I Corinthians 12:3b-13 (NRSV)
Read I Corinthians 12:3b-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 3Therefore 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. Verse 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; Verse 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; Verse 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. Verse 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Verse 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, Verse 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, Verse 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. Verse 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Verse 12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. Verse 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Devotion
Bishop Stephen Neil spoke the following words in 1974 at Luther College: "Humans try to make all people alike. The Holy Spirit makes each person different."
ELCA missionaries, Phil and June Nelson, walk alongside members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon. Phil's recent reflection on the richness and diversity of Cameroonian culture concludes with these words: "We humans are created in the image of God; both slaves and kings are God's children. We touch the face of God when we touch our neighbor."
Paul wrote that, "there are varieties of gifts...there are varieties of service...there are varieties of activities...they're all from 'the same God' and are given 'for the common good'...'in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body'...'and we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.'"
I wonder how many more quotes and reflections the Holy Spirit needs to provide in order for me to finally understand.
Prayer
O God, may your Holy Spirit open me to celebrate the rich variety of people and gifts around me. Amen.