Our first reading today spoke of Jesus baptism. We get the image of the heavens opening up and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And the voice of God saying, “this is my beloved Child, in whom I am well pleased.”  Here is the Christ, God with us in spirit and in human form. Jesus went on from this point to teach any who would listen, heal those distressed in body and mind, confront injustice, reach out to those on the margins of society. He offered a matchless example of the Spirit’s presence in the dust and noise and messiness of everyday life. His life and divine yet human example and teaching became the foundation of the church and of a new covenant with and among people.

After Jesus moved on from this earthly life, it became our challenge, we who are touched by him, to embody and express this Spirit in our lives. In our passage from Corinthians, Paul is writing to a church, a congregation, only a few years old. Disputes have broken out in the early church about who had what gifts or talents, and which among these are to be most valued. So Paul writes this passage about all the different types of gifts, talents or contributions which individuals can bring to the church which is the body of Christ in the world. Some are evangelists, some prophesy, some have the gifts of wisdom or expression of tongues, and so on. If he were writing today he would likely go on for a lot longer, as our world has gotten more complex, and the varied forms of work and contribution with it. Millions of Christians are part of thousands of churches and deal with each other both there and in the public sphere.

Paul suggests that we each have spiritual gifts or talents. And all are to be valued. Our individual gifts come out of our own special nature, and they are infinitely varied, like all the instruments that make up an orchestra. Each instrument is able to make many different sounds and types of contribution, with God or the Spirit as the conductor.

Do you know what your special gifts are? Most of us have a notion. What do you do especially well, which when done well is a gift to the world? Listening? Music? Logical process? Numbers? Healing? Persuasion? There are so many. Sometimes when we don’t know ourselves, others will tell us: “you listen well,” or “you could sell snow in Alaska, or French wine in Napa” or “I like your thinking or your mechanical skill.” Sometimes others inform us through backhanded compliments like “I can never get you to shut up;” or, the other side, “I can never get you to talk.” In various ways we become aware of our gifts and talents. Some appear to have a gift for being simultaneously inclusive and exclusive, like the guy I saw in San Francisco who had two bumper stickers on his car. The one on the left said “Cherish Everyone.” The one on the right said “Impeach Bush.” Wherever the information comes from, think about your gifts.

By the way, I don’t know about you, but I vacillate about my gifts and talents. Sometimes I’m pleased about them and even have moments of grandiosity, if someone who likes listening can do that. At other times I’m self-deprecating or feel insignificant or disappointed with what I’ve done with my gifts.  My sense, though, is that Paul is coming at this from a different angle than one that’s ego-driven, I’m-great-or-I’m-not. Paul is into acknowledgement, simply acknowledging—being aware--that you or I have been given certain abilities. Take a moment to acknowledge, be aware of, your gift or gifts or talents.

Of course, we always have the possibility of misusing the gifts we have been given. Every week gives new headlines in this regard. This past week it was Andrew Fastow, the former Enron CFO, who was plea bargaining to reduce time in jail. Here is a tremendously talented person who misused his gifts to create a financial train wreck that injured hundreds of thousands.

But let’s get back to the main point. Connected to the existence of our special and unique gifts is the notion that each of us has a spiritual path. The question for each of us is, what is that spiritual path, for you, or for me? And how do your gifts and talents relate to that path?

Peter Richardson, a pastor, has written a book I want to draw on called, “The Four Spiritualities; subtitle: Expressions of Self, Expressions of Spirit.”  He quotes Paul, who in Romans says: “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”  Richardson looks at the area of temperament. Drawing on insights from Jungian psychology and the work of Isabel Myers, he outlines different ways of being in the world. From these differences in preference come different spiritual journeys, different and various ways of expressing our talents. Let me talk about them by presenting four mythical but real people. Call them Cameron, Pat, Sal, and Lee.

