St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church
3800 East Third Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47401
(812) 332-5252
Sermon for the Day of Pentecost (May 11, 2008)
Liturgical Color: Red
Jeff Schacht, Diaconal Minister
Fulfilling Your Vocation
There are many joys in life, but, for my money, nothing beats a good story except for a good story that is well told. Good story telling, in all of its forms, is something to be treasured. While many devices make up good story telling one of the most compelling is when an author builds up to that moment when a plot altering detail about a main character is revealed. Characters we have known, or at least thought we knew, throughout the tale are suddenly...different. From that point we think differently about the character in question and the entire story can pivot toward a different path. In the age of mass media, when moments like this are done well, they can capture popular fancy. For example, I still hear references today to those five fateful words first spoken nearly 30 years ago: "Luke, I am your father." Who has not heard these words either from their original airing in "The Empire Strikes Back" or subsequent parodies? Today we know that short sentence as part of the public lexicon. At the time, those words of revelation reshaped our thinking about the great movie villain Darth Vader and stoked anticipation about what was going to happen in the next installment of the saga.
If you go back and watch the original Star Wars trilogy again, it is still captivating after all this time. Of course film, as we all know, is not the only venue for telling good stories. Today we venture far beyond a decades old motion picture to the written words of scripture penned thousands of years ago and are held similarly captive. The fascinating thing about scripture, however, is that the great revealing does not happen at the climax of the story. We discover during the church year that we get to a 'reveal', some impactful insight, every week. Each passage in our lectionary reveals something about God and God's relationship to humanity.
While each scriptural revelation is important and worthy of study and reflection, some passages treat us to more startling revelations than others. Think of what we have read just in the past few months. In late December scripture revealed to us that God took on human form. Not too long after that we followed Jesus on the solemn journey to the cross which revealed God's willingness to bear the burdens of a fallen humanity. And just a few weeks ago we awoke on Easter morning to scripture revealing an empty tomb and Jesus' victory over death itself. Each of these instances definitely qualifies as a plot altering event!
Today, on Pentecost, our texts follow this pattern, offering another significant 'revealing' about God. In the passage from Acts, we read the familiar story of the Holy Spirit bringing wind, fire, and the speaking of tongues to the people. From the Gospel lesson we hear about Jesus bestowing the Holy Spirit on the disciples. Yes, something is clearly happening in the lectionary selections this morning! But today on what we call the birthday of the church, in Paul's letter to the people of Corinth, scripture reveals something striking to us about the nature of God's desires for and relationship with the Church.
Listen again to the words Paul uses to address the people on the subject of spiritual gifts: "4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone." To fully appreciate these few verses it is helpful to know that this portion of the letter was written to a community in need of instruction and correction. Over time the Corinthians had fallen into the pattern of classifying some spiritual gifts as somehow 'better' than others. In turn they made claims that the people possessing certain gifts must be 'better' than those who do not. As a consequence of highlighting the differences between them, the people became divided. They stopped rejoicing in the gift of unity they had in Christ who bound them all together. The church, and the communities, drifted apart.
Concern for that fracturing community is a key impulse driving Paul to pen this text. In his letter he attempts to clarify a few things. First, he reminds them it is God authoring, initiating, and doling out these spiritual gifts and they are available to everyone. He then spells out the purpose of these gifts. The Holy Spirit is at work in each of them to serve the common good and to unify them into one body, baptized in Christ.
In case the parallels for us have not readily surfaced, let me be clear. Paul's words speak well to us today. The Spirit was working then and is working today through each and every one of us, calling us to fulfill our vocation. Now let me take a moment to say a word about that word, vocation. In some circles this word is understood to mean working for the church as one of its leaders. There is no doubt that spiritual gifts for ministry, put to work in this place we call the church, are important. But a key Paul point here is that spiritual gifts are not narrowly confined to one location. It is just as necessary that these spiritual gifts are present in the world. As Lutheran Christians we see our vocation as the path in life we choose to be in service to the world.
God has given and activated in us these tools, these spiritual gifts. Paul accounts for a few of them in today's lesson which I have supplemented with gifts he may have mentioned in a letter addressed to the Bloomingtonians.
"To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom,
[and to one is given the business acumen that creates jobs in a community],
and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
[and to another the means and ability to diligently study in school or college]
9to another faith by the same Spirit,
[to another the presence, including, in some cases the longevity, to shepherd a gathering of the faithful wherever they gather]
to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
[to another the love and skill of a nurse devoted to her patients' care]
10to another the working of miracles
[to another patience to raise children into mature adults],
to another prophecy
[to another the organizational skills to run an office],
to another the discernment of spirits
[to another the dedication of a social worker],
to another various kinds of tongues
[to another the compassion to show hospitality to a stranger from astrange land],
to another the interpretation of tongues
[to another the passion of an artist]."
Very truly we give thanks to an awesome God who provides us with these giftsfor we live in a world that needs all these gifts. We are fortunate to live in a community that possesses these gifts and multitude of others. The spirit is working through each of these daily, some might say mundane, activities to hold us together.
All of this reminds me of a radio program I like to listen to when I have the opportunity. The premise is simple. Each week the show spends an hour profiling the stories of ordinary people going about their lives. Not too long ago someone described it as "that show by those hipster know-it-alls who talk about how fascinating ordinary people are?" Amazing, isn't it? Two thousand years later and we are back where we started. This critique, with its twenty first century flair, is the very same claim Paul responds to in the text today. Lurking just beneath the surface is the unmistakable message that some lives are more worthy than others. Well, I don't know if anyone will confuse Paul with being a 'hipster know-it-all', but I think he might appreciate a show like that. You see, even though the fear of being ordinary seeps (perpetually it seems) into our consciousness, Paul reminds us how extraordinary, ordinary really can be.
Therein lies the challenge we face as people of faith. Even as we proclaim the sure and certain truth of Christ's resurrection we are still seeking. We are still questioning. What gifts of the spirit has God bestowed on me in service to the world? Where do I fit amidst this mass of humanity? Where is God calling me?
A good start to answering those questions is to reflect on theologian Frederick Buechner's definition of vocation. "The place God calls you to," says Buechner, "is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." Let me repeat that. "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." And as you seek that place, know that you are not on a solitary journey. This is not a walk in the wilderness. Pentecost is not the only day of the year the winds of the Spirit are at work calling you. God calls you each day while walking beside you. God calls you to share in this community of friends and neighbors. God calls you to be in the world where it hungers. Wherever you are, God calls you to open yourself to the workings of the Holy Spirit in and around you...because you never know where the plot in the story of your life will take you next.
Amen
