EPIPHANY 2C – Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11 –

17 January 2010 – A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

Offering Your Genius for the Common Good

INTRODUCTION – Part of a big wedding celebration

Imagine for a moment that you are part of a huge wedding. Not a one-day or a weekend celebration, like we tend to have in the U.S., but a Middle Eastern wedding celebration that goes on for a full week. Here’s the question: What unique gift will you bring? I’m not necessarily talking about what present you will give to the bride and groom. I’m talking about what will you bring to the celebration that is uniquely your gift, your contribution to offer? What is your unique genius, something that you do especially well - better than anyone else - that you will offer, that will be your special contribution that makes the wedding celebration that much more amazing and memorable?

Is it something musical?

Do you have the best wine collection, so that you can offer the best wine to all the guests?

Will you use your genius for writing and write something for the newlyweds that they will treasure forever?

Is your gift related to decorating, so that everything at the wedding will look amazing?

Is your gift related to hospitality, and making all the guests, along with the bride and groom, feel like royalty?

Will your gift for gardening or farming mean that the tastiest and most fresh fruits and vegetables and meats are provided for the occasion?

Will your amazing talents as a cook mean that folks will be talking about the food that was served for years and years to come?

May your giftedness at speaking in public be what you offer, or will it be your genius for spiritual insights and sharing with others how you see God present in the festivities?

Will your gift for arranging flowers be the special thing that you provide?

Will your artistic talent come to play in the invitations that are sent out, or in some original piece of artwork that is given to the couple?

Will your gift for thoughtfulness and creativity come into play, so that some new wrinkle is unveiled at this wedding that no one else would have ever thought of?

Will your genius at appreciating others come into play, so that, by the time the celebration ends, each person knows that what they contributed was something essential and lovely?

How will your genius for being generous be made manifest? Will you foot the bill for an orchestra and a reception hall that the couple and their parents would never have been able to afford?

Will you bring your amazing servant’s heart, and jump in and do all the little things that need to be done, so that the week goes smoothly for everyone?

Will it be your unique gift to be really present to those who others tend to overlook – the elderly person sitting in a corner; the child who is a little different; the adult who is not married yet, and is wondering if that day will every come for him or for her; the person who wants to celebrate but is still mourning the loss of a loved one who recently died?

What will it be? What is your genius that you will offer at this wedding?

SOME WORDS FROM PAUL

There was some serious division and conflict going on in the new Christian church in Corinth, and a lot of it had to do with people thinking that their spiritual gifts were better than the gifts of some others in the congregation. “I can speak in tongues and you can’t! I am way more spiritual than you are! You obviously don’t have as special a relationship with Christ as I do!” Isn’t it interesting how we can turn everything into a competition, with winners and losers? Isn’t it interesting how we can spend so much time looking around and comparing ourselves to others, and – surprise, surprise! – when we do that, we either go to a place of feeling superior, or go to a place of feeling less than or even worthless. And you know what? Either place is a really yucky place!

Paul wrote these words to the Christians at Corinth:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:4-7) He continues: “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed the body does not consist of one member but many… Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Cor. 12:13-14, 27)

They may have not been acting like the body of Christ, but he reminded them that they nevertheless were the body of Christ. Each of them was important. Each of them was given the manifestation of the Spirit – and here’s the key – for the common good.

When each of us does our part… when each of us shares our unique genius for the good of the body… when each of allows the Spirit to work in us and through us in ways that bring out our most creative energies… well, miracles happen.

CLAIMING OUR GENIUS

I’d like you to pair off with someone nearby for a couple of minutes, preferably someone who is not in your family, preferably someone who you don’t know as well, and share with each other by completing this sentence:

Two gifts which I offer this community, which are part of my genius, are:

If you are basically brand-new to this community, that’s great! You can complete this statement: Two gifts which I could offer this community, which are part of my genus, are:

Say a few words about each of your gifts, so that your listener can really appreciate those gifts in you. And then trade off, so the other person can share.

At the end, take a moment to thank God, and to thank each other, for those gifts, for the unique genius that each of you have.

A RESPONSE TO THE NEED IN HAITI

I’d like to give you one more thing to think about, now that you’ve had a chance to claim your genius. My guess is that you bring that genius with you wherever you go. If you don’t, you might want to think about what is holding you back.

But here’s a final thought to leave you with: As you know, on Tuesday, Haiti – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – was rocked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Haiti is a mess right now, and needs our help.

Think about your unique gifts again, your unique genius. And sit with this question: how will I offer my unique genius to the people of Haiti? It may involve getting out your checkbook or your credit card, but it may very well also involve something way more creative than that. Maybe you’ll write someone. Maybe you’ll take someone to lunch who has relatives in Haiti, and just listen to them for a while. It could be anything.

Sometimes when big, horrible things happen, we wonder, what can I do? We can all do something – for the common good. For we all have been given the manifestation of the Spirit – for the common good. The answer to the question – What can I do? – comes when you sit for a little while and remember what your gifts are, and what your unique genius is. And when you let your response come out of your genius… that, my friends, is called faithfulness. And it’s also called doing your part in the body of Christ.

Praise be to God for your unique genius. And thank you for offering it, for the common good. Thanks for your faithfulness, and for the special part that you play in the body of Christ, and in this community.