Today at WMB we celebrated and talked about some of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit (video, notes). Hopefully this post helps you parse some of it in your home group community.
In this part of the letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12), Paul answers a question the Corinthians had about the “special abilities” given by the Spirit (vs 1). Jesus told the apostles in Acts 1 (esp vs 4-8) that they would get a gift, the Spirit, and “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you”. Like most things Jesus said, that statement probably generated more questions than answers. I imagine the disciples wondering what this power (or special abilities) would be like.
I have the same question. I find it helpful to “read someone else’s mail” (Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth) to get an idea what these special abilities are.
This is already our second encounter with these special abilities. Last week at WMB (and 2 week ago in this blog) we looked at people who received God’s Spirit and the special abilities they received. Think Joseph, Bezalel, David, Gideon, the prophets, the judges (leaders) and so on. We got a good portrait of what happens when the Spirit shows up in a person. Recall the big deal promise: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people”.
In Corinthians Paul describes what it looks like when the Spirit shows up in a community. and a key point of these special ability gifts seems to be:
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
1 Cor 12:7
Does that fit with what we saw in the past few weeks? For example, why were Joseph or Bezalel or David gifted God’s Spirit?
And how did these specific people get the special abilities? These people seemed to love God and ask for his help in carrying out their task, but didn’t look for particular special abilities (except maybe Solomon). In Paul’s letters to churches , these special abilities are described as something for you and me. And it seems to me, this presents a challenge for our 21st century western desire to control outcomes: finding our gifts is a “me-led” discovery, following the Spirit is a little more scary.
Let’s test this with a question. What would you rather do: discover your special abilities or discover how to listen to the Spirit and follow where he leads?
If this is scary, consider this:
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, a seekers ABC page 119 (full quote below)
And, go back to the stories of people in the Bible described as having God’s Spirit. Some of them clearly didn’t want it any other way (see Psalm 51 where David is pleading that God not take his Spirit from him for his horrific murder/adultery plot). Even Paul, jailed, and thinking he would die, considered it a privilege to be called to be an apostle (a really special ability). I’ve wondered what Elijah might have said? Would he, at the end of it all (after 1 Kings 19), rather not have had the special prophet ability and just lived life as a quiet farmer? What do you think? Why do you think the writer of Kings thought it important to include 1 Kings 19?
And, we have a 3rd set of examples of what happens when God’s Spirit shows up and gives people special abilities — people we know of or about. Who do you know, or who have you met, who seem to have special abilities that seem to flow out of their love for God and his people? Do you know someone who has an uncanny way with people, someone who seems to know exactly when to speak with someone, someone who helps you see things clearly, and so on. Have you had a sense of nudges that you can’t quite place?
Scot McKnight, in The Blue Parakeet, describes going to a summer Bible camp (like Camp Crossroads mentioned at church today). One day he was told to go for a walk in the woods and pray for God’s Spirit to live in him. He went for the walk, sat on a log, and prayed. He relates that the most incredible thing happened — he had this warm sense he could not explain, and from then on everything was different. The Bible became a true wonder for him and he devoured it. He wanted to follow Jesus. Surprise after surprise, and today he is a leading Bible scholar. He is still in wonder of that moment, and it doesn’t sound like he would ever want it different.
Hope this provokes you to lean into the gift of God’s Spirit with your home group community!
Bonus:
Here’s full Buechner quote mentioned above: it’s in his book under V for Vocation:
VOCATION
It comes from Latin vocare, to call, and means the work a person is called to by God.
There are all kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-Interest.
By and large a good rule for finding out is this: The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you’ve presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are you’ve missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you’re bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren’t helping your patients much either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, a seekers ABC, page 118
Always appreciate Buechner’s clarity and its always a little quirky to make you think and wonder. I’ve heard the quote before, but always without the “Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do” line. Wonder why?!
The Thursday After 