Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message
A Diversity of Gifts
October 28, 2020
“1I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’… 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:1-16)
We often hear the bit “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of All” in this passage since it is repeated in the baptismal rite. But we sometimes miss the larger point being made: God gave his people a variety of gifts, and in order to love and follow God, we need to honor and accept the diversity of gifts he saw fit to grant. We need to accept that some people don’t have a particular gift that we love because it was the loving God who did not give it to them. Rather, we need to honor them for the gifts God did give them.
Such acceptance and gratitude is the heart of unity and shared life. Without it, we are left prey to the vagaries of popular whim and the divisions of sectarian quirkiness. With it, we grow into the fullness of Christ together, despite and because of our differences.
Grace and Peace.
Fr. Tony+
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