Cameron (could be either male or female) is an imaginative person, making intuitive leaps but also thinking carefully about how things fit together. Cameron is concerned with organizing principles, truth and clarity. Cameron wants to find the underlying thread that connects the dots of life. For the Apostle Paul, for instance, Jesus the Christ made it possible for there to be a new covenant among Jews and Greeks, slave and free, rich and poor, uniting all in the body of Christ, the church. For Thomas Merton the monk the thread was silence, which swallowed the busy world and suggested the unity beneath. For Bishop Swing of San Francisco, it meant bringing together representatives of various faiths in the United Religions Initiative—and we have Nancy Nielson here this morning at the adult class talking about the United Religions. For Schweitzer it was the phrase “Reverence for Life,” which defined his view of the world and guided his choice to work in the developing world as a healer and physician. Cameron is attracted to unifying principles like these and also tries to express that sense of unity in work and how life is lived.

Our second person, Pat (who could be either Patrick or Patricia), has a very here-and-now orientation. Pat is interested in the present moment. Pat also has very deep feelings of belief and devotion, and the desire to express and appreciate these concretely. Pat would have been very interested in going on the Holy Land tour that members of the church went on some years ago. Why? To actually walk where Jesus walked, there in Jerusalem. To stand where he stood on a hillside in Galilee. Actually see the town where he was born. Go to the Sinai desert and experience the environment in which Moses received the 10 commandments. Pat is impressed by larger than life exemplars like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who so embodied spiritual grace and presence and compassion in the presence of the inhumanity of apartheid in South Africa. Pat is also can relate to the story of Mary (of Mary and Martha fame) who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to sit with Jesus, listen to him, drink in his presence and his spirit rather go off to the kitchen and prepare the meal.

Our third person, Sal (which could mean Salvatore or Samantha or Sally), is also a very here-and now sort. Quite into nuts and bolts, but Sal also has a brain and uses it. This combination makes Sal a realist: in touch with the facts, concerned with accuracy and objectivity, concerned with finding and doing the right thing. Let’s find the leak and get the roof fixed but not pay too much. For Sal, work (and doing works well or rightly) is life’s aim and fulfillment. Order and rules and a sense of duty or stewardship have real value. Sal is interested in models and definite codes like the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sal admires Mother Teresa, taking care of dying beggars (it’s the right thing to do); or Gandhi, who said, “civilization is that mode of conduct that points out to man the path of duty.” Or the founder of Habitat for Humanity who wanted to create affordable housing because Jesus said take care of the poor. Or Glide church in the city, which feeds so many homeless people.

Finally, let’s talk about Lee (could be spelled Lee or Leigh). Like Cameron, Lee responds to intuition and imagination. In addition, Lee has a big heart. Lee wants to discover essential meanings, be authentic and true to him/herself. Lee wants to live in harmony with her/himself, with others and with the Spirit. Lee is interested in discerning God’s will and utilizes mediation, prayer or other forms of attunement.  For Lee, the process of getting somewhere is as important as arriving. As important as the outcome of a meeting is the question of whether it was a good meeting; whether people felt heard or included. Lee can relate to Emerson, who said: “trust yourself…Accept the place that divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events.”

So which of our mythical persons do you find yourself relating to and understanding, from the inside, so to speak? Whichever one, or combination, suggests something of your natural spiritual path. Again, in Paul’s estimation, all these are expressions of the Spirit’s manifold variety in our world: your particular gifts and talents; your way or path through life.

What’s wonderful about Paul is that he understands this diversity (so many gifts and each a form of grace), and he also grasps the unity behind it: the One animating Spirit of God from which it all flows. It is that Spirit which is not only your and my true nature, your and my life essence; it is the true nature of all of us in the room. It allows us to partner together, express diversity and thus do greater things together than we can do separately. Paul suggests that who we are and what we do is rooted in and part of something larger, even infinite.

And you know what? Nothing is too small or ordinary. I’m sure my fourth grade teacher had no idea of her impact on me, but it was quite profound. Because she noticed, she saw me, and no teacher had done so before. A small kindness can have just as large an impact as a complex professional transaction. Not only the big things like our job and vocation, but also all the everyday ways in which we act are expressions of our gifts. Also, we can give gifts at any age. An old person who is dying but who has a generous spirit can give gifts to caregivers--there are many stories telling so. And babies who have yet to talk are already full of gifts. So too as we travel the distance between.

In our teaching today, we do not have to worry about being ourselves—we are encouraged to be ourselves, our deepest self, expressing the particular grace of the Spirit that we are, seeking always to know better the One as we do so. In so doing, in so being, we know God’s grace and truth.