Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Paul writes, ^“4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, ⁵ and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

Giftedness in the church on earth is not a problem. God abundantly blesses the church with a variety of gifts. The Holy Spirit continues to be vibrant in the church and in the world. There is no indication that the Holy Spirit is any less active than 2000 years ago. Yet how many of us consistently behave as though God’s presence and activity saturates our daily lives? Once we start to recognize how prevalent the Holy Spirit is among us and how abundant those gifts are, we face the challenge of discerning how God is calling us to use those gifts.

It can be easy to go down the rabbit hole of comparisons, but Church is not a competitive sport. The Holy Spirit guides individuals, congregations, and church bodies to proclaim the Gospel in their own time and place – using the gifts they are given. No congregation is identical to another, just as no two believers are identical. Each have their own identity and gifts. Each has a responsibility to identify their own giftedness and mission.

We live in an impatient world. It takes time and effort to identify the gifts God has given us and even more time to discern how to coordinate with one another for the sake of the Gospel. Paul describes the church as a body of many parts that function in unity for the sake of the whole body. A common complaint expressed by individuals dealing with chronic illness is the ‘betrayal’ of one’s body. The disconnect between the body and the mind is especially frustrating. Illness within the church can be described similarly. The Body of Christ is not a haphazard head of gifts and people – it is the saints called together for the sake of the Gospel.

The reformers defined church as the “congregation of saints” among whom “the Gospel is purely taught” and the “Sacraments are administered rightly.” Heavily influenced by Paul, the criteria (or non-negotiables) for unity were the centrality of the Gospel, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. (Augsburg Confession, Article VII) Therein lies beauty in the work of the Holy Spirit. God takes a bunch of ragtag believers and creates the church. God guides us to discern how and to whom we are called to be the church in this time and place – and gives us the gifts and courage to do so.

The grace and peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.