THE SPICE OF LIFE

THE BLESSINGS OF VARIETY

                There are a variety of gifts. There are all sorts of service

                to be done. All these are the work of  one and the  same

                Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people.

                  I Corinthians 12:4-11

What if all the students at Bellarmine University, Spalding University, Jefferson Community College and the University of Louisville decided to major in nursing? Not only would it be hard for all those nurses to find a job, there would be no one to teach your children? What if all the students in those Universities decided to major in accounting?  Not only would it be hard for all those accountants to find a job, who would be around to provide us with music, health care, social service, legal service and art? 

What if the only restaurants in Louisville were McDonald’s? What if the only radio station we could get was WAMZ? What if the only cars available were Fords? What if all the clothing stores only sold green clothes? What if pregnant women only delivered male children? What if the only sport was volleyball? It is good that we do not all have the same interests and talents, a good thing that we are not all alike, a good thing that there is variety and difference in life. We need the gifts and talents of everybody, in all their marvelous variety, to make the world work and be interesting.

God gave each of us unique gifts: gifts for the good of all, gifts that fit who we are and gifts we can share with the world..  As Pablo Casals said, “You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other (child) exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another (child) like you. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything.”

God wants each of us to recognize and develop our unique talents. We need not compare our talents with others. We simply need to recognize, own and develop the talents given to us and to us alone. As Marrianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”  

God tells us to use our gifts for the good of the community. They were not given to be hoarded. Each one of us owns a piece of the puzzle. It is when we put our piece with those of others that our life can become rich and full. What we have been given, we were given to share. We are neither independent nor dependent, but interdependent. We need each other and we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.  The famous Albert Schweitzer said it this way, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

God wants us to go out and take some calculated risks, not careless and reckless risks, but calculated risks. We are called to invest and grow the talents that we have been given. Theodore Roosevelt said this. “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

We are “temples of the Holy Spirit.” We are walking "tabernacles" of God's presence. The Holy Spirit lives within us! We really should be genuflecting in front of each other! 

God wants us to know that we operate with that power of God, and therefore anything is possible for us, yes us! Never give up! Don’t get discouraged. It is often the last key on the ring that opens the lock. As someone else said, “With enough thrust, even pigs can fly.” Greg Anderson said this, “Think “impossible” and dreams get discarded, projects get abandoned, and hope for wellness gets torpedoed. But let someone yell the words “It’s possible!” and resources we hadn’t been aware of come rushing in to assist us in our quest.”  Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television once said, “Impossible things just take a little longer!” Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened for you.”

Friends! We are not here on this earth by accident. We each have been created for a purpose. God has entrusted each of us with some specific gifts. The world needs the gifts that we have been given. We have a mission and purpose. We are powerful beyond measure because we are that “temple of the Holy Spirit.” We may have never known that. We may have never intentionally tapped into that power, but God lives in us and that makes us powerful. Therefore, do not be afraid, work together, let your light shine, invest your talents and make you contribution to a better world. That’s why we are here!

Pope Francis, in his new Apostolic Exhortation on holiness, has this to say about our personal holiness and how each in his own way has a path to holiness. He said that "we should not be discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but they are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts, rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them." 

Lastly, we are not here today to persuade God to send his Holy Spirit upon us! The Holy Spirit already lives within us! We are here to wake up to the fact that the Holy Spirit is at hand, right under our noses, and is already at work in us. We were given the Holy Spirit at our baptisms and strengthened at our Confirmations!  The problem is that so many of us either don’t know it or have forgotten it!

Friends, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit lives in us! The Holy Spirit is powerful!  We need to wake up to that presence, plug into that power and see where God can take us!