Rev Michael Docherty's Sermon - Sunday 18th January 2004

There's nothing quite as satisfying as a good piece of gossip - you know the classic 'Between you and me…don't tell anyone but…have you heard about' type of gossip which brings a smile to our faces and get our imagination working overtime. Whether the subject of the gossip happens to be a true, in the case of the sin of detraction, or as in most cases false it still serves the same purpose, to bring doubt about the good standing of a person, to think less of a person. The end result is that is destroys relationships, relationships that are essential if any community is to work, if any community is to thrive: this is even more the case in the Christian community, the parish.

Paul is addressing the Christian community in today's second reading. He's writing to a community which is being torn apart because it is being divided into factions, self-interest groups and power struggles. His solution to these problems is to call the people back to the heart of the gospel, to remind them of who they are: like the way Jesus transformed water into wine, they are a people who are transformed, the are configured to the kingdom, not just the world. This transformation, as baptised members of the body of Christ, has led them to be God's gift for one another. To be God's gift which we are more likely to use as a term of insult, rather than praise. But recognising that we are all God's gift to one another is essential to healthy relationships within any parish, whether it be first century parish of Corinth or the twenty first century parish of Ansdell.

To discover that someone is God's gift is a source of blessing for all of us: to be gifted is a something wonderful, something to be praised not condemned. We have no need to be jealous of someone else's gifts because we are all gifted. If we study psychology we learn that to discover gifts or talents is one of the most important things that has to happen in a child's development - to discover that they're good at something, to be told that they've something valuable to offer. We learn that people who've never received those messages have no centre, no inner sense of self-worth and lack self-esteem. They'll spend the rest of their lives seeking security and value only in external things - in beauty, wealth, power, popularity. Each of us needs to hear again and again the message the we are gifted, we are valued, in order to find healing for the knocks we receive in this life. How many times in a successful marriage do husbands and wives express how much they value each other?

The idea of being God's gift is at the heart of the message of the gospel. Paul recognises that since God has become man in the person of Jesus Christ who breathed his Spirit to dwell in his disciples, that same Spirit is at work in each one of us, at work in a unique way, planting different gifts in us which no one else can bring to the community. Without all of us, gathered together, working together, the Body of Christ, the Church, becomes damaged, incomplete, wounded in some way. That is why it is important in parish life that we are an inclusive community, that no small groups dominate - because everyone of us gathered here has our part to play in the life of this community - the least no less than the great - we are all God's gift to one another. That is also why we should be a community that reaches out to others - especially those who are not gathered here today: Catholics who sit at home rather than being part of the worshipping community each Sunday - we suffer because they are not here with us, sharing their gift of the Spirit with us. We are wounded by their absence. I think especially of the atmosphere that was here during the Christmas liturgies when the church was full and when the 'hardy annuals' had appeared: I thought to myself why can't it be like this all the time. Just imagine what this parish would be like if we truly recognised that each of us has an irreplaceable gift to offer, that we are an irreplaceable gift. How we could change the way we look at each other, the way we work together and how we celebrate together. We are all called to ask ourselves: what is my gift? What do I bring that no one else can offer? Where is the Spirit at work in me for the building up of the community of the Body of Christ? How can I be of service here, now, in this place, in this time? You are God's gift - use it.

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