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God is such a generous giver of good gifts. Last Sunday John preached an awesome word, encouraging us to eagerly desire intimate relationship with God and the gifts of the spirit. May God grant each of us our hearts desire to know him more and serve him and others well with the gifts he provides.
This week we consider the greatest gift of all. Love! In Corinthians 13 Paul says that without love, all our other gifts and works are useless. Love needs to be the motivation for everything we do. It needs to be demonstrated in the way we serve and interact as God’s people. Together, we need to be a community who are seeking to live out Jesus' invitation to “love one another” because we know that it's by acts of love and grace that we will be witnesses to and transform our world. As Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr famously said: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Love is powerful! The best news is that Love is a gift that all have access to. This “gift” isn’t limited to the privileged or elite. It isn’t a gift that is only available to the educated or those with the right color skin. Instead, the poor, the uneducated, the disadvantaged … in fact everyone could embrace and practice what Paul calls the greatest gift … love. This is both our privilege and our mission … to love unconditionally and relentlessly. I wonder where and how God might be calling you to show love in action? This Sunday we will have a visiting preacher (Gemma) from FUSION, where she helps to provide homeless youth with a place to belong and receive love and support. As a Church we show our support for FUSION with our prayers, financial giving, food/grocery donations, and on November 9 we are planning a Trivia Night to raise funds to support the work of FUSION. Mark your diaries now and plan to join us. We can all join together to show love in action and make this world a better place for many. We do this out of love for God and others, because he loved us first! God loves you and so do I (as do many others). Reverend Tanya Cummings
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I encourage you to reflect on the “gifts” God has given you. Also reflect on the attributes that are celebrated and held in high regard in our Church, our workplaces, our local communities? Is there any conflict between your own gifts and what you feel the world celebrates? If so, how have you navigated that tension?
In 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Paul urges Christians to recognise that each person, each part of the body, has a part to play in the church, the Christian community. Each person has a ministry to exercise, a gift to use, something to offer. Paul wanted to avoid elitist cliques, hierarchies, and factions, so he tells the Corinthians that every part of the body is necessary and honourable. He says: - The parts that seem to be weaker are necessary and indispensable (1 Cor. 12:22). - The parts that seem to be less honorable we should invest with greater honour (1 Cor. 12:23a). - The parts that are unseemly, undignified, or less respectable we should treat as having a greater level of dignity, respectability, and prominence (1 Cor. 12:23b). - The parts that are already respectable and honorable do not need special treatment; they do not need more honour (1 Cor. 12:24). Paul wanted the parts (the people) that seemed to be lowlier to have the same status, theologically and socially, as the already respectable and honourable parts (people). Paul wanted equality, and he associates equality with unity. He wanted equality, unity, and the reciprocal care and concern for each other that results in a harmonious, healthy, functioning body (1 Cor. 12:25–26). This is what God wants for our Church. He wants everyone to have the freedom and opportunity to use the gifts they have been given (1 Cor. 12:11). In the church, God has appointed first, apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues (1 Cor. 12:28). If you have not begun to explore your gifting, you may like to begin here with this free questionnaire (knowing it’s not an exhaustive list of gifts): https://fivefoldministry.com/ Please Speak with Reverend Tanya or Amy about your results. We would love to equip and empower you to serve. We are all in this together. Blessings in Christ, Rev Tanya As we pray and consider how the Lord might use our time, talents and treasures in the coming year, it’s important to remember where these gifts have come from to begin with.
Paul describes a list of what we humble people might call ‘things people are good at’ - some people are good at speaking, some have lots of wisdom from life experience, while others have lots of good knowledge to impart from the things they’ve learned over their life. Others still, can prophecy, tell spirits apart, speak in tongues, and interpret them. Notice the list of many and varied things - but they are all described as ‘gifts’ from the One Spirit - the Holy Spirit of our Triune God. In our life, we may have different seasons to explore the gift God has blessed us with in a new way, or perhaps we’re just discovering the gift he’s blessed us with for the first time! Whatever it is for you, remember it’s a gift not JUST for you, but also for the whole church - God blesses you with a gift that you can bless us with. Thank you for all the times you’ve already shared your gifts with us. And I pray as you spend time with the Lord, he may encourage you to keep sharing and exploring the ways he might continue to use you in our parish in the year ahead. Rev. Amy |
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