Nehemiah 8:7-8. "Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. And they read from the book, from the law of God, clearly; and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading."

The Jews are rebuilding Jerusalem, the temple, and the wall as they return from exile. In the seventh month, eager to re-learn their heritage and hear God's word again in their homeland, they gather "as one man into the square before the Water Gate" (Nehemiah 8:1), and Ezra the priest brings forth the Book of the Law of Moses and begins to read (Nehemiah 8:2-3). As he does, all of the listed men explain the readings to the people, making sense of it all, while the people remain in their places, listening attentively.

We all have different charisms and each of us has his or her own unique mission. One charism is being modeled here - the ability to understand and explain God's Word, especially to those who have never heard it, or have not heard it in a long time. The men explaining the law Ezra read to the people "got" it, they understood it, and were able to make sense of it to the people. The Holy Spirit was working in them. The people were doing their part, too. They realized the solemnity and meaning of the situation and listened attentatively, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in them, as well. This is how God shares His message to us, through people who can explain, and through our willingness to listen.

We are currently in what my Archbishop calls an Apostolic time, as the culture has become decidedly "post-Christian". "We are living in times more like the earliest Christians—times when many are living without Christ. Many Catholics have drifted away or been driven away from the practice of the faith, creating a challenging landscape", he writes. In these times, our mission becomes to be sharers of the Good News with others, many of whom have never heard it, or haven't heard it in a long time. This sharing can be done in many ways, again, each of us has our own charism. But if we have the ability to explain the Word, to make sense of it to people who might not otherwise understand it, we are to use that ability. Even though at first I was timid about doing this, I now see that people are thirsting for God's Word, often without knowing it until they hear it. Then they sit and listen, sometimes despite themselves, caught by the beauty and truth of it. I have seen amazing things happen when I share the Word with people!

The title of this post can apply to anything. Any gift we get from God is meant to be shared. If that gift is an ability to teach and explain God's Word, then these Levites are role models for that mission, a mission anyone with that gift is called to carry out.