Sunday Reflection, January 14: An Abundance of Gifts, Not Threats

Scripture Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/011407.shtml
Isaiah 62: 1-5
Psalm 96
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
John 2: 1-11

We had our traditional Ryan family Christmas party recently, held a few days after Christmas at a rented hall. I grew up as the youngest of eight children, and now there are numerous nieces and nephews and even more grand nieces and nephews. The party always includes quite a crowd of people. As I made my way around the room at the party, I was struck by two recurring themes at our family gatherings: abundance and diversity. There is always an abundance of people at our parties, and with that there is an abundance of family dynamics, personal gifts and interests, joys and struggles. There is also great diversity that is represented – diversity in lifestyle, points of view and preference. This diversity seems only to increase as the years go on and it can sometimes be a source of tension. For example, our discussion about the current war in Iraq revealed some real differences in viewpoint amongst us.

These same two themes – abundance and diversity – struck me as I reflected on the Scripture readings for this Sunday. We encounter the familiar Gospel scene of the wedding feast at Cana. There are many subtleties to this text in John and there are a variety of interpretations. But one central theme is that of abundance: the abundance of the wine provided by Jesus at the request of his mother. When asked to save the honor of this young couple and their family at this important moment, Jesus provides a very generous amount of wine for the guests. In the Gospel, this seems to be a sign that the messianic days have arrived. The work of the Messiah has begun, a work that will be brought to fruition in his passion, death and resurrection. In the ministry of Jesus there is present an abundance of God’s gifts and an abundance of God’s love.

In the second reading, Saint Paul is writing to the Christians at Corinth, who apparently had experienced an abundance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul catalogues some of those gifts in this part of his letter: wisdom, knowledge, healing, prophecy, the gift of tongues. We may find it difficult to understand or relate to these activities, but they were real spiritual gifts that reflected a vital life of faith among these Christians. This abundance of gifts, however, has led to significant diversity within the community. These were differing gifts. The trouble with the Corinthians seems to have been that they tended to compete with one another. Some of the very gifted tried to exercise their influence in ways that did not promote the good of the entire community and that showed little appreciation for the gifts of others.

In order to deal with this abundance and diversity of gifts, Saint Paul proceeds to remind these Christians that all of them, as different as they are, form the one body of Christ. This image of the body of Christ is a compelling one that is really much more than just an image or metaphor; it is, in fact a profound reality. They are the body of Christ on earth. All of them together reflect the presence of Christ in the world and, therefore, they need one another. No individual is dispensable; all are interconnected. It is in this context that Paul goes on to pen his famous hymn to charity. So, when he describes love as never rude, as not self-seeking, not snobbish or putting on airs, he does so for a group of people who are finding it difficult to appreciate and get along with each other.

We live in a world in which the global struggle to deal with difference is displayed daily on the front pages of newspapers. Conflict between groups of different ethnic, religious or tribal backgrounds continues to wound the human family. In our personal lives, each of us experiences our own struggles with the reality of difference, with diversity in family, among friends, in school or the workplace. These differences are sometimes just annoying to us, because we find it so difficult to understand others. At other times we can find such differences to be threatening to us if we are envious of the gifts others possess or if we feel that our own gifts and contributions are not acknowledged.

In face of our grappling with the differences of others, with an abundance of diversity in our lives and in our world, I believe that the Scriptures invite us to grow in awareness, appreciation and affirmation. First of all, it is important for us to grow in our awareness of our own unique temperament and gifts, as well as those of others. There are many tools available to us today to help us become more aware of these differences. The Myers-Briggs test is just one of them. For example, knowing the different ways that introverts and extraverts tend to relate to people and situations can assist us in better understanding ourselves and the people with whom we live and work.

With that awareness, we are called to grow in appreciation and affirmation. We need to come to appreciate our own unique gifts and qualities and those of others. The more we are able to appreciate and affirm our own gifts, the less we will feel the need to “beat out” other people, to assert our superiority over them or see their gifts and preferences as a threat. Life provides us with enough ordinary challenges; we do not need to add to those challenges by turning life and relationships into a constant contest. There is a sense of interior peace that flows from this increasing awareness, appreciation and affirmation.

We come to the table of the Lord this Sunday, where there is an abundance of God’s love given to us. As we do, we are called to go forth from the Eucharist to live out our vocation to be the body of Christ in the world. In the fifth century Saint Augustine used to say: “Receive the body of Christ; receive what you are and become what you receive.” You and I, through the way we live our lives in family, community, parish and society, are meant to become ever more fully and visibly the body of Christ in this place and time. This vocation requires us to appreciate the gifts God has given us and to recognize our interconnectedness with others. In the Eucharist, Christ reminds us again and again how important each one of us is in his eyes, how much he treasures each of us. It is that experience of his abiding love that enables us to recognize others not as a threat but as a gift.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp