made him very fit and strong.  He could play football, do pull-ups, push-ups, and all kinds of feats that simply cannot be done with a normal three-year-old body. 

A doctor interviewed on the program said, “all human beings are born with extraordinary capacities to do what others cannot.  But most persons never realize that they have them.”

His words are not all that dissimilar to the words of the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians.  He writes, “to each is given [gifts which are] the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

But do you consider yourself to be spiritually gifted?

Who among us is given “the utterance of wisdom” or “knowledge?”  Who possesses gifts of faith, healing, the working of miracles, or prophecy?  Who can discern spirits?  Who can speak in tongues?  Who can interpret them?

Raise your hands if you have any of these gifts.  So should I take the lack of raised hands as indicating that there are no spiritual gifts in this church?  Spiritually, is our church as good as dead?

The problem of today’s church is not a lack of gifts.  It’s simply that the gifts aren’t shared.  There are a number of reasons why this is true:  

1. First of all, we tend to only identify certain spiritual gifts; the ones that appear to be making the greatest difference: gifts like preaching; teaching, public speaking; leadership; playing a musical instrument…  So if we don’t have those gifts, we think we have no gifts—or, that the gifts we have aren’t important…
2. Secondly, we’re afraid to share our gifts—because we lack the confidence in the Holy Spirit to be able to exercise our gifts effectively.  Most ministry happens outside our comfort zones.  We all know that ministry never guarantees success.  Who wants to fail?  Who wants their gifts to be rejected? 
3. Thirdly, our gifts have a way of getting tangled up in our busy lives.  Much of the time, we live life exclusively within the bounds of our work and our personal plans, such that we do not present our gifts to the Body of Christ has generously as we are able…

But the Pentecost event is the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit onto a crowd of the most unremarkable of persons, who gives them the ability to speak in languages other than their own, so that people from the ends of the earth believe and are baptized.  They didn’t know they had these gifts—but the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak. 

We are no different.  The Holy Spirit who comes upon is in baptism energizes us for words and deeds of compassion and forgiveness that bear witness to Christ’s love for the world.  As you sit here today, you possess gifts through which God performs the work of resurrection in this world.  You possess gifts that can ignite faith in the unbeliever.  You possess gifts that can transform this community so that hope flourishes, instead of fear and despair.

Keep in mind that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the gifts they needed to do God’s work at that time and in that place.  So what if you can’t speak in tongues?  So what if you “lack” the utterance of wisdom?

The gifts this congregation needs—and this community needs—are already here.  We need teachers, mentors, and leaders.  We need people who can speak before others what God is doing in their own lives.  But we also need people who can pray.  We need people who are generous in sharing time, talent, and treasure.  We need smiling faces, listening ears, helping hands, and compassionate hearts.  We need friends for strangers.  We need people who aren’t afraid to do good.  We need Baby Boomers and Gen-X-ers, and Millenials.  We need retired people.  We need teens, children, and even infants.  We need people who hurt and people who are happy. In other words, we need you. 

“Can’t spell my name, huh?
That makes two of us!”

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The Spirit of the living God is energizing and activating you for service.  The only way you’ll discover your gifts and the joy of sharing them is to go forth and do according to whatever the Spirit is putting into your heart to do; anything and everything you can to tell someone that Jesus loves them.  Just jump right in and do good.

Are we guaranteed success?  Never.  Is failure an option?  Oh, yes.

The only time we’re guaranteed to fail is whenever we try to be everything to everyone.  When we despise who are and try to be who we’re not.  When we follow our own desires and serve ourselves instead of God…

But even if you are faithful with even a little, there’s no limit to what God can do.  So what if you can’t preach like Paul or play the organ like Becky?  So what if you can’t spell kabarogoya? God is using ordinary people and even small churches in struggling communities (like ours) to bring resurrection into the hurting world. 

And let’s be sure and tell these stories.  There’s no reason we can’t fill those back windows with stories, either of ourselves or someone else.  Because God is here—and God’s Spirit is in you.