“Swords, Lightsabers, and Mighty Deeds”
by Rachael Flanagan, Fiat Ventures
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Growing up, I was always obsessed with stories involving epic fantasy. Narnia. Harry Potter. Star Wars. Lord of the Rings. When I opened these books, I could drop into an outlandish world with an underlying presence of magic and surging power. The characters were always going on quests, entering into battles or engaging in secret, dangerous missions accompanied by a few choice weapons and daring companions.
The main characters in these stories have many things in common. They all start out living ordinary, boring lives (living with relatives/working on a moisture farm/reading books in the woods) until a character from outside of their world breaks into the story and offers to take them on an adventure. The hero initially denies the offer, then reconsiders and inevitably accepts. The hero meets a mentor (called Aslan/Dumbledore/Yoda/Gandalf) who trains the hero in the art of combat/magic/the force. The excitement of learning about a new universe more grand and exciting than the character had ever realized is dimmed when he or she learns about a great darkness that exists, which puts the world/universe in grave danger.
At a certain point, each character receives a unique gift from the mighty mentor. Harry gets his wand. Frodo gets “Sting.” Peter receives a sword, Susan a bow and arrow, Lucy a bottle of magic cordial. Luke gets a lightsaber. The gift is used to increase the hero’s power and skill. It is a weapon, but it also enables the hero to discover more about himself – hidden strength, courage in the face of danger, power that had yet to be developed. The gift allows the character to become the hero she was created (by the author) to be. Each character uses their gift in their own unique mission, and in the end…to face the ultimate enemy in a showdown of good verses evil.
In the second reading at Mass this week, we hear about an underlying, surging power that exists in our real world, Who calls us to the service of good and provides powerful gifts. The scripture reveals that this power comes from God, and He is at work in epic ways. “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom, to another…faith by the same Spirit; to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit.” We should wake up in the pews this Sunday to realize that someone from outside of our world is breaking into our normal (sometimes boring) lives and is calling us on a real adventure, a life-long quest, to be part of the giant fellowship of the people of God. This person is an actual King named Jesus who is calling us to do real, spiritual battle against the dark enemy (Satan) who really threatens the eternal life of every person in the world.
And we hear from the scripture passage that He is giving each one of us a different gift. For some, it’s mighty deeds. For others, it’s prophecy; others the discernment of spirits. And the list doesn’t end there.
God has unique gifts to give you, and if you exercise these gifts, they can help you become the hero you were created to be. What are your gifts? Maybe you can’t speak in tongues, but you have gifts of healing because you can listen to your friends’ problems for hours on end, and give comforting words and good advice. Maybe God has given you powerful athletic or musical ability and has equipped you to do “mighty deeds” with your talent. Maybe God has given you a great mind and the ability to think deeply about God and teach others to understand as well.
Your gifts won’t look like the gifts of the person next to you, “but one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.” If you haven’t already, find out which gifts you have been given, exercise these gifts to grow stronger, and make sure to use them in the service to the King.
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