Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 17, 2010 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11]There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit..... [1 Corinthians]
One of the more challenging tasks for a pastor or spiritual director is the "discernment of spirits" - i.e. how the Holy Spirit is "working" in the life of a person for the benefit of the community. All of that statement is important because we ourselves may not be the best discern-ers of our own gifts and we may not see those gifts in terms of a benefit to the community but rather as some way of "self-fulfillment." Sometimes the community knows us better than we know ourselves. (Or at least that's what I was told when I was asked to be Novice Master 20 years or so ago - a position for which I considered myself uniquely unqualified.) One good starting point is the assurance from St. Paul that every member of the community is a subject of the Holy Spirit and no one is left out.( I once saw a sign in a gas station that read: "No one is totally useless. They can always serve as a bad example!") The pastor or community may be less than skillful in recognizing some of the giftedness of some members, but that is not the fault of the Holy Spirit. The process can be messy, and sometimes painful, and requires a great deal of diplomacy and tact. A tone-deaf person is clearly not gifted in the direction of singing in the choir, no matter how much they may want to do so. But they may make a great lector, Eucharistic Minister, RCIA team member, Social Outreach worker...... The challenge to the individual and the community leadership is to find the place for the "gifts" of that person and not simply to dismiss them because they may be unsuited for what they WANT to do. Everyone in the process needs to think in terms of discernment for the benefit of the entire community. And it is also important for everyone to remember St.Paul's words after listing various spiritual gifts: "But the one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes." AMEN
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