“To
Each One of Us Grace Has Been Given
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. The communist leader Karl Marx famously said that the government should
follow the principle, “To each according to his need, from each according to his
ability.” This has been tried since in many countries, with terrible,
tragic results. In the practical, political realm, that idealistic
principle simply doesn’t work for governing a country. It doesn’t work
because we humans are all sinful. By nature we are inclined not to
altruistic generosity but self-centered greed. As we confess in our liturgy, “We
are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word
and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left un—e. We have not
loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” But, what doesn’t work in the political realm is exactly the principle
Christ uses to govern his Church in the spiritual realm, “To each according to
his need, from each according to his ability.” Or, as Paul puts it in
today’s Epistle Reading, “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ
apportioned it.” The greatest grace that all followers of Christ have been given is the
grace of forgiveness. As Jesus tells the disciples in today’s Gospel
Reading, “The Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and
repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.” Jesus suffered death upon the cross and rose from the dead as a
sacrifice to pay for your sins and earn you forgiveness. For 2,000 years
this message of repentance and forgiveness of sins has been preached to all
nations, believed by faithful followers, and has come down across the centuries
and around the world to us. As the book of Acts says, “All the prophets
testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins
through his name. . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be
saved.” That is the greatest grace that all followers of Christ have in common,
the grace of forgiveness and faith in Christ our Savior. In addition to
this universal Christian grace that all believers in Christ have received, he
gives to each of us a unique set of gifts and graces, for service to him, and
his Church, and one another. “To each one of us grace has been given as
Christ apportioned it.” The spiritual gifts bestowed by Christ, and using those gifts to his
glory, is a major theme of the New Testament. Paul puts it this way in 1st
Corinthians: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are
different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” It is very appropriate that Christian church buildings often contain
stained-glass windows, like the beautiful window over our altar. Because,
in a way, the Church itself is like a stained-glass window. Just as the
window is made up of many individual pieces with different sizes, shapes, and
colors, Christ’s Church is made up of individual members with different gifts,
talents, and abilities. As Paul says in Romans, “We have different gifts,
according to the grace given us.” Imagine this same stained-glass window,
but made up of identical pieces, all the same size, shape, and color. Just
as the beauty of a stained-glass window comes from the rich variety of its
individual pieces, the beauty of Christ’s Church is found in the rich variety of
its individual members. Paul expresses this another way in Romans and 1st Corinthians, when he
compares the varied members of the Church to the varied parts of a human body:
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all
have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body. . .
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole
body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has
arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are
many parts, but one body. . . Now you are the body of Christ, and each one
of you is a part of it.” “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
What are the gifts, talents, and abilities the Lord has graciously given to you
for service to him, and his Church, and your fellow man? If you’re not
using your gifts to his glory it is like a stained-glass window with a piece
missing. As Peter says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received
to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” In today’s Epistle Reading, Paul tells us why, what motivates you to
serve God with all that you are and have: “I urge you to live a life worthy of
the calling you have received.” This is the time of year that we celebrate
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, to thank our parents for all they have done for
us. Through Holy Baptism your heavenly Father made you born again as his
beloved child. That’s what motivates you to use all that you are and have
in service to him. As Paul says in 2nd Corinthians, “He died for all, that
those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him, who died for
them and rose again.” Today is the Sunday after the Ascension of our Lord, which was observed
last Thursday, when forty days after Jesus’ resurrection he was received into
the heavens where he is seated in glory at the right hand of God the Father.
But, although Jesus is no longer with us bodily, he is still at work in the
world. He is at work in the world through his Word and the Sacraments, and
he is also at work through his Church, through you and me, and the gifts he has
given us. As Paul says in today’s Epistle Reading, “When he ascended on
high . . . he gave gifts to men.” “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good.” What are the gifts, talents, and abilities the Lord
has graciously given to you for service to him, and his Church, and your fellow
man? “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve
others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
“To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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