Pieces of One

A sermon preached at Old South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Hallowell, Maine, August 6, 2006.

Text: Ephesians 4:1-16

The Rev. Susan M. Reisert, Minister

Many of my sermons offer, at least in part, a message that encourages us—as individuals and as a group—to dare to take on a new challenge, to reach out in faith to try something new that the Holy Spirit seems to be leading us to do. In many of my sermons, I attempt to lead all of us to think about the new dimensions of our lives of faith, to jump off that cliff, so to speak, that, paradoxically, leads us to fullness of life. Somewhere in those messages is the notion that our lives, and in particular our lives of faith, will not even remotely become fulfilling until we try something new, that we find the grace and the courage we need to take the difficult road that God lays out for us. On more than one occasion, I have noted that our lives of faith demand that we become comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Today, we are going to do something a little different. While there is always room for exploration and the significance of taking risks in faith, I would ask us this morning to focus on those things that we already do and the ways in which we already use our gifts and talents for use in the church. Today, we focus on those gifts and talents that we are already putting to use, some of them, very likely, without really even thinking about it. But, thinking about it, from time to time, is a valuable exercise. So, this morning, we shall consider those often overlooked, and underappreciated, gifts and talents. We shall reflect on them and give thanks for them.

Whether we sing in the choir or teach in the church school, whether we serve on a committee or as an officer of the church, whether we seek to beautify the sanctuary or collect the money in the offering plates, whether we gather volunteers for a reception in the Parish House after a funeral or clean the church basement, whether we pay the church’s bills or spend time figuring out how many cars can fit in the parking lot, whether we bring some supper to the pastor on a Wednesday when she’s been at the church for most of the day or we offer to provide a meal for a family in need, whether we make sure that the prayer list is always at hand through the week in order to raise up into prayer those who need our prayers most particularly or alert the pastor to someone in need of a visit or phone call, whether we reach out to visitors or we represent our local church at meetings and Conferences, whether we volunteer at the soup kitchen or gather up bids for church projects, whether we offer to sit in the church office on a day when the administrative assistant is sick or we come to fold church newsletters, whether we faithfully attend Bible study or come early on a Sunday morning to greet worshippers, these are all vital aspects of our church life. Each is a gift that we have been given that we offer back freely in order to strengthen the church and its witness in the world. These things that we do are expressions of our God-given gifts and talents. They are to be offered and celebrated. They should not so overlooked and underappreciated. Not one of us can offer all of these gifts; each of us has been differently and uniquely provided with talents to offer the church. Today, we are called to embrace these talents and gifts. For a moment, we will not take them for granted. We will embrace them, reflect on our own personal gifts and talents, how we put them to use in the church, and we will give thanks for them.

The list of gifts of the people at Old South is largely different than the list that is contained in our morning’s passage from Ephesians—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Yet our list is just as important: “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until 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.”

We don’t so much call each other prophets, apostles or evangelists. But, if you think about the many gifts that are displayed among those of us who gather in this church, they function in these ways. There are those whose gifts reflect a sense of helping in a variety of ways—much like an apostle. There are those whose gifts speak words of truth to the community of the faithful and to the world—much like a prophet. There are those whose gifts help to spread the Good News—much like an evangelist.

As good New Englanders, we tend to get rather utilitarian about our gifts and talents, often thinking of them in ourselves and in others as primarily simple skills. Yet these simple skills are in fact gifts and talents endowed by our Creator. We have been so equipped to embody the strength of the church, the living witness of Jesus Christ, our Savior. We have been so equipped to embody the grace of the church, shown through the mercy of our Savior.

All of our gifts and talents, all of them used in the church, all of them together are part of the unity of Christ: “One Lord, One Faith, One baptism.” Through the expression and offering of our gifts and talents in and through the Church, we participate in the unity of Christ and the presence of Christ among us. And, through these things we build up the body of Christ in the world, “until all of us come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”

We may look at the world of the faithful, we may look at the whole of Christianity, and feel decidedly not unified. The Church is torn and splintered by disagreements, misunderstandings and fear. The kaleidoscope that is the Church can look awfully chaotic and disjointed. Even within our own local church, we find moments of disharmony and squabbling.

