| HOMILY: What is Your Gift of Spirit? It is good to determine our Spiritual gift. It's an important awareness of what we can accomplish in this kingdom of heaven on earth. Jesus did say that the kingdom of heaven was within and among us. We need to begin to trust and follow our Master; do some of the things he demanded of us as his disciples. I use Isaiah as the proclaimer of the 9 gifts of Spirit as Isaiah is the most quoted and, seemingly, the most favorite prophet of Jesus. Jesus possessed all of the Spiritual gifts but, as his disciples, we will have at least one that is most prominent within us. As I understand it, the difference between the Gifts of Spirit and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit is that Gifts are naturally innate in someone and, if cultivated and allowed to ripen, will give forth Fruit. So, for instance, if my gift is understanding, my fruit may be joy; if my gift is wisdom, my fruit may be love. The only one that is the same is faithfulness so faithfulness may be its own reward. In my research for this talk I found the 7 Virtues which are somewhat close with the 9 Gifts: The seven virtues were first penned by the Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Plato. However, when they first came into being, there were not seven of them as we know them now, but four. These four initial virtues – temperance, wisdom, justice, and courage – were seen as the main attributes for a person to have. It was not until the New Testament began to be more extensively studied that the other three virtues of faith, hope, and charity were joined with the initial four virtues.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues) I would add humility and loyalty to the above 7 virtues to make them a fit to the 9 Gifts. Humility would, then, be a good fruit fitted to awe or fear of the Lord. I like to see things fit or come to conclusion as did the Catholic Church when they composed the 7 Deadly Sins to offset the 7 Holy Virtues. It must come from my Catholic upbringing. (http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Seven_Deadly_Sins.pdf) In my meditation this morning, it came to me that my gift may be knowledge. I certainly love learning and research. However, I immediately realized that my danger with that gift the is the need for humility which comes from the sin of pride. So, I learned something by following that line of practice; guessing my gift and allowing thoughts to follow along to a conclusion. Since this occurred in meditation, the thoughts were not forced, but came spontaneously and easily. This is how I sometimes find the truth of my being; meditation or contemplation, allow a thought to occur, make an educated guess, allow it to flow. Actually, I could have chosen any of the gifts and allowed them to simmer. I might just do that. Holy Spirit, Thank you for all the gifts you have given us. We welcome you into our hearts, minds, and souls to work your providence within us. We ask for your continued care and support as we go through our daily tasks and relationships within our families and world. We ask for your blessings especially in the world now. With all the powerful weather conditions and the warring factors occurring, we know that Mother Earth is in stress and she and we are suffering. It is our own fault and we are grievously sorry. Please help us to see and live in the light of love, compassion, and peace. Amen (See also http://astrologizing.net/sabbathdevotionals17.html) Respectfully submitted, J. Sue Gagliardi Week 18: Parshah Terumah - Exodus 25:1-27:19 |
| astrologizing.net Sabbath Devotionals The Sabbath; Sat. February 5, 2011 |
| BIBLE READING NEW TESTAMENT Galations: 22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. |
| BIBLE READING OLD TESTAMENT Isaiah 11: 2,4-5 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— with justice he will give decisions for the poor... Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. |
| The 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit |