Many years ago I was greeting
people at the door after a Sunday Service, when a stranger informed me that she
had decided to join the parish so that she could bring the Holy Spirit
to the congregation. She was wide-eyed with a bit of a glazed over look that
seemed to go well with her permanent grin. St. Paul’s Parish had been
established in rural northwestern Connecticut in 1797 and had enjoyed thriving
years, but more recently was in a steady decline to a membership of about 125
individuals. The previous rector had become irresponsible in his personal life
and ministry, and the 2-year interim was eventually deposed for wrongful use of
funds and other assorted misdeeds. People had left in droves. While teaching
fulltime, I was called to serve as the part-time pastor, even though I lived 20
miles away. (I remained happily for 14 years and am still in touch.) When the
stranger visited, parish life was going well; we had switched from a survival
mode to an increasingly effective ministry without constant financial panic.
Quite frankly, I cringed at the stranger’s pompous declaration and was
sure that she would be divisive and drain energies from the small
congregation’s life and mission. I believe I surprised, and perhaps hurt,
her when I gently urged her to consider joining the other, large, affluent
Episcopal Church a few miles away or one of the many others in the region! I
did not doubt her sincerity. Nonetheless, I had no inclination to believe that
what she was offering was God’s Spirit for that recovering congregation. I
don’t know what happened to her. However, to this day, I am grateful that
she did not return. Being inclusive does not mean that everyone is a
“divine match” for every parish community. There are always
alternatives to which some may be guided, and at times it is a pastor’s
solemn responsibility to point people in those directions. Though still small
in numbers and with another part-time pastor, St. Paul’s continues its
journey with a very active lay and part time ordained ministry.
At that time in Connecticut
there were a few congregations experiencing some sort of
“spirituality” that I suspected the stranger embodied. Most of these
churches eventually became filled with divisiveness, mischief, insolvency, and
at best a marginal existence. Some individual lives were greatly harmed, too.
Always a questioner, I was curious about this sad state of affairs and wanted
to understand better why and how some claims of gifts from God could result in
disasters for people’s lives and for congregations. I wondered what the
Bible said about gifts from the Holy Spirit, which we celebrate on this Day of
Pentecost: the reception of the Spirit by the first disciples. My sermon this
morning is the end result of my studies undertaken some 25 years ago. (I am
providing copies of the text, so that it will be easier to follow the
comparison of the benefits and hazards associated with spiritual gifts.)
From the New Testament we learn
that to be a Christian is to be more than a citizen of a particular country or
to live some version of the Golden Rule. Moreover, no one is born
“Christian.” To be a Christian means to respond to God’s
empowering activity in life, to commit oneself basically to a growing loyalty
to God’s Will in the covenant of active love for God, one’s neighbor,
and oneself. The decision, the conscious choice of this life orientation, is
what the Bible means by being “born anew.” Such a decision is often a
quiet and gradual process of realization; for some individuals it is a
decisive, emotional moment of realization and commitment.
We learn further from Scripture
that gifts from God “vary in practice from the strongly emotional
outpourings of the ecstatic to the normal everyday practice of God’s will;
from talents and activities contributing to worship to those equally necessary
for meeting the general needs of the Christian community. All such powers and
activities are given by God and their worth is to be judged by the measure in
which they promote the well-being of the church.”[1] Gifts from God are neither validations of an
individual’s entire life nor signs of a person’s infallibility,
superiority, or importance.
“New Testament writers,
particularly Paul, hold a very democratic view of such gifts, believing that
every Christian possesses some of them, with varying degrees of fullness (Rom.
12:6).”[2] Therefore, every Christian,
by definition, is a person “born anew”[3] and provided with spiritual gifts.
However, this chart will help
us understand that responses to any gift may be positive or negative. Whether
beneficial or hazardous will depend on our choices as we respond to the Spirit.
|
Positive (Benefits) |
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Negative (Hazards) |
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1. Freedom is experienced in one’s life; one is
enabled; freedom of choice is encouraged; decisions are made; realistic options
are understood. |
|
1. One is enslaved and feels controlled; persons are
gripped and in turn attempt to control others. |
| |
|
|
|
2. An individual feels grateful and
humble. |
|
2. An individual is arrogant and feels superior.
|
| |
|
|
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3. Interpersonal relationships and communal harmony
|
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3. Superficial relationships based on being the are
promoted. “in” group are promoted. |
| |
|
|
|
4. A gift is received as “fuel” or a
catalyst for one’s loving action. |
|
4. A possessed gift itself is the goal and is used
for own enjoyment, as something to be “shown off.” |
| |
|
|
|
5. A sensitivity to the various religious levels of
authoritarian persons and their varying needs and circumstances is
evident. |
|
5. An insensitive, often militaristic and uniformity
is demanded; rules become more important than people. |
| |
|
|
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6. A gift is recognized as part of the whole for
some individuals. |
|
6. The gift is perceived as if it were the whole; it
becomes the norm required for all true believers. |
| |
|
|
|
7. Caring, thoughtful faith (trust) is produced;
within reasonable boundaries people agree to differ. |
|
7. Infallible knowledge is claimed; there is a
tendency toward hardhearted, anti-intellectual, intolerance to differences.
|
| |
|
|
|
8. The Bible, the Word of God, is researched with
heart and mind. People speak normally. |
|
8. The Bible, the Word of God, is quoted, often in
out-dated English. In everyday conversations people tend to speak
“club” language: “holytalk.” |
We learn further from the New
Testament that gifts from God may be viewed as (1) natural talents and
abilities raised to new effectiveness by God and (2) a brand new capacity from
God. In today’s Reading from First Corinthians St. Paul mentions as gifts
from God: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy (revealing
God’s will), discerning of spirits (recognizing authenticity), speaking in
tongues (unintelligible speech, the “least” of the gifts), and
interpretation of tongues (which should accompany a display of speaking in
tongues). Mentioned elsewhere in the Bible are: service to others,
administration, and leadership positions in the church.
At the heart of all
gifts are (1) empowering of persons by God the Holy Spirit and (2) love. The
varieties of gifts are expressions of the Spirit and are to provide unity,
solidarity and healthy growth to the Christian fellowship. Being “born
anew” is the individual’s accepting response to God’s
empowering, energizing spirit. Any such strengthening is a gift from God; the
Sacraments in this sense are such gifts. Even the gift of one’s calming
presence can be offered to the church community.
My fellow Christians, gifts
from God never control a person; we are not turned into robots. Rather, you and
I must make choices on an ongoing basis as to how any gift from the Spirit will
be used: in love that builds up a community of the faithful, or in lesser, even
harmful, ways. Perhaps the stranger at St. Paul’s Church had indeed
received gifts from the Spirit, but her chosen responses developed into what
many pastors recognize as a spiritual arrogance that would not be “for the
common good” in that place at that time. I would ask each of you to use
this Day of Pentecost and the weeks following to examine your own gifts and
responsibilities as Christians; are yours beneficial or hazardous to your life
and to the life of your congregation? I pledge to do the same.
[1]from “Spiritual
Gifts,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the
Bible
[2]Ibid
[3]See John
3:1-17.