A reflection on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 — Christmastide, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany C, January 20, 2019

“Now concerning spiritual gifts (pneumatikos), brothers and sisters, I do not want y’all to be uninformed. Y’all know that when y’all were pagans, y’all were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want y’all to understand that nobody speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and nobody can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts (pneumatikos), but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services (diakonion), but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities (energema), but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To all y’all is given the manifestation (phanerosis: making visible) of the Spirit for the common good. To some of y’all is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to some of y’all the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to some of y’all faith by the same Spirit, to some of y’all gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to some of y’all the working of miracles, to some of y’all prophecy, to some of y’all the discernment of spirits, to some of y’all various kinds of tongues, to some of y’all the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each of y’all individually just as the Spirit chooses." (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

At a wedding feast, you have the groom, the bride, the parents of each, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the officiant marrying the two, plus gifts, food and drink, and the “given” — for all y’all geometry buffs — is water somewhere in the mix. Right now, let’s take a pause at the gifts table. Just for fun, let’s imagine that this table happens to be an amazing piece of stonework with spaces there for water and spaces of diverse, clastic stone. Some parts of the stone are light-reflecting; others emanate with a different beauty. There’s water running out of a deep pool at shoulder level, and then a sparkling pool at ground level that you can walk through. On the stone table are gifts abundant. When the bride’s party walks by and is given gifts from the Groom’s party at the Great Wedding Feast, the empty space is replenished. Like a well springing up to eternal life that does not quit producing gifts. Some of the main gifts are the stuff of sacraments and the Word. Then there are gifts, services, activities. All activated by the same Holy Spirit, who gives them to people, as the Spirit moves. Everyone is given the door-prize: “the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Then there’s the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the discernment of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. In the end, all of these gifts of the Spirit are just that, pneumatikos, Spirit-stuff. And where the Holy Spirit is, there is the Triune God, calling forth life, working the unworkable, and imbuing with goodness beyond our imagining. Beloved body of Christ, sisters and brothers, what kind of Spirit-stuff are you inspired to?