Celebrating our Gifts
Once upon a time,
in a place far from here, there was a young boy – loved, secure, full of life
and hardly ever grumpy. He was surrounded
by music at home – you could say it was in his dna. He thought singing was just like breathing –
an essential part of life and living.
And then he grew a little older and got to go to school. He thought that was fun too – new people and
learning new things. And then one day, a
few years in, it happened. The
moment. A teacher, the music teacher
actually, told him that he couldn’t sing in the choir because he didn’t know
how to sing properly. The comment went
deep and resurfaced often. And the teacher
didn’t ever know the harm done.
We are all gifted
with skills – some we have the opportunity to develop and excel at, some are
just who we are, some are locked away by denial of self or by a careless
comment of others.
This community has
its fair share of skills and talents – we have orators, writers, crafts people,
artists, musicians, organisers, experts in theology and a number of other
academic disciplines, we know after yesterday that we have some extremely
effective sales people. And often when
we are not good at something, we are in awe of those who are.
But when Paul
talks of gifts, of skills, given to us by God, he includes every person the
community of faith and there is this expectation of us being as good as we can
be in whatever we do because they are gifts of God for the work of the kingdom. All of us has some gift to develop, some
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. So what are our gifts, our skills and do we
recognise and celebrate them all? That
is what we are going to do today.
For each of us has
capacities that we don’t necessarily see in ourselves. Last night I heard this story of a man who
was saying to an accomplished crafts person (let call him Trevor) that he
wished he had even a tiny bit of creativity like him. Trevor’s reply was to the point. Do you know he said that your creativity
comes through in one of the most amazing vegetable gardens I have ever seen,
and that meal you cooked for us tonight – brilliant. Don’t ever tell me you
aren’t creative.
And we all know
that person who, simply by being at peace with God and themselves, is an oasis
of sustenance for those who don’t have that gift. All of us have received encouragement in the
kind word, the comforting hug, the smile and the listening ear. I think the
ability to listen is one of the most important gifts we can offer.
I came across a
helpful understanding of the way our gifts are seen and it is from Saddleback
Church in the United States. The God
given gifts and abilities we have represent as person’s SHAPE: spiritual gifts,
heart, abilities, personality and experience – they make you who you are and
set you apart from other people. And
these talents are to benefit others and theirs to benefit you. They may be small in your eyes but they
matter to God and they matter to those whom you serve through them.
Paul’s list is
comprehensive: his list of the gifts go from wisdom and the sharing of
knowledge to faith, healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, discernment and
finally to the ability to speak in and interpret what is called tongues.
How might we know
those gifts within this faith community today?
We have teachers, wise ones, encouragers, people who make beautiful
bread, paint evocative canvases, choose great images for the service sheet…
that is a beginning – I invite you to fill this space with gifts that you have
recognised and received in yourself on one side and a gift that has served you
from others.
Then when you are
ready, bring them up and put them on the table where we gather soon to share as
one people the gifts of God, our skills and talents, the bread and wine with
each other and with Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment