Gifts and Graces

Martha Hodges - 2005-11-13

Gifts and Graces
Nov. 13, 2005

"A pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real." And so does a congregation such as this one. We long for work that is real. For a deep and abiding sense of purpose. To be of use.

But how are we to discover this purpose, and this work? How are we to know what Life, that "Voice Still and Small" is calling us to do and to be?

I first heard the phrase "gifts and graces" at a Career Assessment Center for minister hopefuls. The Unitarian Universalist Association, in its wisdom, requires all candidates for ministry, early in the process, to submit to a two-day battery of psychological and career aptitude tests. These are conducted by various centers that are especially equipped to identify potential for ministry -- in other words, this analysis is performed from a Christian perspective -- at least in my case. This was my first exposure to much of this language, and you can imagine it was more than a little daunting to someone raised as a Unitarian Universalist. What was this "universal church" they were asking me about? And what were these “gifts and graces” that were being measured?

I knew about gifts, of course. Gifts meant, as far as I knew, native abilities, like intelligence or perfect pitch, or acquired ones, like communication skills, or technical skills. But what in God's name were these “graces” they were talking about?

Well, I've given this a lot of thought, and I've come up with a way to think about this that isn't necessarily theologically correct, but it works for me. How about if we think of graces as those circumstances that Life puts in our way -- and the ability to learn from them, the skill to listen to what Life is calling us to do with the cards we are dealt? Some people would call this the guidance of the Spirit.

And what of this Spirit? As Unitarians, we inherit a tradition of belief in the presence of the divine within each of us. A spark of divinity that imbues all people with inherent worth. Now, it matters what we mean by the divine. For the sake of finding common ground, let’s consider “the divine” to be this: the inexplicable longing to “be good”, to do the right thing, to share our toys, that we see in even the toddler; the very need to be of use that motivates that child to take such pride in helping; the drive to develop and use our gifts that makes learning so exciting to the young child. I think these, along with the powerful need to connect with others -- the need that brings us together in churches, for example -- and the will and ability to create, our imaginations -- these mysteries may be understood as that “spark of the divine” within us all, or, if you prefer, Love -- the source of our inherent worth.

These are the sparks of divinity in this congregation, as well. Do we not want to do the right thing, to share our gifts, to be of use, to learn, to connect, to create? Is this congregation not also called to be something larger than the individuals who make it up? When these powers of good will, generosity, imagination and creativity come together, the energy that is generated -- the potential energy -- is tremendous. As a religious community, this is our call: to fan this potential energy -- this spark -- this love, if you will -- into a flame that warms and illuminates lives.

How can we make this happen? How can we answer this call of the Spirit?

The answer, I think, is twofold. First, we must discover and develop our gifts as individuals and as a religious body, by using them. This is how we learn to know our gifts and graces: by exercising them. By risking failure -- experimenting with new ideas and visions, and learning from each other. By offering our services to the world.

Then, we must face reality -- with intentionality, love and purpose. The reality is that this congregation is at the awkward in-between stage. No longer small enough to operate like a big family, headed by a strong parental figure, the minister. But not large enough to provide all the programs -- the graces -- that would allow us to be the powerful source of transformation we would wish to be. We cannot fund the outreach programs that would make this possible. We don’t have the man and woman power to do all that we must do -- that we are called to do for each other and for the world. We have the building -- this beautiful new building -- and the potential to expand to hold many more people within the embrace of this community and its saving message of inclusive love and acceptance. We are poised on the brink of becoming a powerful force for good in this community. We can change lives.

But here’s the conundrum: In order to fill our building with more people in need of our message -- we need more people! More people to do the work, to raise the money, to spread the word -- our powerful message of free thought, tolerance, equality and love. Our message that, yes, we humans are precious in the sight of one another and that we have the gifts, the graces, to make our own lives full and rich and meaningful. And that we have the gifts and graces, as a religion, to bring this message to a world that needs it so badly!

We must break into this cycle of self-limitation somewhere. We cannot continue to rely on the same 20% of our members to do 80% of the work than needs to be done. We must choose a spot and commit to doing what we can do. That is why we have dedicated this morning to asking you, the friends and members of this congregation, to pitch in and do your part to make this happen. The need -- the opportunities -- for volunteers in this congregation is tremendous and varied. And the more we accomplish, the more opportunities there will be. Today is the day.

This congregation is blessed with wonderful, dedicated lay leaders. But they cannot do the work of this church without everyone’s help. It is simply too much to ask of them. But by breaking up the work into doable pieces, and spreading it throughout the membership, the work can be done! We can grow into the church we are meant to be. I urge you, today, to choose that spot -- large or small -- where you can contribute to the life of this body. If everyone does something -- something -- we will not only be a stronger community in terms of programs and services. We will become a stronger community because the individuals that make it up will be answering their own calls to “be of use in the world.” We will be a stronger community as relationships grow into friendships. United by a common vision, differences of personality, belief systems, and background will become secondary to what we have in common. We can become our message of love and transformation. Let us heed that inner voice that calls us to work for such a life, for such a church, for such a world.

It is time to let our little lights shine!