Epiphany
January 14, 2016
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. –1Corinthians 12:1-3
Is Paul teaching tolerance here? Or perhaps, is he letting people know that they do not benefit from claiming a corner on the Jesus market? We no doubt in our world today need to be attentive to both messages. I must confess, I bristle a bit, when I hear things being proclaim in the name of Jesus that are totally alien to my faith. I, too, am sure that others have heard me say things that they consider to be heresy. How do we deal with faith elitism?
Mark 9:38-41 might give us some food for thought:
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
We are sent as messengers to love God and love one another. By living love we fulfill our role in the Kingdom of God. It is a hard assignment and it will take a lifetime to get it right. Living love all the time leaves us no time to judge others for their understanding of God.
Prayer: Lord, strengthen my ability to live love as you showed us. Amen.