St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

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Gifts of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:1-12

June 4, 2006        (Click this link to see the bulletin)

1. One ENORMOUS sycamore tree grows in our front yard. It must have been planted when the house was built, 50 years ago. One person cannot reach arms around it; it takes two, about the size of Richard and me together, to encircle that tree. And from its tall, stately trunk grow huge confident limbs, and more limbs, and more. It’s a magnificent tree. Messy and frustrating, but that’s beside the point. Sycamore trees do not break during a wind storm. They are solid.

2. Another one just like it grew in our side yard, until about seven years ago. Lightening struck that tree just before I bought the house, and the previous owner had it removed. In the area where that second tree once stood strong and stately we decided to build this addition onto the house. A man with a little back-hoe dug the trench for the foundation, but had to quit before he got it finished because he kept finding huge roots imbedded in the ground – roots left from that tree which lightening struck. And that’s when I learned that the root system of trees is a mirror image of its branches – what we see above ground is duplicated almost exactly underground, only compacted, not as tall – or deep. Many trees have a tap root which extend downward to stabilize the tree and reach the deepest source of water. Then the other roots branch out to provide balance and draw nourishment from the soil. It takes a long time to grow a tree.

3. Put the tree aside for a minute, but not too far aside, because you’ll need it again in a few minutes. Look at the yellow insert in your bulletin, the one that says SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET. It is designed to help you identify the gifts which God’s Spirit has given you. Notice that the first two little boxes for each one identify spiritual gifts you already possess. The second set, just below it, gives you clues to gifts that you’ve been given but still have some growing to do before they’re much good to God and the rest of us. I’ve put them in the order that Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, which is NOT in any order of importance. "Importance" was one of the issues that troubled the Corinthians Christians – some of them boasted about being the most important, depending upon who baptized them, and which gifts they had been given. But Paul told them that no one Christian is better than any other; and no one gift is better. They are all equal, they all come from the same source, and every one of them is to be used for the good of all.

4. So take a minute to look over that worksheet. Wisdom. Knowledge. Faith. Healing. Working miracles. Prophecy. Discernment. Various kinds of tongues. Now I need to say a bit about this one. Scripture tells us that when God’s Spirit brought those disciples alive, filled them up, they began to talking in the languages of the people who were present from other countries. They talked about how God had acted in their lives! The Good News was intended to be shared with the whole world! However, it has taken a different meaning in recent centuries, and even given a name that is not in the Bible. Glossolalia, or "speaking in tongues," is used by some to indicate some divine language. It’s impossible to know if the Corinthians experienced that divine language, of if it was like these days when I go to the grocery store. On one aisle I hear Spanish, and on another Turkish, and Japanese or Korean some other language. That may have been the situation in Corinth. It may have been that the Corinthians were not taking the time or interest to learn how to communicate with one another, and misunderstandings developed. It’s like the time I had to train the Korean Church in Presbyterian Polity. Not many spoke English, and I only know three phrases in Korean. Paul says it doesn’t do any good to speak or teach in one language if there’s no one around to interpret. So I had to have an interpreter. Interesting experience!

5. Twenty years ago, this "gift" of "glossolalia" split congregations. First Pres in Claremore was one of them. Those who believed they spoke a divine language wanted to separate themselves from those who did not. It was a sad day for the church! In our day and time, speaking in languages other than English is still a divisive issue!! Only it doesn’t have anything to do with prayer language! I believe that those who have the gift of knowing one or more of these "foreign languages" should use that gift to communicate the Good News to those who live here and don’t know English yet. But not everyone has that gift. It should not be a divisive issue! Paul told the Corinthians to use every gift to build up, not to tear down. I don’t always agree with what Paul says, but in this instance I do agree.

6. Now, with your worksheet in hand, go back to your tree. Just as a tree can be a good image of arboreal example of God’s creativity, a tree can also provide us with an image of our spiritual life, our journey with God. A tree can be a good image of the strength of our own gifts of the Spirit. I’m sure all of you have seen an animated film that had talking trees – most of them Disney creations. Those animated trees all used their branches as arms, and the arms all acted in harmony with the tree. If the tree intended to scare people, its arm-branches would reach out and grab them. Remember? So close your eyes for a minute, and picture yourself as one of those trees. Look closely. How deep do your roots grow? Have you fed and watered them on a regular basis, so they have created a solid base. Or do most of them live close to the surface, gasping for water? And what about your branches. Imagine that your branches the various gifts of the Spirit. Which ones are strongest? Which ones still need to grow? It is the sending of God’s Spirit that we celebrate each Pentecost. And it is in that Spirit that we grow, year after year. I am not a certified Spiritual Director, but I know some who are. If you are interested, let me know. I’ll put you in touch.

	receive insights from God into particular situations
	can apply your spiritual knowledge in practical ways

	If you are interested in seeing spiritual knowledge applied to life
	If you often know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it . . .

	know the root of a problem without being told
	know the difference between your own thoughts and information God gives you

	If you sometimes know things that other’s don’t know
	If you receive sudden insight into an issue or a problem

	have known that God wanted something, and then watched it happen
	have learned to trust God to intervene in specific situations

. . . then you have the gift of FAITH

	If you have a sense for moments when prayer is needed
	If you find it easy to believe that all things are possible with God

	believe that God can heal, and pray for people who need to be healed
	have seen people healed through your prayers

	you know miracles happen because you have seen them happen
	God has used you as an instrument for miracles

	If you can sense that you are in the midst of a miracle happening
	If you think about God’s miraculous response to a particular need

	God has used you to build up and encourage other people when they were in trouble
	God has used you to speak words of warning to people when they were complacent

	If you receive spiritual insights and want to express them publicly
	If you are convinced God wants you to speak out on particular issues

	have a searching mind that goes beyond what is obvious or superficial
	can distinguish and select what is true or appropriate or excellent

	If you are deeply concerned about the Church
	If you like discovering what God is going to do next

	can carry on a conversation in another language
	enjoy sharing your faith in a language different from English

	can translate from one language to another
	like to interpret foreign languages

	If you are intrigued by languages other than your native language
	If you know a few foreign words, and want to learn more

* This is not the traditional definition of these gifts, and is based on a literal translation of the Greek word for tongue from Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.

Glossa – a tongue, i.e., the language used by a particular people in distinction from that of other nations; to speak with other than one’s native tongue.

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