Hidden Gifts
Although it’s the month of June, I am opening up with a Christmas illustration. Back when I was growing up Christmas, as you might expect, was a big deal for us Foote kids. And although I was a fledgling Christian who would eventually become a pastor, the celebration of the birth of Christ was probably not the foremost thing on my mind as Christmas approached. Like many kids, my expectation was to see those gifts underneath a tree that had my name on them. As the years passed, we discovered that those gifts were oftentimes harbored in mom and dad’s closet. And in our more sinister moments we would venture in there looking for gifts that might possibly be ours. The potential dilemma that this created was if we saw a gift that we liked, we weren’t always sure that it was going to end up being a gift we received, after all, there were 5 Foote children running around, close enough in age that many of the gifts could’ve been equally distributed to any of us.
As an adult and a pastor, I don’t think I have shaken this practice of looking for hidden gifts. And quite often I’m surprised to find out where those gifts reside – they’re not always with the people that I would expect.
This year the month of June takes in three
Christian celebrations the Ascension of our Lord, the
Festival of Pentecost (celebrating the sending of the
Holy Spirit and with His gifts), and the Festival 
of the
Holy Trinity (Holy Trinity Sunday). In a way each of
these festivals has a lot to do with the distribution of
Gods gifts.
The Ascension of Jesus occurred in the village of Bethany, right outside of Jerusalem. The expectation of Jesus disciples was that He would walk right down into Jerusalem and show those men who crucified Him, who was boss! It seemed like the perfect time. But this was not God’s plan, instead Jesus would ascended to heaven and it would be His disciples who would take the lead and bear witness to the resurrection. Jesus’ answer to His disciples was, but you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. In my Bible I have the words but you underlined.
When it comes to receiving the gifts of forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit, and faith, its all about God. But when it comes to exercising that faith and living out what we believe, it is a cooperative experience between the Holy Spirit and each one of us. In order to do this, God has gifted us with spiritual gifts. I am constantly amazed at the wonderful gifts that we have in the people at Trinity Lutheran Church. Recently I was interviewed by one of our youth (a 6th grader), who planned on showing the videotaped interview to his classmates at school. He was a gifted interviewer, but after the interview. He got out a guitar and played beautifully! You can expect to hear him in church soon. But the unseen guest in the interview was his teacher, (who is also a member here at Trinity). Using the public high school curriculum she was able to -- at the same time -- challenge the students to think about eternal things in a creative way … that’s what led to the interview; and hopefully, those kids will be exposed to the Gospel. The Gospel is something they may have never heard before. That’s a true liberal (freeing) education.
Even after 14 years of ministry at Trinity, I’m still discovering new gifts that God has decided to give His people which He has assembled here at Trinity; a wonderfully gifted group of people. What’s your gift(s)?
When people are trying to figure out their gifts, I usually ask them, “What do you like to do?” Usually our gifts are the very same things that we enjoy doing. And I am almost certain that whatever you enjoy doing, has a ministry application. If we don’t have a ministry that fits with your gifts, then think about creating one that fits with your gifts!
Vacation Bible school is quickly approaching. VBS is a most powerful time when we really see God’s Holy Spirit working through his people. This year more than ever, we are going to need to access all of the gifts of God’s people in order to carry off an effective Vacation Bible School. Last year we had 160 kids; and this year we can anticipate just as many. But honestly, as it appears right now we are a little short on help. If you have never participated in a VBS, consider participating this year. We’ll take one day, or even one hour.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Foote
