Holy Spirit as a dove
(ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican)
Scripture Readings:
Story for All Ages
“Visions of God’s Kingdom Here on Earth”
Recently, a friend posted a cute story on Facebook. Authorship and source are unknown.
A little boy was waiting outside for his mother who ran into the store to pick up a few things. As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked, “Son, can you tell me where the Post Office is?” The little boy replied, “Sure! Just go straight down this street and at the end, turn to your right.” The man thanked the boy kindly and said, “I’m the new minister in town. I’d like for you to come to church on Sunday. I’ll show you how to get to Heaven.” The little boy replied with a chuckle. “Awww come on…You don’t even know the way to the Post Office.”
As I read this, I wondered if anyone really knows how to get to heaven? And if so, is there only one way? Most Christians would answer that we can only get to heaven through Jesus, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” And “No one comes to the Father except through” Jesus. And while this is our belief that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, I wonder if there is a deeper meaning that has been overlooked in our immersion into Western Christianity. When we look at the inception of the early church, it started out as another Jewish sect. As it spread to the Gentile nations, it evolved, and over time became divided. Political rivalry, cultural differences, spoken languages, disagreement over doctrine and ecclesiastical differences led to the church fracturing into different sects and denominations, just as Judaism did prior to the time of Jesus, and continues to do so today. And if you look at the Muslim world, they too are divided. So, who’s right, who’s wrong, and is my faith better than others?
Let me ask you, is there only one group of people who worship our One God who will go to heaven? Or is our God bigger than all that which divides us? Over the last few weeks, I have participated in an intensive seminary course called an immersion experience. My class and I traveled to the Holy Land virtually, with guides from different faith traditions. The purpose of our journey was to open dialogue with people of different cultures, faith traditions, and beliefs. As we looked at our commonality and differences, and the unique gifts we each bring to the table, there was a sacred complexity that began to rise above that of each of our own faith traditions. Being among fellow bredren who seek to worship and honor the same God, one could not help but ask the question, “Are there more roads that lead to heaven than just one?” Are we not all created in God’s own image? Does God love anyone less because of how they choose to worship and praise our One God? This gives us something to ponder, doesn’t it?
We can all agree that the infiniteness of God goes beyond our comprehension, beyond our own understanding of God. And perhaps, we may need to rethink some of what has been taught to us. Perhaps, we need to think outside of the box of Western Christianity and its views on evangelism; outside of the box of doctrinal teachings that have become so divided; and outside of the box on how we see others. If we are truly to become engaged in kin-dom building, we need to learn to live into God’s commandment: to love God and neighbor; including our enemies. And we need to ask, “Who belongs to the kingdom of God?”
Would you pray with me: Infinite Lord, open our hearts to your love. Open our eyes so that we may see. Open our ears so that we may hear. May we recognize that it is Christ’s love that bridges all space and time, penetrating the realms of the physical and spiritual worlds, bringing us into this relationship of pure and holy love with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is given to all, open to all, and made eternal for us through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Message
“Conduit of Blessings”
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
As alluded to in our children’s story, our God is bigger than all that divides us. God invites all people into relationship through prevenient grace, which is the grace that precedes the human decision to accept that God is, and that God is love. And while people are separated by faith practices denominationally or by sect, God sees each person’s heart. God is the one who judges us, and God’s judgement is known only to God. For we as mere mortal beings cannot fully comprehend God’s ways. We can only live into the Word of God and into the law of love: to love God and to love one another, “for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law.” [1]
As we look at today’s Epistle reading. concerning the spiritual gifts, “Paul does not seem primarily to be concerned with the unity of the community” of Corinth, “but intends to stress the diversity and multiplicity of spiritual expressions and actions.” [2] He tells the people that it is the Holy Spirit who allows us to pronounce that Jesus is Lord, awakening us to recognizing that God is, that God exists; and that our God is a loving God who seeks to do what is best for the common good of all people. And we are told it is the Person of the Holy Spirit who bestows a variety of gifts upon the people of God. And, our Triune God is involved in every divine act, including the impartation of the gifts of the Spirit upon each individual.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. [3]
There is but one God who bestows at least one gift, if not more, upon each person who willingly and openly turns their heart to God. The gifts which Paul mentions includes utterance of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, works of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues. [4] The gifts are many and involve the act of hospitality - of being willing to receive and to give, freely without any expectations. These gifts are gifts from God allotted to each person individually as the Holy Spirit chooses- as God so chooses. For we are told that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” [5]
These gifts are given to be shared without dissension, without discord, dispute, or rivalry. They are not given for the benefit of one’s own self-worth or self-interest; but they have been given to share with others. Therefore, we should not be boastful or be jealous of what gifts we or others possess; for they have been given for the greater good, for the common good of all. And each gift is important for they serve the body of Christ to fulfill God’s will of a life shared in relationship and love. They work together for the purpose of loving and caring for one another, supporting us in times of joy and sorrow, and especially in our times of need. Combined together, they unify us into one body. These gifts are given for the common good of all, to be used as a conduit of blessing that continually flows. They are to be poured out upon one another; and used to reach out to others to bring them into the fold of God. For do not our actions often speak louder than our words, and cannot love and caring overcome all barriers?
