Epiphany 2 St Peter's 18 January 2004

Fr Mark Bonney

Living with diversity and difference is one of the great challenges in our world today. I confess I haven't read the book - but the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sachs wrote a book last year entitled, I think, Living with Difference - he was hauled across the coals by his Jewish confreres because within it he gave the impression that there was legitimate diversity and difference between the major faiths in their talk about God - and that Judaism didn't have a monopoly on the truth. He had to re-write sections of the book for the second edition. 

It's a truism to talk about our society as being multi-cultural: but there are equally not a few people who have a vision of what it means to be English and that everyone should conform to it. Even within the Church of England living with difference is an ever increasing challenge - from off-the wall charismatics to hard-line Anglo-Catholics, from women priests to gay clergy - living with difference is an ever present problem in the Church of England.

There was a problem of difference within the early church at Corinth as well - and it manifest itself in a breakdown of relationship due to a lack of respect one for another. Those early Christians seemed unable to honour the differences that existed between them - ch 11 begins with problems over gender differences (though if you read that part of the letter I suspect you might disagree with some of what Paul says - in fact since there's not a single women in church who is veiled I can categorically say that you all do - or else you're wilfully disobedient!). Then there follows problems over differences caused by wealth - and when people meet for the Lord's supper some are left hungry. And then in the passage we heard today there's obviously contention over the gifts of the Spirit. They must have been arguing about some being better than others.

How easy it is to become lured away by hierarchies - when I was away last week enjoying the wind and rain at Rye I also indulged in the odd convivial dinner - at one of them we found ourselves talking about the honours system - which is better and MBE or an OBE - some were able to quite excited about CMG, KCMG and GCMG - I couldn't help thinking that the phrase British Empire rather sums the whole thing up - more than 100 years out of date (with apologies to anyone here who might have such an honour)

When I was Precentor at the Abbey organising processions could be the cause of great upset - you had to get the order right - Bishop of the Diocese first, Dean second, suffragan bishops third - Residentiary and Honorary canons jostling for places - it was all quite a laugh.

Paul tells the people of Corinth that there's no hierarchy of gifts of the Spirit - there's just a variety -and the variety's important. In the verses that follow this passage he draws an analogy with the body - that we need ears and eyes, and a sense of smell and the rest. If the body were all an eye what a sorry state we'd be in - if we were all nose w couldn't see - all the different parts are needed.

The great unifying thing for Paul is the Spirit - and the greatest thing that the Spirit gives he's able to wax eloquent about in ch 13 is the gift of love.

No one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. And that is what we proclaim as we gather to worship. As I look around the congregation I see a splendid variety of people - a splendid variety of people gifted in different ways by the Holy Spirit - not many of us may exhibit the rather dramatic gifts that form the list in today's reading - gifts of healing, miracle-workers, speaking in tongues and the rest - but all of us are gifted by the Holy Spirit - we cannot say Jesus is Lord unless we are: and those gifts be enormously varied - musical gifts, administrative gifts, teaching gifts, listening, caring, being compassionate, being generous, practical gifts. As Paul himself puts it "there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone."

The question I ask each on of us to think about is - how has the Holy Spirit gifted me - and what am doing with it? The answers to that question will be as varied as all of us here - and the answers don't by any means need to involve this building - God may have gifted you as teacher or an accountant, or whatever - and the place of your work may be the place where that gift is being exercised to God's glory. God may have gifted you with some time even to join the cleaning rota that's begging for a few names in the pew leaflet - it's a very important job and in a way a significant part of this church's ministry of welcome.

Today also marks the beginning of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Next Sunday we have a visiting preacher Dave Russell, the minister from Northchurch Baptist Church - and I'm preaching there in the evening. As Christians we all proclaim that 'Jesus is Lord' - Christian unity has taken a different tack of late. The grander schemes of overall organic unity are still there - but there is much more of a sense of moving by stages and recognising in that whilst we all say "Jesus is Lord" - there are differences, and we need to appreciate and work together with these because there is glory in the variety rather than in dreary uniformity. 

In some ways the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the perfect model for living with difference - the One God who shows himself to us as Father Son and Holy Spirit may give us much to reflect on - and to him be the glory. Amen.