But, today, we are called to take a moment to look upon the Church, and our own expression of the Church in our local setting, and appreciate the unity that does exist—to see that in its entirety, there is unity. In our various, and sometimes divergent, interpretations of scripture and tradition, there is a unity of spirit and purpose to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Even in our own local congregation, we are called to step back for a moment, to reflect on the individual gifts and talents with which we are equipped and to appreciate them for their variety. Though it is sometimes tempting to want to be in constant harmony, always in agreement, always in sync with our gifts and talents, there is something that cries out that way leads to a stagnant and stale church. We are called today to recognize the gifts and talents that we bring to this church and also to take a look at the fullness of gifts and talents that are within our church and the, hopefully, ever-increasing nature of the variety of gifts and talents that are apparent among us.

Today, we embrace the gifts and talents that we have been given. We thank God for them and then offer them back. These, our gifts and talents, though offered to us, are not ours to keep. They are to be given away. They are to be offered to Christ’s service. The better able we are to appreciate the variety of ways in which we have been equipped, the better able we are to recognize the different and unique ways in which we have been equipped—as individuals and as a church—the stronger we will be, the more confident our witness will grow.

We look upon all of the gifts and talents that are a part of this community of faith and we do see a wide variety. There are some gifts that I know that I do not have, but wish that I had. There are some gifts that I know I display myself. There are some gifts, too, that I sometimes have difficulty in recognizing as gifts.

Today, the ancient thoughts of the writer of Ephesians come to us with vital wisdom for use in the Church—then and now. We consider our own gifts and talents as well as the gifts and talents of those around us. We reflect on our gifts and talents and how we put them to use in the church. We let go of our tendency to think that we are not doing enough or that we are using our gifts and talents poorly, we let go of that feeling of guilt. But, at the same time, we open ourselves to the new ways that God may be seeking to put to use our talents and our gifts. We open our minds and our hearts to our God who has equipped us with gifts for God’s Church: “We 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. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit 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.”

When is the last time when you paused a moment to thank God for the part of the body that you represent? When is the last time you paused for a moment to thank God for the variety of gifts that are expressed in this local community of the faithful, in this church?

No matter when the last time was, the most recent time will be today. It is a good day, then, where we are also celebrating communion. To this table, we bring all of ourselves. We bring our gifts and our talents, we bring our thankfulness for our gifts and our talents, we bring our gratitude for the gifts and talents of others. We bring these things and we offer our praise. At the same time, we bring our sense of guilt that we are not doing enough, we bring our guilt for not always appreciating the gifts and talents of some of our fellow travelers. We bring these things and we ask for forgiveness.

And, as we gather around this table, we open our hearts and our minds for the new ways through which God is moving around us and within us. We offer ourselves to be refreshed and renewed as the church, that we lead lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

We gather around this table and through the mystery of God’s grace, we experience reconciliation and renewal, that our gifts and talents may be appreciated not just by God, but by each one of us and all of us together. As we serve the elements of this sacrament, ministering to each other in faith, as we receive these elements—first the bread individually and then the cup all together—we are reminded that in all of our various pieces and parts, we have unity. Though we have disagreements, misunderstandings and the like, we also have a unity of spirit and hope, that, from time to time, we can let go of those things that pull us away from each other and appreciate those things that hold us together, even those things that sometimes bring those uncomfortable growing edges. If the writer of Ephesians were around today, I bet he, or she, would use the term “growing edges.”

We gather around this table and we are reminded of the various ways through which we reflect the power of Christ’s church—hope, trust, faith and love. We consider our gifts and talents, we lift them up, giving God thanks and praise for them, and then letting them go. We thank God for those gifts and talents that we have been given and we pray that God will help us to continue to find their usefulness in this church, in this community of faith. Thanks be to God. Amen.