The Gift Exchange
January 14th, 2007
Michele Rizoli
Text:
John 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Psalm 36:5-10
Now that Christmas is over, we’re taking down decorations, starting diets and maybe heading to the stores to exchange some gifts. I need to tell you that one of my culture-shock experiences in North America is the idea that it is acceptable to exchange a gift. I can understand the need for a different size of something, or maybe a different colour sweater, but I can’t get my head around giving back the candle holder in exchange for the table cloth. Someone has chosen to give you something, but you don’t really want it, so you go to the store and get something you really want. To me that just defeats the whole definition of a gift.
My anxiety on this point is best illustrated by a game we used to play when we got together as a family (and which thankfully we have abandoned). The idea is that everyone brings a wrapped “gift.” Then, while it is still wrapped, each person in turn decides whether they want the gift they got or whether they prefer to take a gift from someone else. It is presumably very funny, but – perhaps because I do not like practical jokes – it always left me with a great deal of anxiety. Actually, it would probably be more fun if you just stopped calling it a gift exchange and called it what it really is: a competition for the best prize.
I believe that a good gift is one that takes into consideration the character (the likes and dislikes) of the receiver and has something of the character of the giver in it as well; but ultimately the gift is the prerogative of the giver not the receiver. The receiver’s role is to accept a gift graciously and gratefully, or else it is not a gift but an obligation of some sort for the giver to “get it right”. Sometimes the most unlikely and treasured gifts are those that we didn’t realize we would enjoy and that also serve to remind us of the giver.
Last time I preached, I spoke about opening our eyes for opportunities to live with compassion in the world. (Don’t worry if you don’t remember, I had to look it up myself!). Today I invite us to open our eyes to the work of the Holy Spirit, especially when it comes to how we might be called to use our gifts.
In our scriptures today we come across the idea of Spiritual gifts in the life of the church. They are given freely by the same God whose character is described in the Psalm we read as: righteous, full of steadfast love, who gives us to drink from waters of delight. Do we experience this character of God’s when we look at our spiritual gifts? Are we satisfied with those gifts? Do we think the Holy Spirit made the right choice? Would we rather exchange the one we got for someone else’s?
We also read the BYOB story in the Gospel of John, where Jesus is called upon to use his own gifts to make a gift (of wine) for the gathered community: the wedding at Cana. We’ll come back to this story in just a bit. First, let’s have a look at I Co 12.
There are several things to keep in mind in this passage:
• First of all, the topic is spiritual gifts in the church community, in the body of Christ. The New Testament has a clear understanding of the church functioning under the direction of the Spirit. We are not necessarily talking about administrative or programmatic efficiency but about a community that witnesses faithfully what it means to follow Christ.
• Secondly, the Holy Spirit assigns abilities, callings, insights and words democratically, not on the basis of hierarchy or merit. Every member of the Spirit-led community is entitled to a gift. Everyone is entitled to experience the Spirit of God. There is also a not-so-hidden agenda behind these gifts, v. 7 says that they are manifestations of the Spirit for the common good.
• Thirdly, it pays to remember that chapter 12 comes just before chapter 13, which grounds the activity of the Spirit in love. I Co 13 reminds us that none of the Spirit’s gift cards are any good unless we use the activation code: love.
Clichéd as it sounds, this is still a crucial point: If I manifest gifts but do not have love, I am nothing, I gain nothing (I Co 13); there’s really no point. Church loses its purpose when our actions have any other motivation; obligation, habit, promoting volunteerism, pleasing others or furthering personal interests are poor substitutes for the loving movement of the Spirit.
Now, I hesitated a bit to make that last point lest all the wonderful committees, Sunday school rooms and sign-up lists that keep TUMC alive become depleted by people who don’t feel loving enough at any giving moment. Of course you know that we’re not actually talking about a feeling; it’s about a deep sense that in being church we are not going through motions or simply keeping an organization alive, but rather tapping into the deep life-giving source of love which is God’s Spirit.
Just to be clear, I’m also not implying that we have not been attuned to God’s Spirit, only reminding us to check our motivations every so often; to try and perceive the draft, or breeze or wind of the Holy Spirit that fans the fire of our church involvement.
So, what are some of the gifts in I Co 12? Well, the one that tops the chart is diversity. It’s all the same Spirit, but there are varieties of gif
ts. Can you imagine what it would be like to be in a church that had only one gift? It wouldn’t quite work to have 100 treasurers or preachers or pianists in the roster, now would it? Or to put it in a more sobering manner, can you imagine what church would be like if everyone was like you?
The passage goes on to list some of the manifestations of the Spirit: the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, healing, the working of miracles (or powers), prophecy (which incidentally is to be understood as transmitting communication from God and not as foretelling the future), discernment of spirits, and tongues mitigated by the interpretation of tongues. To observe these activities carried out for the common good was to observe God’s Spirit at work.
What are some of the ways you see God’s Spirit manifested in the gifts of our congregation?
