Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

There are celebrations throughout the church year that happen on days other than Sundays.  In preparation for Staff Meeting devotions this week, I realized that this is a week that celebrates community in the early church.  January 25 is the celebration of the Conversion of St. Paul. January 26 is the commemoration of Timothy, Silas and Titus, missionaries, and January 27 is the commemoration of Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, witnesses to the faith.

1 Corinthians 12:4–12

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
¹²For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

As I read about the Conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus, the Commemoration of Timothy, Titus and Silas, missionaries, and the commemoration of Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, Witnesses to the Faith, I was struck by how Paul, following his conversion on the road to Damascus, ended up gathering around him, and taking with him, people with such varied gifts.  Timothy traveled with Paul on his second missionary journey, and was commissioned by Paul to go to Ephesus.  Titus accompanied Paul to the council of Jerusalem; both of these men then became bishops.  Silas was imprisoned with Paul at Philippi, and they were delivered by an earthquake, and they baptized the jailer and his family. After they were released from jail, they went to stay with Lydia.

Lydia was a seller of purple cloth, very expensive, who had been converted, and had offered her home to Paul and his companions.  They seem to have stayed at her home several times.  So she is known for her faith and her hospitality.  Dorcas, or Tabitha, was known for her compassion in making clothes, especially for poor widows.  Phoebe was a deacon in the church at Cenchreae, who took great care of people in the church, and is looked to as a role model by the Deaconesses and Diaconal ministers.  They were all a part of a community, but probably rarely, if ever, were all in the same place at the same time.

Sometimes Paul noticed the gifts of others, and invited them to come with him.  Other times, as in Lydia’s case, she noticed Paul and his coworkers, and offered to help.  So it is with each of us, as we have been gathered together with our various skills.   We bring our strengths and our individual needs to our ministry, and must cooperate to help each other.  Always we are blessed when we can help others. We will be even more blessed as we invite others into ministry with us.   Last Sunday afternoon, four members of OWLS joined Pastor Jeff and me in a worship service at Beaumont.  Undoubtedly, they were blessed, just as they were a blessing to the residents they encountered at worship.

PRAYER: O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the gospel to shine throughout the world.   Grant that we may follow his example and, like Timothy, Silas, Titus, Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, use our varied gifts to witness to the truth of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

May you be blessed as you share Ministry in your daily life!

Bess Sproul