EPIPHANY 2

                        January 17, 2010

the Rev. Ken Kroohs

(Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; I Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11)

GOD WANTS YOU TO BE YOU

St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, High Point, NC

MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH ... AND THE MEDITATIONS OF ALL OUR HEARTS ... BE ALWAYS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU --- OUR STRENGTH AND OUR REDEEMER AMEN

    I have never found a better description of St. Paul’s purpose in writing about spiritual gifts than this one: we are inspired by a profound belief that you are uniquely created by God and endowed with talents and gifts that are yours and yours alone ---- and that the discovery and development of these talents is key to your well-being. God wants you to be you — not somebody else, but you.

    What an encouraging - joyful statement. God wants you to be you, not someone else. God wants you to be happy, satisfied with your life ... God wants you to be energized and excited. God wants you to get up in the morning excited about being alive ... excited about being part of God’s team. .... Or at least feel that way after you have your coffee!

    If that describes your feelings a lot of the time, congratulations! Wonderful! Isn’t it great?

    Or another question is about how do you feel at night? As you go to sleep? Do you think “This has been a pretty good day God?” ... Do you possibly go to sleep tired, with that deep sense of satisfaction?

    Understand neither feeling is likely to happen all the time. I frequently think at night “This has not been a great day God.”

    Although waking up excited or going to sleep satisfied does not happen every day, a reasonable question is: “How often does either happen?”

    Let’s look a little deeper into that opening statement. Maybe the most surprising word and the one we so quickly overlook is “discovery” – the “discovery of your talents”.

    Don’t you know your talents? What is there still to discover? If we were to do some form of psychology test is it likely you would discover you are really a concert pianist but never knew it?

    That’s unlikely. It is unlikely we would discover there is something we are greatly talented at that we never knew. Possible, but not likely.

    So possibly a better word would be “acknowledgment”. To acknowledge our talents. That is much more likely. Or it might be to “focus on” our talents. We may be aware we are good at and enjoy something, but we never thought of it as a gift from God, a way to serve God, a way to glorify God. A way for us to become happier, more satisfied with our lives.

    To acknowledge and focus on what God has provided to us ... and how that can be used.

    The book uses the word “strengths”. At first I thought the authors, even though two are clergy, were going away from St. Paul’s ideas. But I soon discovered they were using the word ‘strengths’ to cover our God given gifts or talents, our experiences and our training. Together they create the strengths we have to offer to God. The strengths we have to serve God. The strengths which will result in us having that feeling of excitement at the beginning of the day and satisfaction at the end of the day.

    We might be an extremely gifted and talent pianist but if we never see a piano, never heard a concert, never have a lesson than it is very unlikely we will become a concert pianist. The gifts God gives us must be used in, and for, community.

    Paul says it in the phrase “manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” .... The “common good” part is discussed frequently but what about the “manifestation of the spirit?” .... What Paul is saying ... and this is amazing ... Paul is saying that in our gifts or talents we have received a portion of God’s skills or abilities. That God is manifested or made known in us when we show those gifts and talents. More importantly, God is made known when through our strengths – gifts, talents, training, experience – we serve the community.

    When the doctor helps the patient ... the doctor is using what God has provided .. a portion of God if you will ... what God has provided to serve the patient.

    When we offer food to the homeless or a ride to a family, we are offering to share that portion of our life that God provided. We probably don’t want to be this dramatic but when told ‘thank you’ the perfectly accurate response is “the glory goes to God’.

    As we go through our worship services notice how often we say something about doing it all for God’s glory. Not our glory, but God’s. Not because we are so humble but because what we have to offer is a manifestation of God. And those strengths are given to us, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of those who receive them.

    When we do something that makes other people happy – we feel the greatest joy and satisfaction. When we do something that helps another person in a way God would appreciate – we get an extra sense of joy and satisfaction.

    Another point to ponder which we usually skip over, is the end of this passage: “Holy Spirit who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”

    This is not about some arbitrary or random action by God. When Paul says “as the Spirit chooses” we can get the impression of a small child having fun handing out presents!

    No, I think if we read all that Paul says it suggests that the Spirit allots the strengths as needed by the community. We are given strengths not because there are a few extra in the heavenly closet, but because the community — the people around us — need them.

    Paul actually has a more than one list of spiritual gifts which suggests to me he is focusing on the community to receive that particular letter. Furthermore, many of Paul’s letters, and especially the Corinthian letters, are obviously intended to answer specific questions or issues which have arisen.

    Last week I mentioned losing a good friend because he said I could not be a Christian if I did not speak in tongues. I found great solice in both first and second Corinthians where Paul stresses that the various gifts are not prioritized in such a manner. Furthermore, no one person has them all.

    We should not envy others, or denigrate others because their strengths are different from ours. Instead we should be anxious to seek out people with other gifts and find out how our’s can mesh with their’s.

    I have long been fascinated by the Servant Leadership School teachings. There are brochures in the narthex (lobby) about the school in Greensboro. One part that absolutely impresses me is the concept that you should not start a project until you have identified the strengths necessary to make that activity successful, and then assemble a team with that mix.

    When I do spiritual gifts identification workshops I often ask people to talk about some project or activity that has failed. Then we identify what strengths were missing.

    So assuming someone is interested in better understanding what God has given them, their strengths, and how God would like them to use those strengths – where do we go from here? We can begin by looking at the Baptismal covenant when we all promise God – vow to God we will: proclaim by word and example the good news ... seek and serve Christ in all persons ... strive for justice and peace among all people.

    But like learning to use our God give talents, how can learn better to fulfill our vows? Few suggestions – the Servant Leadership School I mentioned is great. In mid-April there will be a “Cursillo” weekend offered. It began in Spain so some of the Spanish words are still used. The full title translates something like: “A graduate course in Christianity” — how do we live out the Christianity we want to be part of?

    Starting in May we will offer a series based on the book I have been quoting: Living your strengths – An opportunity to not only discover – acknowledge your strengths but also to focus on how to apply those strengths.

    On a somewhat more personal level we will soon re-focus on small groups that help us be accountable – to reflect on our life and be accountable to our friends, and ourselves, on whether we are following our own plan.

    Very personally, many people have found having a single person to speak to on a regular basis helpful – a priest or layperson. This can be called “spiritual direction” although I prefer “spiritual mentoring”.

    None of this is contradictory – in other words any one or combination of them could be extremely helpful to lead us to using our strengths.

    I will end with a story that easily could be happening in Haiti today. The story goes that the person is in a refugee camp, starving – yet keeps telling people “God loves us. God will provide.” Finally this person is clearly on their deathbed and is asked: “What do you think about God now?” The person answers: “God loves us. God provided what we need. Unfortunately the person God told to deliver it never responded.”

    May we always use our strengths to respond to God’s instructions.

             AMEN

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