(opportunity for input)
Today we hear this list of spiritual gifts as being somewhat neutral, but to the Corinthians (and dare I say to some people today), there were certain manifestations of the Spirit that counted more than others: Getting lost in the ecstasy of speaking in tongues – now that was really the Spirit at work, or manifesting wisdom (Sophia) or knowledge (gnosis) – these were the means by which the Spirit surely spoke. Or maybe God was really present in the continuation of Jesus’ ministry of healing and power over spirits. By stressing the variety and listing various gifts of the Spirit, the writer is trying to make sure we keep our eyes open to the broad spectrum of God’s activity.
Although we at TUMC probably haven’t had great problems arising from too much ecstasy in our community (yet) is it possible that we might also have some blind spots in recognizing God’s Spirit in the variety in our midst?
Notice how all the gifts the Spirit distributes work best in interactions between people. No sense uttering wisdom alone in a room somewhere or discerning spirits in one’s mind just to be smug about it or to say I told you so. No sense being able to heal but never running in to sick people. All the gifts require some action on the part of the recipient towards others: they are not of much use if they’re kept wrapped up in the original packaging.
And as it happens, God’s Spirit is renewed and love is nurtured in these same interactions. You give me the gift of uttering wisdom, I give you the gift of listening and God’s Spirit finds a place to inhabit. She shares healing and the healed person brings gratitude and their own restored gifts into the mix. He shares faith and strengthens others who need someone to temporarily believe on their behalf or who merely need to experience the love behind the sharing.
Let’s look at the Gospel story in John. I don’t know what caught your attention when we read it, but for me there are a few things that jump out when I take it at face value.
• First there’s the miracle itself. While it is certainly very nifty to turn water into wine (especially if you forgot your hostess gift), it seems a rather extravagant and non-essential use of Jesus’ power to provide drinks at a party, doesn’t it? And it’s not even that important a party, we don’t know who the bride and groom are, and the wedding celebration also apparently takes place in an insignificant little village (scholars can’t even pinpoint the location anymore).
• Then there’s the problem with Mary and Jesus’ little interaction. She pushes him into doing a miracle, and could thus either be going against God’s timing or changing God’s mind on the matter. Hum…let’s just leave that one alone right now, shall we?
• And then there are all the literary reasons John may have had for telling this story as he did—right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Was this first revelation of Jesus’ power a symbol of some sort? Jesus as new wine? The wedding feast as an image of God’s kingdom? Could be.
These are all plausible ways to access this story – and academically would certainly take precedence over the method I’m about to use. Forgive me, but today, I’ll be using the little known “Mother knows best” approach to interpreting John 2. As I told you before, we’ll look at it as an illustration about gifts.
Weddings in Palestine, then and now, were week-long ordeals (Parteys!). They involved the whole community and were a demonstration of the host family’s true hospitality. Obviously attendance was not by printed invitation only; anyone that had any claim could show up. Participants needed to eat in abundance, drink in abundance and enjoy themselves in abundance. (Incidentally, it might be good to remember that it was not about getting drunk, wine was really the only available beverage next to water and was often diluted.) It was a culture of honour and shame, and to fall short in hospitality (as in, run low on beverages) was to fall into disgrace, it was also a bad omen for the newlyweds.
Mary may have been related to the family somehow and was therefore implicated in their shortfall in the wine department. She may also just have been acting out of compassion for the family. Either way she saw the need and realized that it was a perfect match for her son’s abilities. I’m a Mom, so I know how this type of conversation goes:
—“Son, our relatives are going to be humiliated and you’re the only one that can help.”
—“Mo-om, not now, not like this!”
—“Son, it’s high time you live up to your potential. I know your friends are here and are watching you, and I know you’d rather wait for a more auspicious opportunity, but this is Aunt Mildred we’re talking about. Surely you care about her?”
—“I really don’t think it’s the right time, Mom.”
She preempts his protests, turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you dears” thus forcing his hand. He surrenders and it ends up that she was right: plain old water is turned into wonderful wi
ne; more than could possibly be consumed at that party. The miracle wine not only keeps the party going and saves the family from a terrible situation; it is also of such good quality that the wedding goes down in people’s memory as one of the best ever. And more importantly it turns out to be a perfect opportunity for Jesus to reveal himself, launch his ministry and to manifest God’s power and compassion.
I’ve been through this mother-child dynamic more times than I can count – most often as the child. It’s not always comfortable but sometimes people just need a little push in the right direction to open up so that God can make wonderful things happen. Mary knew that the time was right and that the gifts were present, ready to be given to help others.
Here’s my push to you: just like that wedding in Cana, our life as a community that witnesses faithfully what it means to follow Christ is also premised on good hospitality (i.e. generosity, welcome to strangers, love towards one another). When we open ourselves up to God’s Spirit and use our gifts to respond to others in spite of our reservations, God is manifested. This is a true gift exchange.
The Holy Spirit is in our midst, let us open our eyes to the Spirit’s presence and respond gratefully to her gifts. Amen.