We Are Many Parts

See the Readings for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
1. The Catholic Church is made up of a variety of people. There are the young and the old. There are highly educated people and people with not much formal schooling. There are people who have common sense, and there are those who do not have much. There are athletes and couch potatoes and everything in between. There are skilled musicians, and people who cannot sing or play anything. We could go through the whole list. There are all sorts of people with all sorts of talents, skills, education, knowledge, and experiences, all of which God has distributed to us out of the mystery of His love and will.
2. Apart from these gifts, God has also bestowed the gift or the responsibility of authority. Parents for example have authority over their children. Even if the parents lack skills or knowledge, they are still responsible. Or consider priests. Not every priest is learned or even skilled in every area of pastoral ministry. I was a music teacher before, but one of my classmates was a funeral director, and another a doctor. Whatever our personal characteristics or talents, whatever our training and education, we were ordained as priests. Those of us who are pastors exercise authority and responsibility in ways which other people do not. .
3. Then there are all the different ways which we are blessed or gifted by the Holy Spirit. Some gifts appear attractive and important like Speaking in Tongues or Healing or Teaching or Administration. Others do not always attract- like the gift of tears or the fear of the Lord or piety. But every gift, every talent is important and necessary for the building up of the Church. Although it is obvious that the Church is made up of a variety of people with a variety of gifts, at least some of the Corinthians struggled because of frustration or dissatisfaction. In truth, there was jealousy over the various ministries or vocations within the Church. Not everyone had the gift that they wanted or the office of authority which they wanted.
4. Saint Paul used the human body to demonstrate his point. Every part is valuable and necessary for the good of the whole. If some part is missing, then the body might die, or it might be disfigured or made more feeble. In the same way, every gift is needed. As Paul told the Corinthians, we should not be upset or jealous if we are lacking in some gift, or if we are lacking the power to exercise the authority which we would like to at this moment. After all, what would we do if the parish was made up entirely of musicians, but no cooks? Or adults but no children? Or priests only, or no priest at all?! It would hardly be a parish at all.
5. Saint Paul’s main point is that every person is valuable to the life of the community. Every talent and gift is necessary and usable for the promotion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, we have been blessed with our differences just as we have been blessed with material goods. But there is no need to fuss over our differences, or even our weaknesses, but to see ourselves as part of the Body of Christ with Jesus as the Head.
6. God has blessed each one of us who are Baptized by adopting us into His family. It is vital to recognize this Holy Gift as well as all the blessing which He has so generously bestowed on us. To fail to recognize the blessings would be ingratitude toward the God who made us. Therefore we must reflect on what the Lord has made and what are we to do with it. And then employ these blessings in the Lord’s service.
7. To use our gifts- whether material blessings like property or money, or personal gifts like talents and skills, or even the use of time (one of the most precious things we have) is called Stewardship. We practice stewardship when we contribute money to the collection for the parish. (And I practice stewardship when I administer these funds prudently). We practice stewardship when we volunteer for a ministry or when we serve God and our parish. We practice stewardship when we get on our knees to pray, when we read the Bible or another Spiritual book, or even when we listen to another person.
8. If everyone uses their talents and gifts for the greater honor and Glory of God, the Body of Christ in our parish will be healthy and pleasing to God. But note this: our gifts, talents, skills or responsibilities are not what will get us into heaven, rather it is the grace and love of Jesus Christ who makes it possible for us to be in Paradise forever. Yet how we use our gifts will make a difference of whether we receive our eternal inheritance. Saint Therese of Liseux compared each person to a glass into which water could be poured. Not every glass is the same size or shape. Not every glass holds the same amount. But every glass can be full. And if we want to be full of the Holy Spirit, then we must empty ourselves of everything else.

Pentecost

1. The Church came to exist when Jesus Christ called the disciples and began to form them in the Good News of Salvation. But Pentecost is rightly considered the birthday of the Church. What was largely hidden from the eyes of the world now burst forth upon the scene, with rushing wind, tongues of flame, and powerful and effective preaching (Acts 2:1-11).
2. The word Pentecost comes from Greek, meaning 50 days. It was originally a word used by the Greek speaking Jews to indicate the end of the 50 days of harvest after the feast of Passover (see this in the Jewish Encyclopedia). Harvest would begin with the barley and end with the wheat, because wheat took longer to ripen. The feast would include a day of rest as well as the sacrifices of the first fruits of the harvest. It was believed that Moses deliberately arranged it to fall on Sunday, so that everyone would have two days of rest in a row (Saturday being their Sabbath). In some places it was customary to read the Book of Ruth, because the harvest figures into her story, but also because she became a convert to Judaism.
3. The Christian feast of Pentecost is the fulfillment of the ancient feast. Our Pentecost is celebrated always on a Sunday. It is 50 days after Easter, which is referred to during the Easter Vigil as our passover feast. Note in the Passover, the Lambs are sacrificed and their blood is sprinkled on the doorposts so that the sons of the Israelites would be saved from the angel of death. In the mystery of Jesus Christ, it is He the Son of God, the True Lamb, who is sacrificed so that all people may be saved from the power of death. In the Last Supper, we are invited to share mysteriously in this same sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
4. In the Jewish feast of Pentecost, the first fruits of the harvest are brought before the Lord in thanksgiving. At the feast of Pentecost, the first fruits of the harvest of souls is brought before the Lord by the preaching of the apostles. Remember the many parables of Jesus which compared the evangelization of the world to the sowing of the seed of truth and the harvest of believers brought to faith and baptism ( for example: Matthew 9:37-38, Matthew 13:24-30).
5. The gift of the Holy Spirit, which the disciples received on Pentecost empowered them to fulfill the mission given to them by the Redeemer Jesus Christ. In spite of being with Jesus for about three years and receiving His teaching and observing His many signs, the disciples were still missing something. They were afraid. They were still thinking in a worldly manner. Yet all that changed with the infusion of the Holy Spirit. Those who had hidden themselves out of fear for what people might think or say or do became fearless in their proclamations regarding the Risen Christ. Those who had longed for a worldly kingdom and worldly power now yearned for a heavenly kingdom. Those who may have been regarded as ignorant were now able to demonstrate through scripture and argument that Jesus is indeed the Lord, the Son of God. Furthermore, many of those who previously might have shouted Crucify Him! now listened intently and received the gift of faith. These converts could be said to be in some sense the “first fruits” of those who would come into the Body of Christ which is the Church. In any event, the disciples and those who were added to the Lord that day received Courage, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Right Judgement, Piety and Fear of the Lord- all the gifts of the Spirit.
6. The Church has also received one other gift through the Holy Spirit- that is the gift of indefectability. That is, the Holy Spirit guides and protects the Church from falling away from Jesus. It is true that individual Christians, whether they be lay people or even deacons, priests, or bishops can sin or make mistakes. But Jesus promised that Hell would not prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18). And it is through the Holy Spirit that God keeps His promise to us.
7. Like the Disciples at Pentecost, we have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are given to us so that we may accomplish our part in the mission to bring Jesus Christ to every creature. But there is one thing to consider. If after the Spirit descended on the disciples they would have remained in the upper room, if they had failed to make an appearance in the Temple precincts to begin preaching the truth out loud and without fear, where would we be now? Likewise, we cannot be afraid. We need to stand up for the truth. We need to share with others our faith in Jesus Christ the Risen Savior. Come Holy Spirit!