What if Lent Could Rekindle Your Faith? Exploring the Kerygma
Life can take us on unexpected paths, and sometimes our faith journey can feel like it’s taken a detour. If you’ve found yourself distant from your faith, or if you’re simply curious about exploring it again, this Lenten season offers a gentle invitation to reconnect. These daily reflections focus on the Kerygma, the core message of Christianity – a message of love, hope, and new beginnings. We’ll be exploring eight key “Acts” of God’s story, from creation to our present call to partnership with Him. There’s no pressure, no judgment, just an invitation to consider a different perspective and perhaps rediscover a connection you thought was lost.
Act 6 of the Kerygma: The Church and the Sacraments
Theme – God’s Invitation Through Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith through the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another mighty deeds, to another prophecy, to another discernment of spirits, to another varieties of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.”
Reflection
Can you feel the gentle nudge in your heart today? It’s God, ever so lovingly, extending His hand and inviting you into a deeper embrace. Just as Paul reminds the Corinthians, God’s Spirit pours out a variety of gifts among us, not for our own glory, but for the good of all. This beautiful diversity is a testament to God’s creative love and His desire for us to be in communion with one another, each contributing our unique talents to build His kingdom.
Think about it – God doesn’t just want to be a distant figure; He yearns for an intimate connection with you. He has gifted you in specific ways, and these gifts are His way of drawing you closer, inviting you to participate in His divine work. During this season of Lent, we are particularly attuned to this invitation to conversion. It’s a time to examine how we are using the gifts God has given us. Are we using them to serve others, to build up the Body of Christ? Are we open to the ways God might be calling us to use them in new and unexpected ways?
God’s character is revealed in this passage as generous, creative, and deeply relational. He doesn’t give us gifts and then leave us on our own. He empowers us through His Spirit to use these gifts effectively. He invites us to trust in His wisdom and to step out in faith, knowing that He will work through us. This is the essence of our baptismal promises – to die to sin and rise to new life in Christ, using our gifts to love and serve God and our neighbor. Let us open our hearts to this loving invitation today and allow God’s Spirit to work powerfully through us.
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you for inviting me into Your family, for providing me with the gifts and the community to grow closer to You. Help me to accept Your invitation fully, to embrace the unity of faith, and to strive for the maturity You desire for me. Amen.
Action
Today, reach out to someone in your faith community. Offer a word of encouragement or a helping hand. Reflect on how you can contribute to the unity of the Body of Christ.
The Kerygma
When Time Allows Reflect on the Posts in Library and Musings
Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post