Nothing could be more direct, nothing clearer - we have our directions - simple and straightforward, clear and concise, our directions directly from God relayed to us though the Apostle Paul: what we as a Church, as a Parish, as the People of God, as individual Christians are to aim for, and attain: "Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ... Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."

(Ephesians 4:11-)

Breathtaking. And, I guess, inarguable. There it is. The plan, the purpose, the reason for our lives, and the point of our faith.

The goals are specified - unity of the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, maturity, achieving the stature of the fullness of Christ, and growing up - in every way - into Christ.

The means by which we are to do this are specified - we are to equip each other for the work of ministry, we are to build up the Body of Christ, and we are to speak the truth in love.

And the wherewithal by means of which we do these things, and how we are to achieve those goals, is also specified, though here the list is short - indeed, there is no list at. Grace. Grace, which was given to you, given to each of us. And this grace is not some fuzzy, vague surrounding sweetness and peace, it is a series of specific, identifiable, verifiable gifts. Gifts we all have, each and every one of us, but gifts that vary, gifts that are different for different folks. None better than any other - St. Paul makes that very, very clear, none more needed or more appreciated or more rewarded or more honored. Different, but all equal, all vital, all needed, all given as a gift to be used by us, our gifts, through his grace, which is, itself, the greatest gift of all.

And his gifts were, Paul declares, that some, not all, some, should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers.

Not an exhaustive list, not very long or very inclusive or much varied, you say? All the gifts we might assume we need, or we have, or we want, or we can see are sufficient and required are not all listed there. Well, I think they are, these are major, major groupings of gifts, and each contains such a wealth of more specific gifts, that it really does pretty much? run the gamut, cover the waterfront of all the manifold gifts we, and those around us and with us, could have, and all the gifts the Church and the world need.

Healer? Comforter? Visitor? Advocate? All are aspects of the a pastor, being "pastoral" to each other. Justice? Social service? Social witness? Social activism? Calling for equality and inclusion and compassion? All are part and parcel of being a true prophet. Organizing? Leading? Facilitating? Directing? Supervising? Al? are aspects of the Ministry and the gift of being an Apostle. Church Growth? Leading a life worthy of the calling to which we are called? Setting a moral example? Living exemplary and reputable lives of decency and honor and compassion? All aspects of being an effective evangelist, someone who will bring souls to Christ, who will so model Christian behavior that people will see and notice and be attracted and inspired and encouraged. And surely, no one who has ever taught, in classrooms, in Sunday School, who has taught you own children and grandchildren, can doubt the huge amount that makes up the definition of Teacher, all the talents and activities and demands and requirements that make up that Ministry, that gift of grace. Such wisdom, patience, modesty, sensitivity, awareness, consistency, and adaptability are assumed and included in that over-arching category - Teacher.

So all gifts, of whatever nature or level or expertise, are all included, all intended, assumed and expressed in that short-hand list that may seem at first brief and narrow. Whatever work we do, or feel, or hope to? or might are in that list somewhere, that list that St. Paul says makes up the full description of all the gifts given to us by grace? Gifts given to us for the work we are to do, the care we are to show, the success we are to have, the life we are to live, the faith we are to hold and champion and expand - until we until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ until we all grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."

What we need to do, at this point in our life as a parish, and probably in our own lives each day of those lives, is to discern what our gifts are, how we can offer them, where and in what format, and with whom and for whom. We do not need to decide if we have gifts, we do - to doubt that is to doubt Grace, and to doubt Grace is to disbelieve and despair. We are not to wonder if our gifts are different, very different from others people's, they are and are designed to be by God = these gifts we have are peculiar to us, characteristic of us, as they are supposed to be and were intended to be by the wisdom and love of God in Christ.

If we do not decide what are gifts are, what do we do? Well, our part is to discern what our gifts are. We do not decide what gifts, we are to see what gifts we have, to realize what our these gifts are that were given to us by Grace, by God. They are there, they are to be discerned, not decided, since God has already done the deciding.

Discernment has an old, maybe even archaic ring to it. To be sure to discern good and bad, to have a wise and discerning heart and mind are seen as wonderful and precious. But we may get a little uneasy, a little queasy when we use discernment as an active verb, a busy, robust verb, vital and involved, thorough. We may be self-conscious about even acknowledging, much less pursuing a process that asks us to pray, and reflect, and consult thought conversations and advice from friends what our god-given gifts are. If you feel awkward with the word and concept Discernment, substitute Discovery - works just as well!

God has decided what gifts we have, he gave them in the first place. And he asks us only to discern what those gifts are, what our gifts are, and having "discovered" them, he expects us to use them faithfully and well, "for equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, for attaining unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, for reaching the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."