Second Sunday after Epiphany
Psalm 36:5-10
Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you
and your salvation to the upright of heart!

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, 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. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Recognizing Our Spiritual Gifts
This week we step away from Luke’s Gospel with a reading from 1st Corinthians. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul is talking about “spiritual gifts.” A spiritual gift is not a type of Christmas present. It’s not the kind of gift that you give to someone else for Christmas or a birthday. A spiritual gift is a gift from God. It’s a talent, or an ability.
We are all different. We each have different gifts and talents. One person has a knack for cooking. Another person has a talent for sewing. One person is good with numbers. Another person is good with people, knows how to talk with people. One person likes science. Another person likes the arts. So, we are these interesting combinations, and each person is unique and different. Life is so fascinating in this way, you know? Each person is unique. There is only one you in the whole world. In seven billion people on the planet, there is only one you, and there is no one else exactly like you. No one’s voice sounds quite like yours. No one eats spaghetti quite the way you do. No one has your DNA or your fingerprints. Each one of you is unique and beautiful. Each one of you has unique gifts and talents. And all these things come from God. Our gifts and talents come from God. Some of these gifts are what Paul calls gifts of the spirit, and he lists some specific gifts of the spirit in our reading today.

Speaking words of wisdom is a gift of the spirit. Speaking words of knowledge is gift of the spirit. Faith is a gift of the spirit. Healing, doing powerful deeds, prophecy, and so on. Paul gives us a list here. He wants the people at the church in Corinth to think about their strengths. He wants them to look at each other in positive ways and to see the good in each other.

Conflict in the Corinthian church

Why is Paul talking about this? Because the Corinthian church was divided. It was full of conflict. It was a fairly new church, and they were trying to figure things out, trying to figure out how to be a church together. The entire letter of 1st Corinthians reads like a laundry list of problems that Paul was trying to deal with. He was trying to help the people at the church in Corinth. He wanted them to see that they were all part of the same family. No matter their differences, they were part of the Body of Christ. There is one body with many members. This is the metaphor that he uses.

So the church members are arguing with each other, and Paul is trying to intercede. He is trying to be a peacemaker, to heal their many conflicts. Paul’s message to them is to love each other. He wants the church to resolve conflicts and differences through love. He is not saying that the people need to all be the same. He’s not saying that they need to have the same opinions or to agree on everything. He recognizes that individuals are different and have differing opinions and perspectives. But he wants them to see that they are all connected and that they are a part of the Body of Christ. One Body. This is a very famous metaphor as you know. The church is one body, the body of Christ, and the one body is made up of many members.

Human beings are messy.
The basic problem Paul faced then is still the basic problem we face today. Human beings are messy. We are complicated. Not only are there so many differing opinions and perspectives, but things are always changing, too. Moods change. Emotions change. Things happen and relationships change. Families change. There is an illness, there is financial difficulty, there is divorce, and death. Just when you think you’ve finally got it made, bad news comes knocking at your garden gate. And so, the whole thing is messy and unpredictable. The weather is messy and unpredictable. And human beings are messy and unpredictable.

Everything changes.
Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, things change. Last week my computer updated itself. Now, my printer doesn’t work. I miss the days of the IBM Selectrix typewriter. There were no digital features, no online connections, no one taking control of the page in front of me. It was just a typewriter and a piece of paper. Of course, Microsoft Word is better. But sometimes I long for that simpler time. You know, that golden era before smart phones and computers.

The message of the cross.

The lectionary surprised me this week, too, jumping away from Luke the way it did. You know, I keep telling you, “We’re reading from Luke this year.” And then, all of a sudden, we’re not reading from Luke. But when I was growing up, going to church every Sunday with my family, we never talked about the lectionary. I never even heard that word until I got to seminary. I grew up in the Salvation Army, and we didn’t use the lectionary for Sunday morning church. We mostly just read John 3:16, and things like that. It was the message of salvation, the message of the cross, every week. We didn’t follow the church calendar. We didn’t really observe Advent or Lent. Yes, we had Christmas and Easter. But the central message was salvation. It was the Salvation Army, after all. So I grew up in the evangelical branch of Christianity. Evangelism literally means preaching the Gospel, preaching the Good News. So I grew up hearing preaching like this:

“All of us are sinners. We’ve turned our back on God. And that’s a very dangerous thing for us as individuals. Sin is a disease in the human heart. It affects the mind and the will and the emotions. Every part of our being is affected by this disease. How can we break this bondage? How can we be set free? God helps us break those chains. The Bible says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things pass away. Everything becomes new. God can make you a totally new person.” That’s a quote from Billy Graham. Isn’t it great?

And then, after salvation, then what? Well, we become a new person. But there are still questions. The biggest question I frequently hear is this one: “Why do bad things happen? Why is there evil in the world? There are so many horrible, horrible things that happen in the world. Why? If God loves us, then why does he allow these bad things to happen?”

I remember when I was in high school asking my pastor this same question. He was a Southern Baptist preacher, and he gave me the standard Southern Baptist answer which is also the evangelical answer. The answer is that we live in a broken world. We live in a world filled with sin in which people have turned away from God.

I think this is still a good answer. Why are there wars? Why is our country so divided? Why is there so much hatred? Why can’t people love one another and get along with each other? Because we are all sinners. All of us. Because we live in a broken world full of sin. And the message of the cross is that Jesus died for our sins. You know, a lot of people find this message offensive because they don’t want to be confronted with their own sin. But we are all sinners. That’s the message of the cross. We can go to Jesus and be forgiven, and find a whole new life, a forgiven life, a life of grace and love. And then, after that, we start walking along the Christian path.

Taking the next step.
Paul’s message on spiritual gifts takes us to that next step. Paul encourages us to see our strengths, to look at each other in a positive light, and to recognize what our strengths are. What do we have to offer? What can we bring to the community? What can we bring to our family? We each have gifts and talents. So this is what Paul is talking about in the spiritual gifts.

Now, each one of us in this room is in a different situation. We each have different needs right now. And I don’t always know who needs to hear to hear what I’m saying. But I do know that most everyone is struggling with something, some kind of silent battle. Perhaps you can’t seem to break free from an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Perhaps there is someone here this morning who needs to get right with God. Someone here right now this morning who may be seriously considering suicide, or you’ve had those thoughts. Or you’re feeling so lost and hopeless, so lonely, you don’t know what to do, you just want to end it all. Perhaps you feel sick in your soul. You know something is not right. Listen to the message of the cross. Go to the cross. God loves you. Whatever mistakes you have made in the past, lay them at the foot of the cross. God’s love is here. God’s forgiveness is here. Take refuge in the cross of Jesus. You can be made new. You can have a new life in Christ. God can heal your broken heart.

And for others here trying to figure out what to do and where to go in your spiritual walk, the invitation this morning is to look at your strengths. You are already forgiven in Christ, so now, what can you offer? What are your gifts? What has God given to you, your gifts and your talents, that you can offer back? Just do a little inventory. How can you serve others? What are your spiritual gifts? What is holding you back from giving them to others?

In 1st Corinthians, Paul reminds us that we can heal our relationships through love, and that as Christians, we are all a part of the same body, the Body of Christ. “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; your judgements are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God: All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Amen? Amen.