Are we ready for a proper party? Are we ready for things to get truly exciting and joyful, and possibly a bit messy?

The wedding couple in Cana had no clue how inviting Jesus was going to change their wedding. Jesus saved their wedding by providing an absolutely over-the-top quantity (hundreds of litres) of the most splendid wine!

We’ll let our Trackers later teach us more about that marvellous story of Jesus’ first sign at the Wedding in Cana, and we’ll focus on our first reading from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. 

But this miracle is the first sign that when Jesus arrives somewhere, whatever else happens, things are not going to be boring. Jesus is going to shake things up, in ways we like, and ways we may not like so much, but it is going to be a proper party.

Are we excited about the new wine of Jesus’ Kingdom getting more into our lives and into our church. Are we excited about the Holy Spirit coming and shaking things up?

The people in Corinth in our first reading certainly were excited about the ‘proper party’ that Jesus and the Holy Spirit came to bring. But they also found that instead of a proper party their church became a divided chaos, full of egocentric competition – people priding themselves in their various gifts of the Holy Spirit rather than using them to serve others.

So, naturally, Paul had to send them a letter, teaching them about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We’ll spend the next few minutes thinking about this.

• Paul offers a big encouragement, if we believe, we have received the Holy Spirit.
• What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit according to Paul?
• The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the benefit of the Church.

Last week when we thought about the baptism of Christ we saw the Holy Spirit come down in the form of a dove and resting on Christ. The Holy Spirit is offered to us in our baptism. And likewise in confirmation we are offered the Holy Spirit, and the bishop prays for each candidate to receive the Holy Spirit.

Paul has this same basic assumption. If you are baptised, or as he puts it here, if you have confessed Jesus as Lord, you can only do so through the Holy Spirit. Later in the chapter he will emphasise the point saying, ‘we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form the one body’ of the church (1 Cor. 12:13).

If you have not been baptised or confirmed, surely this sounds too exciting to miss out on?

There may be much more to learn about the Holy Spirit. We may need to be encouraged to explore what gifts of the Spirit we have, and how we may grow in them and use them more. But we are not to lose sight of the truth proclaimed by Paul that when we recognise Jesus as Lord, when we’re in the church, when we experience God, this is the Holy Spirit with us.

Paul sees the gifts of the Holy Spirit very much in this context of the life of faith of every Christian living within the Christian community, the Church.

In our reading he lists some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given to each of us as the Spirit chooses.

Paul starts with the utterance of wisdom or of knowledge. To know what is best to do next. The gift of faith. A great faith that can work miracles.

Gifts of healing and miracles. They do happen, and we can pray for them, when we pray for those struggling or sick in our lives and in our church, let’s do so in the faith and confidence that we have a God who does heal, even though this does not always happen.

The gift of prophecy. It is worth noting that various commentators point out that the gift of prophecy is not so much predicting the future, it is being able to speak the mind of God. It is more like preaching. Seeing what God is doing in the world and relating his Word to it. And indeed, if you read the prophets in the Bible, very often they are preaching, they are warning and rebuking the people who have turned away from God, and they bring advice and guidance, seeking to direct them back to God.    

This is in line with how Paul uses prophecy two chapters later, as something that instructs, encourages, consoles or challenges its hearers (1 Cor. 14: 3, 24-25, 31). In our sermons at St Nicolas are we being instructed, encouraged, consoled, challenged? Quite a good and simple method to provide feedback on our sermons.

The gift of discernment of spirits, to know whether something or someone actually comes from God or not.

And then at the end of the list Paul mentions the gift of tongues. Being able to speak in tongues, and being able to understand tongues. The ability to speak or to understand a language that you have never learnt. Paul always emphasises this is a real spiritual gift, but also challenges people’s obsession with it, and criticises the chaos and competition it has created in Corinth. 

Later on in this chapter, Paul will make another list of gifts, in which he mentions apostolic ministry, prophecy, teaching, miracles, healing, helping, guidance, and again, tongues at the end (1 Cor. 12:28).  

In Romans 12 Paul makes yet another list of the gifts of the Spirit, again prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy.

Some of these are very obviously the Holy Spirit breaking into our life, others are far more subtle and often mixed with our natural gifts, or a doing of ordinary every-day things in the power of the Holy Spirit. God is interested in all of our lives, and wants to change and empower us with the Holy Spirit not only for a brief hour on Sunday morning but in all the things we think, we say, and we do.

Paul clearly sees the activity of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, not only as part of all of the Christian life, but also as the Christian life lived in the Christian community.

The rest of 1 Corinthians 12 is one of my favourite passages in the Bible when Paul talks about the church being all together the Body of Christ, though in many different parts. We all have different personalities, roles, and spiritual gifts but that should unite us rather than divide us.

And whatever gifts we receive from the Holy Spirit, they are to build up the church rather than divide it, and they are not to put ourselves on a pedestal, but Jesus Christ. Most importantly, we have these gifts for the benefit of others. So, in what way can we be sharing our gifts of the Holy Spirit with the rest of the Church? Or is there maybe a natural gift that the Holy Spirit wants us to use to build up others?

We are invited and challenged to open ourselves up more to the Holy Spirit and to seek his gifts for us. Is the Holy Spirit placing a person on your heart to pray for? Maybe for their healing? Is the Holy Spirit asking you to encourage someone else with a word of wisdom, or maybe a bible verse? I was this week given this big Companion Bible by someone who was told by God to give it to me. Neither of us knew why, but I did find it a great encouragement.

And wouldn’t we want to see more of this? Don’t we want not only the quiet ways but also see God’s powerful deeds? Don’t we long to see Jesus at work in our lives and in our community and make a ‘proper party’ happen?

Shall we pray:  

God the Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see the gifts you have given us or those that you want to give us. Help us to use them to build up each other and your church. Amen.