Peter M. Carey
Sermon – 12 June 2011
Pentecost
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Greenwood, Virginia in the Diocese of Virginia
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good . . . For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”
Paul is at the zenith of his writing and rhetorical powers when he writes these words to the Corinthians. The people of Corinth were notoriously creating “Christian” community that was not communal, where some were valued over others, where some were rewarded extravagantly while others were barely holding on. The people of Corinth were even worshipping separately from one another, creating some services where the wealthy and privileged worshipped and shared in the Eucharistic Feast and other services where the servants and the poor worshipped. Paul is at the height of his powers as he speaks truth to the powerful of the church in Corinth and he lays out a theological basis for the working of community that would include all. Here, Paul echoes Jesus prayer that we read last week when he called upon God to send his power such that the people would be “one” as Jesus and the Father are “one.” This oneness was surely lacking for the people of Corinth.
Paul’s words about the “many gifts but the same Spirit” are words that are often quoted by those in the Church and those outside of it. Many stewardship campaigns and capital campaigns have these words as the theological theme and vision of the campaigns. Many gifts, but the same Spirit. However, they are words that can be said more easily than they can be believed or lived. I would even say that we don’t actually believe them. Many gifts, but the same spirit!? The church in Corinth was notoriously esteeming some people over others, and esteeming them for their gifts, the gifts that they didn’t really earn at all. It is like rewarding people just for being tall, or for being short, for having blue eyes, or for being left handed. It would be like rewarding someone for having a nice voice, or for being able to run fast, or jump high, or lift a lot of weight. Luckly, we don’t reward people for gifts that are God-given…. (or do we?)
Does our culture, do we, reward people substantially for gifts that they have been given? It would be like giving people money depending on what presents they are given on Christmas morning…this would be strange, no?
Paul uncovers the strangeness that is all too present among the Corinthians. Put the text up to a mirror and read it reflectively – when he is saying that there are “many gifts but the same Spirit” we can actually assume that the people of Corinth did not believe that different gifts were empowered by the same spirit. When he goes through a list of the kinds of gifts that are present, he makes the point that they were GIVEN. We can read this reflectively and see that the people of Corinth did NOT believe that they were gifts at all, but rather qualities that people somehow earned, or somehow deserved…which might mean that they should get more rewards.
Paul makes the challenging claim that it is the Spirit that empowers these many gifts, and that they are all infused with this divine spark. The Spirit is alive in these many gifts. Today we celebrate Pentecost, the feast when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is a strange and wonderful aspect of Christianity that we believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Today, of all days, we recognize that this Spirit is alive and well, and is empowering all of the many gifts…we also must receive the challenge that Paul is laying on the Corinthians. If the Spirit is alive and well, we should be made just a bit uncomfortable with our standing in the world. If the Spirit is alive and well, it may be quite healthy to feel a bit uneasy about our sense of comfort with our place in the world.
On this day, we recognize the “third person” of the Trinity, and we recognize the ongoing presence and “work” of the Spirit in our lives in the world today. We spend a lot of time reflecting on God the Father – the creator, the parent, the loving, caring God who also embodies a God that will judge and demand our best efforts. We spend a lot of time reflecting on God the Son – the redeemer, the suffering servant, the liberator, the crucified and resurrected – the one who has opened the way to life, healing and salvation. We should spend a bit more time considering the work of the Spirit – the sanctifier, the presence of God in the world, the advocate, the one who challenges, and empowers us, who blesses us, but with fire and life, and who brings us to places where we might not think we can go. The Spirit is alive and well. The Spirit moves over us as ruah, as the holy breath of God breathed over the waters of the deep in Genesis the holy breath of Christ breathed over the disciples, gathered in fear in that upper room. The Holy Spirit moves over us, and through us, and has empowered us with gifts, and has given us gifts that we did not earn, and has given us qualities that had nothing to do with our worthiness, and has given us gifts which are temporary. Our response to all this giving is gratitude, and should be the striving to live a life worthy of the gifts that haven been given. Our response to all this giving is gratitude, and should be the striving to live a life that is one of giving to others. If God has given us gifts through the Spirit, we are also empowered to be God-like as we give freely, joyfully, and with the kind of crazy abundance that God does.
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