Let Us Use Them
For Christian Service.
O LORD, our heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; We beseech thee to bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of their fellow men. Endue them with wisdom, patience, and courage to strengthen the weak and raise up those who fall; that, being inspired by thy love, they may worthily minister in thy Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the sake of him who laid down his life for us, the same thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Happy Epiphanytide to all! In the season of Epiphany, we commemorate and celebrate the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, when salvation was opened to all mankind. As the collect states, we now know Christ through faith because of his Epiphany: put in the immortal words of our beloved late Fr. David Brounstein, “It’s [our] big day!”
Epiphany is an interesting season, containing an octave or 8-day celebration of the feast where the liturgical color is white, followed by a series of weeks that are colored green. In 2022, we will celebrate five Sundays total in the season of Epiphany. If you’ll recall from our time in the season of Trinity, green liturgical seasons are spaces for reflection, cultivation, and growth. Our Church Calendar follows a well-known cycle: purple for fasting in preparation, white for celebration, and green for reflection. Together, this creates our sanctification of time where we learn each year to live more fully into the narrative of salvation according to God’s time, as opposed to the narrative of the world that’s set to an anxious and hurried pace. In Epiphany, we find a different slowness than we did in Advent. Whereas Advent called us to a higher purpose of fasting that necessitated we slow down, take a deep breath, and once more make room for Christ to enter our lives afresh, Epiphany asks us to pause, reflect, and consider the magnitude of the fact that we as Gentiles, grafted into the promises and family of God, received salvation through the same Christ born to us at Christmas. Such reflection necessitates a two-fold response. First, we look back, while ever looking forward to the coming seasons of Lent and Easter, thus seeing the unity of God’s narrative for His people. Secondly, our period of reflection should not result merely in “navel gazing” as Bishop Scarlett likes to call it. The latter reminds us that our periods of reflection and growth should not solely turn our thoughts inward to our own needs, but rather that all reflection and contemplation should ultimately result in a better understanding and use of our gifts for God and the Church.
This brings us to our Epistle for tomorrow, the Second Sunday after The Epiphany. St. Paul commends the church in Rome saying, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8). This passage comes on the heels of our Epiphany 1 Epistle, where St. Paul exhorted the Church to be a “living sacrifice”, reminding the Romans that though each person has different gifts, they are all members of the one Body of Christ. Thus, the gifts and actions of the many, when used rightly, edify all.
What St. Paul accomplishes in this passage is once more call us to faithfulness in the manner of all the saints upon which we’ve spent Advent and Christmastide meditating. Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ chiefly above all…each uniquely hearing the call of God in their lives and faithfully using the gifts they received from God in accordance with His perfect will. We are likewise called to the same faithful use of our gifts within the diversity of the Body of Christ. Though this list is not exhaustive, the wide diversity of gifts presented by St. Paul is representative of the fact that each of us are called to the use of our individual gifts, and that everyone has something to contribute. There is no gray area here: a duty of the Christian life is to faithfully serve Christ and His Church with the gifts entrusted to us. This is echoed in Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Each servant was given a number of talents according to his ability, and the servants with five talents and two talents each doubled the initial amount for their master and were invited to “enter into the joy of [their] lord” (Matt. 25:21, 23). But the servant who was given only one talent and buried it in the ground because of fear was rebuked and not invited into joy as the others were. This parable illustrates for its hearers the dangers of the misuse of the gifts given by God. Our giftings are given with liberality by God through the Spirit, and it is a grave mistake to think that no one is harmed by their lack of use. When we do not use our gifts, the Body of Christ suffers, for each individual is uniquely endowed with gifts that the Body needs. Moreover, the unity of the Body comes from this faithful use of our individual gifts for corporate edification, not from striving to have the gifts of others in the Body. The priest may minister at the altar before all the congregation, but his giftings do not negate or outweigh the importance of the differing gifts of the laity.
This passage and its encouragement are also not meant to be manipulative. St. Paul is not demanding that all the Romans use their gifts because there was a volunteer crisis. He is not anxiously attempting to have all new members “knit in” to the community because their 6 months probationary period of attending the church is up and they are now eligible to serve. Rather, St. Paul sees the use of one’s gifts as a pillar of the Christian life and necessary to the overall health of the Body, just as the exhortations in verses 9-16 are necessary to the life of a Christian. Moreover, it is important to remember that our gifts should not be used in isolation, for our own edification, or in a manner that sows discord within the Body. This is where guided spiritual direction with a priest or lay pastoral counselor can offer much guidance, including opening the conversation of what one’s gifts are. Finally, we must remember that just as with our life of prayer, the use of our gifts will come in seasons. There will be times when we have more flexibility, time, and energy to devote ourselves to the work of ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ, and other times when we must attend to the health of our or our family’s souls that requires a season of saying “no” and gentleness with ourselves. Yet, in all seasons, we can and must find ways to faithfully use our gifts. For, “having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.”
We believe and encourage that all conversations about our giftings and their use find their best fruition in the context of spiritual guidance and formation. If you are considering what your gifts are or how to faithfully use them, please feel free to contact any of the clergy and lay pastoral ministers on our Spiritual Formation page. All will be happy to meet with you.