2nd Sunday after Epiphany

3 ½ weeks. That’s how long my parents-in-law usually stay when they come to visit. Some people roll their eyes when I tell them that they’ll be here that long. And, admittedly, there are times when I roll my eyes, too. Sometimes multiple times in one day.

It helps that my parents-in-law and I get along well. I love my parents-in-law. And not in the same way that I love, say, Miles Davis or a good cigar on a warm afternoon. I really do love them, with genuine affection. And I love my wife, which is part of the reason that I’m willing to put up with my parents-in-law for 3 ½ weeks. Most of the time it’s a pleasure, sometimes it’s a putting-up-with. But they are some of the kindest, most generous and caring people I know.

Having company for that long, family or not, can be a challenge. It forces you to rethink some things. It challenges you to adopt a new perspective. What it really does is to teach you about what it means to be family. It teaches you what it means to take it seriously when you say that you’re in relationship with someone; that you’re in community with them.

Of course, there was a time when this was not so unusual. There was a time when it was not unusual to have three generations of the same family living under the same roof. My grandfather grew up that way, as did my mother. You still find that on occasion, but it’s far from the norm.

We exist in community with one another. And that means that we need to observe certain rules. The most basic of these rules is that we do not exist by ourselves. We don’t live in a vacuum. Our actions have an effect upon others and, therefore, the community as a whole. Sometimes those effects are intentional and sometimes they’re not.

Now take, for example, garlic. It’s not as much of a jump in logic as it might first appear to be. We love garlic in our family. In our kitchen the rule is all things in moderation, except garlic. I put it in everything, and I’m never stingy with it. In fact, I can even get a little out of hand with it sometimes. But it’s good for you, so it’s OK. It lowers your bad cholesterol and it’s full of antioxidants!

We’re all fans of garlic in our family. But my parents-in-law? Not so much. And so, during the times when my in-laws are with us, the meals are somewhat less “zesty”, shall we say. Do I dispense with garlic entirely? No. But I do cut back. I recognize that feeding two extra people, increasing the size of our little home community by two for an extended period of time, means that I am called to change the way I do things. I don’t insist that it’s my way or the highway. Because that’s what it means to live in community. It means, at times, placing the needs of the community above your desire for yourself. For the sake of the others involved. For the sake of the community itself.

We do not exist for our own sake. Nothing which God creates, exists for her, his, or its own sake. Not even God’s own people exist for their own sake. Time and again we’re told that Israel exists that they might be a light to the nations. That all people might see, not the power and grandeur of Israel, but the wisdom and grace of God. Isaiah writes: “The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” (Isaiah 62:2-3) Even Israel’s salvation and vindication serve not to glorify Israel, but to glorify God. The shining beauty of Israel’s redemption serves only to point to God. And not just for Israel’s sake, but for the sake of the world.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 36: “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Two things are made clear by that. First: God’s love is not for a select few. God’s love is for all people. Second: We don’t have to worry about God running short. “All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” Psalm 36:8

What Isaiah and the psalmist make clear for us in theory, Paul demonstrates in practice. If you want to know what this boils down to for you in your day-to-day life, this is it: “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 of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:4 And then Paul goes on to run through a list of spiritual gifts. A list, by the way, which is by no means exhaustive.

Paul’s list includes nine spiritual gifts. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you don’t feel that you happen to fall within one of those nine, that you’re somehow off the hook. Nothing could be further from the truth! By no means!! “All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” Do you really think that God would only be able to come up with nine spiritual gifts??

The promise of God’s abundance and the needs of the community have a shared nexus. And it’s right here. It’s us. We are the point of balance between the needs of the community and God’s abundant gifts. Everybody has something to offer! Everybody has some garlic in them! Everybody has something that gives them zest! Everyone has gifts of the spirit that make life delicious and exciting! But when we think that those gifts have no role to play in the life of the church… When we think that those gifts have no role to play in the lives of other people… …and that God gives us those gifts purely for our own enjoyment… Well then all we taste is garlic!! I love garlic! But it’s not the only thing I want to eat every single day.

If we’re going to call ourselves Christians, or believers, or followers of Jesus; then we need to realize that we exist for the sake of something greater than ourselves. We exist for the sake of this community right here in the greater Woodbine Metro Region. And Calvary exists not for its own sake, but for the sake of the corners of Carroll, Howard, Frederick, and Montgomery Counties in which we find ourselves. And further, we exist as a part of and for the sake of the Kingdom of God. We exist to be a place where the realities of the Kingdom of God already take shape. A place where the marks of the Kingdom of God: Abundant Love, Abundant Equality, Abundant Grace, and Abundant Justice, are readily apparent! But it can only happen if we bring ourselves and our gifts to the table.

I don’t know what everyone’s gifts are, but I do know why we have them. And it’s not just so that we can sit at home and make lists of them and feel impressed with ourselves! The gifts of the spirit, the manifestations of God’s grace in our lives, don’t exist simply for our sake. Again, as Paul writes: “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 of the Spirit for the common good.” We receive gifts from the Spirit so that they can be used for the benefit of others.

The idea of living generously embraces so many things. It goes beyond money. Yes, that’s one part of it, because our financial resources are one of the gifts that God has given us. But note what I said there: one of the gifts that God has given us. Generosity is a life-concept: it’s how we responsibly and faithfully use our lives and everything that our lives encompass. The challenge for us is to open ourselves up to the power of the Holy Spirit: To lay our gifts on the table and to say to God, “OK. Here I am, with all that I am. Help me to use these gifts for the good of those around me.”

That’s the real challenge of living out of God’s abundance. The challenge is realizing that abundance is never just about you and God, alone. Ultimately, it’s about restoration. Restoring relationship with those who have been rejected. Restoring the abandoned to community. Restoring life, to those thought to be lost. God’s abundance of gifts can never be considered an individual matter. It’s not just that God’s gifts are not ours to keep.

God’s abundance demands a reorientation of our way of being in the world. Abundance is known in relationship. Abundance cannot be realized unless it is experienced in relationship with others -- and fundamentally, with God. We do not receive God’s abundance for its own sake. And we certainly don’t receive it for our sake alone. We receive from God’s abundance so that we can address the needs of others. And we do that by giving it away. Bringing God’s abundance to bear upon the poverty of the world through our generosity. Through the ministry to which God calls us, both individually and congregationally. When we learn to do that, we learn what it means to follow Christ. We learn what it means to be Christ-like, seeing past our desires for ourselves. Seeing the deeper needs of the world around us. And realizing that, with God’s power, we can make a difference.  AMEN