Wednesday, December 31, 2014

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

..my true love gave to me....

SEVEN swans a-swimming
     six geese a-laying..
         FIVE golden rings
             four calling birds
                 three French hens
                      two turtledoves
                          and a partridge in a pear tree


SEVEN.. for the gifts of the Holy Spirit...  There is some debate about the actual number of gifts from a couple of sources in the New Testament letters.. so I go all the way back to Isaiah 11:2-3a, where the gifts are applied to "the root of Jesse" in the foretelling of Jesus' coming..(which is 6.. and piety was added later)

"The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD."
                  from NABRE

1.  Wisdom
2.  Understanding
3.  Counsel
4.  Fortitude  
5.  Knowledge
6.  Piety
7.  Fear of the Lord

Gifts of the Holy Spirit.....  in a sense, they are internal 'gifts' or abilities, to recognize the abstract qualities of our lives.... things that are not tangible..  things we cannot see.....  Qualities of life that require some faith!  Christians believe these gifts are bestowed in Baptism.

Wisdom, understanding and knowledge often confuse me.   Aren't they the same said three ways?

No....  wisdom is an inner life-sense of valuing faith.  Understanding allows us some comprehension of the workings of the universe, a limited comprehension of what we believe in.  And knowledge, well, knowledge gives us a broader perspective.  With knowledge, sometimes we can grasp a "God" view of a situation rather than our own limited personal...  humanly logical... view.

Counsel doesn't mean you give advice..... counsel means you can receive it!  That little inner voice - maybe you call it conscience or a hunch - I call it the Holy Spirit... THAT is counsel.  You have it already - do you listen to it enough to live according to your beliefs?

Fortitude - or strength - is a gift that allows you to be strong enough to live according to your belief system.

Fear of the Lord..... not fear like being afraid!  Fear, like respect.... of parents, of authority.  We want to do the right thing to please God.  We know already that God loves us.  We are not in charge of life itself.  We can pretend to be in control - but knowing TRUTH means we know we are NOT in control of much of anything.

Piety is a good addition.  It doesn't need to be in Isaiah because he was foretelling the coming of the Messiah - and we are NOT IT.  Piety adds a good dose of humility to the picture.  We have the gift of recognizing that we are not in control - of giving that control to God.  Willingly.... trustingly....  piety helps us have faith.


Dear God,
   Sometimes life is way too hard for me.  I just don't get it.  Why are things so confusing?

    When Jesus rose into heaven on Pentecost, he promised we wouldn't be left alone.  The Holy Spirit fulfills this promise.  These gifts we received allow us some measure of peace.... IF we allow it.

    I am grateful for these gifts you have given me, even though I don't really understand them.  How can I?  Please help me accept them, help me believe in them, and help me use them daily as I confront the material world I live in!

     The gifts are all about helping me be a better person with a greater understanding and love of you.  Help me go there.
  Amen.

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