These gifts are given to be shared without dissension, without discord, dispute, or rivalry. They are not given for the benefit of one’s own self-worth or self-interest; but they have been given to share with others. Therefore, we should not be boastful or be jealous of what gifts we or others possess; for they have been given for the greater good, for the common good of all. And each gift is important for they serve the body of Christ to fulfill God’s will of a life shared in relationship and love. They work together for the purpose of loving and caring for one another, supporting us in times of joy and sorrow, and especially in our times of need. Combined together, they unify us into one body. These gifts are given for the common good of all, to be used as a conduit of blessing that continually flows. They are to be poured out upon one another; and used to reach out to others to bring them into the fold of God. For do not our actions often speak louder than our words, and cannot love and caring overcome all barriers?
When we come to know someone new, growing to love them as we do, do we let that which makes them different from us separate us? Or do we embrace them just as they are, being who they are. And do we accept the blessings they offer into our lives? I believe God brings people into our lives for a purpose. God brings people into our lives to bless us, so that we may continue to grow and thrive, as well as to freely the share the gifts we have been given by God.
In his address to the church in Corinth, Paul uses the human body as a simile to explain how the body of Christ functions. Our bodies are composed of different body parts that perform different functions. God arranges the members in the body, each one of them, as God has chosen. [6] Our body parts work together, functioning together as one human body. And so too is it with the gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon the various members of Christ’s body, we call the church. And in functioning as one body in Christ, just as when a physical body part is injured, the whole body of Christ suffers together. If we are truly functioning as one body, then “if one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” [7] For Christ cries when one of us suffers and rejoices when one is honored. Paul also tells us that we are to strive for the greater gifts, and that we will be shown a still more excellent way. Though, in this passage, Paul is speaking about individuals receiving spiritual gifts, and how each one of us are members of one body in Christ functioning together for a common purpose - for the common good; what if we were to expand this thought.
Earlier today, during our “Story for All Ages,” I asked the question, “Who belongs to the kingdom of God?” We live in a world where there is a “diversity and multiplicity of spiritual expressions and actions.” [8] And it seems that each group lays claim upon God. Many Christians believe that they alone hold favor with God. Is this true? Can we really claim exclusivity of God? I have to personally question this.
During my seminary immersion experience, my class and I shared dialogue with Rabi Brad, who is a conservative Jew. From him, we learned that Christians are not alone in receiving the gifts of the Spirit. Throughout history there have been Prophets and Rabis who have been given the power to heal and to perform miracles. There have been those who have uttered wisdom and shared knowledge according to the Spirit. They too have been given faith in our one creator God, the ability to prophesize and the gift of discernment. If we think about it, were the apostles not Jews when they were first were given the gift to speak in tongues and the gift of interpretation at Pentecost. Is it not possible that besides Christians the gifts have been given to others through the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good? And if this is true, can we then claim that we alone find favor with God? Are we alone saved by our faith and belief in God?
There are some who would say that Protestants are not saved. One of the shocking things that I learned in my Holy Land journey is that while we as Protestants consider ourselves to be Christian, other Christian denominations in the Holy Land such as the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church do not consider us to be Christian. We are seen as “the other,” outside of the scope of salvation. Sit with that for a moment, and tell me, are we any less Christian? How can we as human beings judge one another as to whom is worthy? We cannot. For it is only God who can judge our hearts. It is only God who can bestow the gifts of the Spirit upon us for the common good, given as God so chooses. Who are we to say what God can or cannot do? Maybe it time for us, all of us in every faith group, to stop claiming that God belongs to us exclusively, and instead see that we all belong to God.
When we hear the words that Christ died for all, and lives, [9] does this not apply to all people? Yes, Jesus Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life for he is God incarnate who came into this world, took on flesh, and became man. We believe that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. He walked among us, taught us, and suffered and died upon the cross, was raised on the third day, and has ascended into heaven. He lives so that we may live – life eternal with God, no longer separated by our sinful nature and inequities. Our God is bigger than all that divides us. For it is God’s love that bridges all space and time. It is God’s love that is infinite penetrating the realms of the physical and spiritual worlds. And it is God’s love that brings us into right relationship of pure and holy love with our Triune God through the Person of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. Christ opened the way for us, making life eternal for us, and in our Lord and Savior we have this hope. Let us hold onto our "Jesus space" but let us open ourselves to being involved in dialogue that may teach us more about ourselves, our faith, and our God.
To close, I would like to bestow a blessing upon you which was shared by Rabi Brad:
I am grateful and I bless you Lord.
May God bless and protect each of you.
May God shine God’s life on you.
May God turn to you and grant you peace.
May you confer blessings upon others.
[1] Romans 13:8. NRSV
[2] HarperCollins, 1088
[3] 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, NRSV
[4] 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10. NRSV
[5] 1 Corinthians 12: 7. NRSV
[6] 1 Corinthians 12: 18. NRSV
[7] 1 Corinthians 12: 26. NRSV
[8] J. L May. The Harpercollins Bible Commentary, Rev. ed. (New York: HarperOne, 1988), 1088
[1] Romans 6:10, NRSV
Works Cited:
May, J. L . The Harpercollins Bible Commentary, Rev. ed. New York: HarperOne, 1988.
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