THE SAFE USE OF CHARISMATIC GIFTS

THURSDAY, FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Heb 3:7-14; Ps 95:6-11; Mk 1:40-45

Safety in the use of God’s Gifts

We have reflected on the authority and power of God that flow into our nature through the Incarnation of the Eternal Word and how the same authority and power become ours when we profess faith in the Son of Man and follow him attentively in his life and teaching. The authority and power from Jesus Christ grow in us as we grow in our faith and conformity to his life and teaching, for by so doing, he comes to live in us through his Spirit from whom we draw spiritual life and inspiration. There is also a complementary means through which we receive and exercise the power of God; this is through the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us gratuitously. Every gift of God is free, for we can never merit the heavenly gifts he gives us; above all, the salvation he gives us in his Son Jesus Christ. The charismatic gifts that God gives us through the Holy Spirit are comparable to the potencies or powers we see in natural things, for example, plants; God endowed these plants with natural powers for the good of human beings. Every natural thing has its natural power, with which it contributes to the well-being of the community of living things.

These natural potencies can be compared to the different charismatic gifts we receive from God for use in the Church, for the building up of the Body of Christ. Just as each natural thing God made has its contribution to the well-being of the created things, each of the gifts God gives his people is for building up the Christian community and furthering the coming of the kingdom of God on earth. As the potencies of natural things can be used wrongly or harmfully, charismatic gifts can also be put to vicious use, which diminishes the community. Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, God places his authority and power at the disposal of an individual Christian for the good of the Church, which he can put to wrong or harmful use. We misuse the gifts when we remove our attention from Jesus Christ and focus on ourselves and creatures. It is about this inattentiveness and hardening of the heart that Hebrews warns us against. “Take care, brothers, that there is not in any one of your community a wicked mind, so unbelieving as to turn away from the living God.” The danger of falling away from Jesus Christ with these gifts is the temptation it poses for many unwary Christians who wrongly consider these gifts as a sign of God’s presence with the possessor. As the scriptures confirm, God does not revoke these gifts once given to us. We keep encouraging one another to remain focussed on Christ for this reason. “Every day, as long as this ‘today’ lasts, keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of sin because we shall remain co-heirs with Christ only if we keep a grasp on our first confidence right to the end.”

These charismatic gifts do not purify us from sin; only our faith in Jesus Christ purifies and admits us into his Body, the Church. God can work through us by these gifts which he does not revoke even when we have fallen into sin, but he would not make his home in a sinful life or soul. Hence, our sanctification and salvation do not come through the use of these gifts. Though good and faithful use of them can contribute to our merit, it is only through our continuous and humble submission of ourselves to Jesus Christ for his mercy and healing as the leper did in the Gospel, that we gain salvation. “A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured.” Like Jesus, we must use these gifts to extend the kingdom of God on earth. Understanding the danger associated with the exercise of God’s authority and power in charismatic gifts when it is not complemented with faith and focus on Jesus, through which we are united with Christ, we must daily pray for the grace to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith. Our salvation is in making progress into the mystery of Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit as our guide and counsellor. “O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’”

Let us pray: Attend to the prayers of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.