Meditation: God Calls Us to Be a Blessing
Genesis 12:1-4, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Rev. Deborah Troester, June 11, 2023, STHPC
As the choir sang a few moments ago, God’s light does indeed shine on us. In the scripture we just read, God’s light shone on Abraham and Sarah. God called him to leave his country and kindred to go to a new place, to the land that God would show him. In this ancient story, Abraham and Sarah represent all people who have ever set out on a new path, following what they believe is God’s call to them. In Abraham’s case, God promised to make of him a great nation, a promise that was fulfilled with the births of Ishmael and Isaac. Through Isaac’s son Jacob, the nation of Israel was born. Muslims trace their line through Ishmael. Thus Abraham became the father of two great monotheistic faiths, Judaism and Islam, and through Judaism, he became an ancestor of the Christian faith as well.
Significant for us today are the words God spoke in verse 2: “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” At the foundation of our faith is the idea that God blesses us, and we are to bless others in return. The idea here in Genesis is that God’s blessings are not to be hoarded, but shared.
The apostle Paul expressed much the same idea in his first letter to the Corinthians. He wrote: “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 Cor. 12:4-7). God has blessed each of us with many different gifts and abilities that we are to use for the common good. Right here this morning are people with an enormous variety of God-given talents: nurses skilled at healing, teachers skilled at guiding students to learn, engineers skilled at making things and writing software, administrators skilled at managing people and programs. Some are skilled at running their own business. Others are great at landscaping. Some excel in the arts. Some simply have the gift of friendship and kindness.
This morning we are celebrating God’s gift of music. We are blessed to have many talented people among us who can sing, or play musical instruments. Their efforts lift our spirits, inspire us, and glorify God. All human beings have some gift or skill that is a blessing to them and can be used to bless others, “a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” as Paul says.
Yet we may be tempted to refuse the gifts of some. Are there people we don’t consider worthy to worship with us, whose gifts we judge to be somehow unacceptable to God? Maybe some of our unhoused neighbors have talents or skills that are not being used. Immigrants have much to offer, yet some would refuse them entry into our country because of their socio-economic background or skin color. In some churches, women with the gift of preaching might be refused the pulpit.
As we celebrate Pride month, we must acknowledge the sad truth that there are those in the LGBTQ community who have much to offer, yet have been rejected by the church – maybe not by our congregation, but by some. They have gotten the message that Christians don’t care about them or want them in worship. Maybe they have even gotten the message that God has rejected them.
Are we missing out on the gifts our LGBTQ sisters and brothers could bring us? Are we convinced that Christ could not be calling them, too? It isn’t our place to judge – the Apostles’ Creed says that Jesus Christ “will come to judge the living and the dead,” not us. Our job is to love and welcome everyone in Christ’s name. Who are we to reject the one for whom Christ died?
During this Pride month let’s reassess our attitudes toward others. Let’s not get in the way of the Holy Spirit working in someone’s heart, drawing them toward God. Remember that we are blessed to be a blessing, even to others whose lifestyle we may not understand. We all need God’s forgiveness, God’s love and a sense of belonging. We are blessed to be a blessing. Jesus calls us to share God’s love with all. Amen.
© Deborah Troester, 2023