2nd Sunday - Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 12:4–11 – On and the same Spirit distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

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One and the same Spirit distributing them individually
to each person as he wishes
1 Corinthians 12:4-11

2. 4 There are different kinds of spiritual
gifts but the same Spirit;
5 there are different forms of service
but the same Lord;
6 there are different workings but the
same God who produces all of them
in everyone.
7 To each individual the manifestation
of the Spirit is given for some
benefit.
8 To one is given through the Spirit
the expression of wisdom; to
another the expression of
knowledge according to the same
Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit; to
another gifts of healing by the one
Spirit;
10 to another mighty deeds; to another
prophecy; to another discernment of
spirits; to another varieties of
tongues; to another interpretation of
tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit
produces all of these, distributing
them individually to each person as
he wishes.

3. From Paul’s writing to the Church
in Corinth we see that all is not
well.
Mark 3:25 And if a house is divided
against itself, the house will not
be able to stand.
So to with a Church community.
Paul is attempting to stress the
need for unity in the Church.
The Church is the Body of Christ
and the characteristic of a
healthy body is that every part in
it performs its own function for
the good of the body.
Unity doesn’t mean uniformity, and
therefore within the Church there
are differing gifts and differing
functions.
But every one them is a gift of the
same Spirit and is designed, not
for the glory of the individual, but
for glory of God and the good of
the whole Church.
Paul addresses this same issue in his
letter to the Romans 12:4-10.
We should be joyful that our
Churches are blessed with people
with various gifts and talents.

4. Paul begins by saying that all
spiritual gifts come from Spirit
and it is his belief that they must,
therefore, be used in God’s
service.
God has a plan and a purpose for
each one of us both in and
outside of the Church.
We need to guard against allowing
these God given gift to shows
themselves as envy, pride,
arrogance, or exclusiveness.
1 Cor. 127 To each individual the
manifestation of the Spirit is
given for some benefit.
The Holy Spirit gives many different
gifts to enable individuals to serve
the Lord and His body, the Church.
Sometimes we see ministers who lack
organizational skills seek the help of
someone who has those skills, the
two join forces and work together as
a team and the ministry flourishes as
they share their individual talents, or
strengths.
In marriage we see the skills of one
spouse complement the skills of the
other spouse.
We all have different talents which the
Holy Spirit then weaves together into
the tapestry of life.