“THE MOST IMPORTANT KEY”

 

A post-homiletical discourse delivered by the Rev. Dr. James R. Beebe

Rector, St. Patrick’s Church, Incline Village, Nevada, January 17, 2010

 

 

     Now that Christmas is over and the dust has settled, we can look back over the things we received.  Some are things that are very practical, like socks and ties.  Others are not so practical, but are fun.  My previous boss sent me a calendar from the Demotivator series every Christmas.  The caption under the typical month might be something like, “Blogging:  never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.”  And, “Dysfunction:  the only consistent feature in all of your dissatisfying relationships is you.”

 

     Then there are the gifts that you just plain don’t like.  And there’s that awkward moment when you just don’t know what to say.  Well, here are some possibilities:

 

*          Well, well, well...

*          I really don't deserve this.

*          I Love it, but I fear the jealousy it will inspire.

*          To think that this was the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity.

     Well, the apostle Paul would argue that all gifts are important.  At least those which have been doled out by the Holy Spirit.  He lists them in First Corinthians.  Maybe you have one or two.  Here are some of them:

 

*          The gift of wisdom.  This person is able to apply specific knowledge to specific needs.

 

*          The gift of prophecy.  That’s proclaiming what’s true about justice and mercy, even if that’s unpopular.

 

*          The gift of teaching.  This person understands and communicates information well.

 

*          The gift of faith.  This person has a lot of confidence that God can be trusted in every circumstance.

 

*          The gift of service.  This person accomplishes practical and necessary tasks (usually behind the scene) which support the congregation.

 

*          The gift of administration.  This person is organized and skilled at formulating and enacting procedures which make the outfit run smoothly.

 

*          The gift of mercy.  This would be the innately compassionate individual who cares for the suffering.

 

*          The gift of giving.  Believe it or not, this person loves to contribute material resources for God’s work.

 

*          The gift of hospitality.  This is the social genius who enjoys opening his or her home or place of worship to provide food, shelter and fellowship.

 

*          The gift of discernment.  This person intuitively sees through phony individuals and ideas.

 

     There are more gifts of the Spirit listed by Paul, and they include counseling, intercession, knowledge, shepherding, leadership and exhortation.  I’m pretty sure that some of those sounded familiar.  You can always tell what gifts of the Spirit you have, because they tend to be consistent themes in your life, cutting across all of the different roles you have or have had.  Here’s a short-hand way to find out:  (fill in the blank)  “No matter where I am or what role I’m playing, I always seem to end up ___________.”  (“Getting the short end of the stick” doesn’t count.)

 

     You may have heard of Richard Nelson Bolles.  He’s the author of the book, What Color Is Your Parachute?  It seems like every year he updates it.  Well, he’s also an Episcopal priest and has some things to say about the obstacles which often prevent us from finding our “mission in life.”  First of all, he says, we think that finding our calling is simply a matter of finding out what interests us and then pressing towards that mark.

 

     But it’s more complicated than that.  You have to take it in stages.  The first stage is not individual; it is shared with the rest of humanity:  it is to seek to stand, hour by hour, in the conscious presence of God.  In this stage, we need to unlearn the idea that our mission is primarily to keep busy doing something and learn instead that our mission is first of all to keep busy being someone.

 

 

 

     The second mission builds on the first.  It is to do what we can, moment by moment, day by day, step by step, to make this world a better place.  In this stage, we need to unlearn the idea that everything about our calling must be unique to us and learn instead that some parts of our mission are shared by all human beings.  For instance, we are all sent here to bring more gratitude, more kindness, more forgiveness, and more love into the world.

 

     The third mission consists in exercising that gift which we particularly came to earth to use in the most places or settings in which we find ourselves.  In this stage, we need to unlearn the idea that our unique mission must consist of some achievement which all the world will see, and learn instead that much of what we contribute we’ll be unaware of.

 

     But here’s the rub:  even though there are lots of gifts out there, people tend to consider their own gifts more important than those of others.  It was a problem in the first century and it’s a problem now.  Well, not long ago, we talked about this at a Saturday Night Alive service.  I showed the kids my keychain and described what each key was for (the car, the house, St. Patrick’s, the church mailbox, and our own mailbox).

 

     Then I asked them which key was most important of all.  One child said it was my house key.  Another disagreed and said it was my car key. 

 

Then  I told them that, after this service, I’ll go out to my car to drive home.  Which key is most important now? 

 

Then I’ll arrive at home and try to get into my house.  Which key is most important now? 

 

And so on, with the rest of the keys.  The truth is, we all have gifts and they all complement each other.  So it is at St. Patrick’s Church.  And so it is in the Body of Christ.

 

We are all keys on the Divine Keychain.

 

And in God’s house there are many mansions….