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Church
News...
By Jean
Barrington
Preaching is many things, but the primary task of Christian
preaching is to help listeners hear the good news brought by
Jesus to the people of the world. That good news for us makes
its first appearance in the Bible.
Depending on the version one reads – well, honestly, no matter
which version one reads – the task of making those ancient
stories, letters and essays relevant to our life today is often
a daunting task. What makes it possible is listening to the holy
spirit. As a preacher, I am constantly seeking what the holy
spirit has to give me by listening, reading, and looking for
kernels of wisdom from people’s voices that can make the stories
of the biblical texts come alive and relevant to those to whom I
will be preaching.
God has a way of getting the good news in front of us and
telling us that we are loved, forgiven and given what we need to
have a fulfilling life on this planet. We only need to pay
attention to what the spirit is trying to tell us in so many
ways.
Preaching is just one of the ways the spirit speaks. God has
given each of us one or more significant talents that we can
share with our fellow human beings. Some folks are lucky and
have discovered their talent(s), others are still figuring out
ways to use their talent(s) and some are envious of the talents
of others, thinking those talents are better their own.
I am currently reading The Fourth Quarter of Your Life,
Embracing What Matters Most by authors Allan Hunt and Matthew
Kelly. I found this absolute gem of wisdom in their writing –
this is good news for all of us no matter what stage of life we
are now living, “The … truth about talents is that you have all
the talents you need. You’ve got the perfect mix of talents
necessary to live the life God created you to live. There is no
point worrying about the talents you don’t have. There is no
point worrying about the talents your brothers, sisters,
friends, parents, teachers, or anyone else has that you don’t.
“When it comes to talents, the ones you don’t have; you don’t
need. If you needed them, God would have given them to you. God
has given you the perfect mix of talents you need to live an
amazing fourth quarter. This is just one of the many ways God
provides for us.”
These two authors suggest that we list what have been our
dominate talents in our life up until now, and then be open to
developing those talents further and/or exploring underdeveloped
talents.
Another word for talents is gifts. Sometimes our gifts do not
look like what we traditionally call talents, like musical
gifts, public speaking, sports of many kinds, cooking, art, etc.
If I were to name my gift or talent it would be organization. I
did not recognize it as a gift for many years, then I realized
it has been what has allowed me to function in many jobs:
homemaker, waitress, administrative assistant, and eventually
pastor/preacher. Organization was what made those jobs possible
and enjoyable for me. Anytime I am doing something that requires
organization I enjoy it!
Therein lies the answer: If you truly enjoy your gifts/talents
and feel as though you are contributing to others, likely you
have found what you are being called to be and do. The thing
that will bring joy to your life! The point is this: God has
given each of us talents that will make our life enjoyable and
our work will be a gift to ourselves, our family and our
community.
This month I encourage you to take time to acknowledge your
talents as well as the various talents of those around you and
give thanks for all of them. May you relish the joy all these
talents bring to the world.
If you would like more good news and community in your life,
please join us at Trinity Church, 1880 APA Road at 11 a.m. on
Sundays, then join us after for lunch and conversation. Jazz
Vespers takes place at 4 p.m., on the fifth Sunday of the month.
All are welcome.
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