Sermon for 1 Lent * March 4-5, 2006

St. Luke’s Church, Jamestown, NY

The Rev. Eric M. Williams

Teaching as a Spiritual Gift

Part One of a sermon series on spiritual gifts

Today we begin a Lenten preaching series on Spiritual Gifts.

         As you know, spiritual gifts are a major focus in the parish right now.

                  A retreat is scheduled in two weeks on March 19

                           for anyone interested in exploring their spiritual gifts.

                                    If you are interested, please talk to Barbara Bumsted.

Today I want to start by defining a spiritual gift.

         According to Christian Schwartz, author of The Three Colors of Ministry,

      “A spiritual gift is a special ability that God gives, according to his grace,

               to each member of the Body of Christ

                        to be used for the development of the church.”[1]

There are two things worth highlighting in that definition.

         First, every member of the church receives spiritual gifts.

                  Second, those gifts are for the development of the church,

                           the strengthening of the Body of Christ.

Schwartz draws on Scripture and his own experience to come up with a list of 32 gifts.

         We certainly won’t have time in five weeks to deal with all of them.

                  Instead we will be focusing on a few, which relate to our Lenten readings,

                           and exploring what they look like and how they work.

Today I will be talking about the Spiritual Gift of Teaching.

         This is one of my spiritual gifts,

                  And I have known that for a long time.

When I was in High School I was trying to figure out what to do with my life.

         After working for my uncle who was a lawyer, I had ruled that out.

                  And after shadowing my father, I had ruled out being a doctor.

I did not know the language of spiritual gifts,

         but by the time I was a senior, I had a sense of what God was calling me to do.

                  I had narrowed it down to either being a teacher or a priest.

I tested that calling in college by doing an internship in a middle school

         and then by taking a job as a teacher in a boarding school after graduation.

                  I also sought the guidance of my parish priest at the time

                           and went through the diocesan discernment process.

All of this helped me to gain clarity about both my gifts and my vocation.

         While I was affirmed in having the gift of teaching,

                  I realized I was not necessarily called to be a teacher,

                           at least professionally.

During those years of teaching school

         My spirit yearned for something more.

                  Instead of just teaching about the kings of England

                           I wanted to be teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God.

In other words, as I look back on it,

         I was being called to take this spiritual gift I had received

                  and put it to work for the development of the church.

                           And so I left Darrow School and went off to seminary.

At the time I thought I was turning away from teaching

         in order to turn towards the priesthood.

                  But I have since come to realize that with God nothing is wasted.

Even though I am a priest, God still wants me to use that gift of teaching.

         What I learned in those years at the Darrow School

                  has served me well in my life as a priest.

And I am happiest and most fulfilled in my ministry

         when I am using that gift and my other spiritual gifts as well.

That experience, when I reflected on it later,

         Taught me a valuable lesson—

                  Your spiritual gifts may or may not be related directly to your work.

                           There are a multitude of ways to use spiritual gifts.

                                    But in the end spiritual gifts need to be used for spiritual ends.

Take the gift of teaching.

         Teaching is a universal human experience.

                  Every aspect of human life involves teaching and learning,

                           In family life, civic life, work, clubs and hobbies

                                    we are always engaged in this process.

Some people are naturally good communicators,

         while others have to learn the skills of teaching the hard way.

                  There is an old saying that “teachers are born not made,”

                           but that is only partially true.

Some people have the natural ability, but never develop it,

         while others become excellent teachers

                  through sheer effort and hard work.

And teaching runs as a theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

         Today’s psalm reminds us that all true knowledge and all true teaching

                  comes from God.

In Genesis, God uses the image of the rainbow

         as a teaching device to remind his people of the covenant.

                  The psalmist prays, “Make me to know your ways, O LORD;

                           Lead me in your truth and teach me.”[2]

And it is worth remembering that Jesus spent three years

         teaching his disciples and the crowds about the kingdom of God.

                  He healed and performed other miracles,

                           but he always wanted to get back to his primary work

                                    of proclaiming and teaching about the kingdom.

                                             And he was known to all of them as Rabbi, teacher.

If you have the gift of teaching, or any of the gifts,

         it does not mean that you should necessarily become a teacher,

                  or that you should despair if you can’t get a job as a teacher.

But it does mean that you should do two things:

1)      You should do everything you can to develop that gift.  You should get as much education as you can, especially in the areas of Scripture, theology and other subjects related to the church’s life.  You should seek out workshops and conferences that will help the church learn and grow.

2)      You should look for ways to use that gift for the good of the church and the spread of the kingdom.  You should seek out opportunities to lead small groups, teach Sunday School, lead the youth group, or help with leadership training.

Now we need to say that there are inherent dangers with any gift. 

         Whenever we are strongly gifted in one area,

                  we run the risk of devaluing other gifts or those who do not have our gift.

Those of us who have the gift of teaching

         sometimes want to turn the church into one big school

                  and are critical of those who don’t sign up for every class.

While those with more action-oriented gifts

         see endless classes as a waste of time

                  and want to get on with feeding the hungry,

                           going on mission trips, and so on.

Clearly God wants us to be a community where all of the gifts

         are valued, developed and put to use

                  for the building up of the kingdom of God.

I want to end with a word about personal fulfillment.

         As Christian Schwartz rightly says,

                  “God doesn’t give you spiritual gifts as a reward

                           for your steadfast character or spiritual maturity. 

                                    He imparts them according to his grace.”[3]

In other words, spiritual gifts are not about you.

         They are not a reason for pride, because they don’t come from you.

                  And they are not given for your self-fulfillment,

                           but for the good of the church and the world.

However, I have found that there is a real personal reward.

         When we discover our spiritual gifts it helps us really clarify our calling.

I don’t know if I ever will be a classroom teacher again.

         But I do know that teaching will always be a part of my ministry.

                  There are many parts of my job as rector that I need to do

                           whether or not I have the spiritual gift.

But I know that I am happiest and most fulfilled

         when I can balance my life and work

                  so that teaching is included.

I pray that as you discover and use your spiritual gifts

         You will find that same sense of fulfillment,

                  and be renewed daily by the Holy Spirit

                           for the building up of the kingdom.

410 North Main Street, Jamestown, New York 14701

Phone (716)483-6405 * Fax (716)483-6406 * stluke@madbbs.com