Several years ago, a few days after Christmas, my father came to me with a mystery.  Weeks before, he had bought and wrapped a present for my son Ian and then hidden it away so my curious boy wouldn’t discover it before Christmas.  The trouble was, Dad then promptly forgot all about the present, and then when he finally did remember it, he couldn’t find it. 

 

The story does have a happy ending.  After some frantic searching in various nooks and crannies of our house, Dad found the gift hidden away in a little-used drawer.  Ian was thrilled to receive one last, unexpected present, days after all the others had been opened, and he seemed more delighted with that Wizard of Oz book than with all the other gifts he had received on Christmas morning. 

 

In this morning’s Epistle lesson, the Apostle Paul writes, “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 

 

Paul then lists a number of gifts: not Wizard of Oz books, or ties or perfume – but wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, and the like.  Not exactly the sort of gift you can wrap in a box and put under the tree!  But the gifts Paul is cataloguing are of the Holy Spirit – gifts from God.  Yet Paul’s gifts do have one thing in common with the sort of present you give at Christmas.  They, too, can be hidden away – unopened, unused, unshared, and all but forgotten. 

 

Paul writes his letter to the people in the city of Corinth where a few years before he had established a church.  Corinth was a cosmopolitan city that straddled one of the Roman empire’s most vital trade routes, and before Paul’s arrival, it had been a hotbed of pagan worship, which often included manifestations such as prophesying and speaking in tongues.

 

Although Corinth was an unlikely place to convert people to the Christian faith, Paul knew the city’s strategic importance; if the gospel could take root there, it could transplant anywhere – and probably would, considering its crossroads location. 

 

Paul worked in Corinth for 18 months, and to everyone’s surprise, the church he founded there became one of the largest in the first century.  But within several years, the church became divided over a number of issues, including worship practices.  Some of the new Christians still believed that they could participate in pagan religious rites without losing their connection to the newly-established Christian community, and deep divisions arose in the church.

 

Throughout his letter, Paul says that although God’s Spirit will manifest itself in different ways, it will always serve to draw people together into a unified community.  He admonishes the Corinthians, warning them that although there are many spirits in life, not all of them are God’s Spirit, and although the ecstatic experiences of the Corinthians which are dividing the church may come from a spirit, they are not from the Spirit with the capital “S” – God’s Spirit.

 

To us, some of the gifts Paul lists may seem downright weird – like speaking in tongues.  But if we get hung up on the nature of the gifts he lists, we’ll miss Paul’s point – that everyone has God-given gifts, and those gifts are to be used for the “common good.”

 

When you and I call a person “gifted,” we’re usually talking about an exceptional talent.  But there’s a difference between a talent and a gift.  When we talk about “talent,” we’re referring to ability.  When we talk about “gift,” we’re talking about how that ability is put to use – especially for God’s greater purpose.  What your abilities are, where they come from, or how extraordinary they are or are not don’t matter nearly as much as how those abilities are utilized.  People are “gifted” when they offer their abilities to the glory of God.  And when they do that, they become ministers.

 

Each of you is a minister.  Did you know that?  Look on the first page of your Notes and Notices insert – at the very top, above my name, it says “Ministers: All Members.”  That’s YOU!  And to minister is to serve. 

 

Paul says each one of us has some special ability we can offer to God: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit.”  We don’t all have the same abilities, but all of us have some kind of ability; it is not something we can buy or earn; it comes to us through the grace of God.  And Paul says if you have a special ability that is from God, it is not to be used merely for your own purposes but for the “common good.”

 

Every one of the people up on this chancel today has abilities, which are gifts because they are offering them to God and for the common good of this church.  And there are so many others of you who work behind the scenes to make this a vibrant and vital faith community.  The people who get things like these worship bulletins and our church newsletter made and into your hands, to those who knit prayer shawls and work on Friendly Service projects, to those who welcome old friends and new to this church on Sunday mornings, to all who participate in the Christian education of our young people and adults, to all who serve on Boards and Committees.  To all of you: thank you for using your talents and abilities to build up this church, the body of Christ.

 

Many times, it is difficult for us to recognize our own gifts.  An important part of our individual faith journey is discovering our God-given gifts and finding ways to use them.  There are many ways to “unwrap” your gifts.  Some may not be readily apparent until a situation arises where they are called into play.  Or you may uncover them deliberately by taking a spiritual gifts inventory.  Even psychological testing tools and career preference inventories are secularized gifts inventories designed to ascertain people’s strengths and skills.  You may have heard of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator.  Isabel Briggs Myers wrote a book detailing this personality testing tool she helped developed, and she called her book Gifts Differing, a title which comes directly from this morning’s passage in 1 Corinthians.

 

Paul’s list of gifts is by no means exhaustive – he mentions additional gifts in his letters to the Romans and the Ephesians.  Today, Paul might add to his list leadership, creativity, patience, ability to care for others, administration, financial management, and so on.  These gifts are given to us not just for our personal use, but also to build up Christ’s body, the church. 

 

God’s gifts take as many forms as there are people, and they aren’t necessarily what you might expect.  At a church in California, a young mechanic in the congregation saw a need he could fulfill.  And so, he brought in other mechanics and, together, they work for the “common good” by repairing donated vehicles and then giving them to the needy.  Through their car ministry, these men have found not only the fulfillment that comes from serving in their area of giftedness, but they have also forged meaningful relationships with those serving alongside them.

On this weekend, in particular, we celebrate one of the 20^th century’s greatest examples of a person using his gifts for the common good.  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was richly blessed with God-given gifts, bringing people together in a spirit of healing and reconciliation.  He was gifted by God; his dream was God’s dream, and his life was driven by God’s Spirit. 

And so…what is your gift?  Maybe it is teaching or encouraging or healing or administration or leadership, or something else.  I hope each of you will consider what abilities you have and how you might offer them to building up this body of Christ here in Stoughton.  Whatever your special abilities are, we need them, because being part of a church, part of a covenantal people, is more than showing up in this sanctuary for an hour every week.  Christians always need to be in community, using the varieties of gifts that have been given to each one for the common good. 

Each of you is gifted, and the true sign that your gifts are from God is that they are shared.  Don’t think you need to wait for others to recognize your abilities.  Don’t wait to be invited.  Don’t be shy.  Instead, ask yourself, “How can I be a gift to my church?”  And then unwrap your gifts, and say, “Yes, there is something I can do, there is a way I’d like to help.” 

Using your God-given gifts, your talents, your interests or abilities, for the common good of Christ’s church will put purpose into everything you do.  When you offer your gifts, you won’t just be cooking in the kitchen, or working in the nursery, or chairing a committee – you’ll have a ministry, and you’ll be ministering to others.  And when you’re doing the work of God, it will take on a whole new meaning. 

And so, find your spiritual gift that’s hidden away somewhere.  Take it out of the drawer.  Unwrap it.  Use it.  Share it with others so that we may enjoy it, too.  Discover your spiritual gifts and then put them to use, for the common good of Christ’s church, and to the glory of God.  Amen.