It was an amazing celebration -- a day unlike any I have ever experienced before. It was filled with love and joy, wonder and worship, food and dancing. And did I mention the love? I am, of course, talking about our wedding and the reception which followed. Many of you were there. Others have already heard some of the stories. In the eight days since then my head is still spinning and I still haven’t come up with adequate words to even begin describing it. But one word does come close -- community! On January 24, 2004, many of us caught at least a glimpse of what true community looks like. It was family and friends travelling thousands of miles and braving slick, snow-covered roads to be a part of the festivities, because something important was happening. It was an army of willing volunteers who pitched in to help with everything from loading and unloading the borrowed tables and chairs to shovelling the walks to making the punch and everything in between. It was three tables full of food -- potluck, not catered -- to feed the 160 people who gathered to help us celebrate. To modify a popular saying, “It takes a village to marry a couple.” We literally could not have done it without everyone’s support and everyone’s help. Community is more than just a fringe benefit. It is at the very heart of what it means to be human.

The Apostle Paul understood this reality when he wrote to the church at Corinth. That particular group of new Christians had more than its fair share of problems, and chief among them was their divisiveness. Everyone tended to look out for Number One. They seemed to believe that they could do it all and didn’t really need anyone else. So Paul wrote to them about his vision for the Church. The image he uses is The Body of Christ. The idea behind this image is community. We are literally the extension of God’s presence in the world, but for that presence to be fully manifest and fully realized requires all of us. We each have gifts, and they are not the same. When we join together and contribute freely of what we have to offer the whole becomes far greater than the sum of the parts. Indeed, what becomes visible and recognizable is nothing less than the presence of God.

At the wedding and the reception, I heard lots of comments about what a powerfully wonderful experience it was. And one of the significant ingredients which made it so powerful was community. We had several people thank us for letting them be a part of the experience. But from our perspective it simply would not have been the experience it was without the participation of those who gathered with us to help us celebrate. Everyone was enriched because everyone shared of themselves.

And this truth is important to remember not just on those big occasions like weddings, but in the everyday occurrences as well. The Church has always been at its best when we remember that we are a part of community. We don’t have to do everything alone. We don’t each have to be all things to everyone. We don’t have to each be good at everything. Last Christmas fourteen children in eight families had gifts under the tree because a community came together to meet a need. No one person did everything. Not everyone who participated did the same thing. There were those who organized. There were those who baked things and those who made crafts. There were those who contributed money and those who purchased a gift directly. In the language of Paul, we were not all eyes, or hands, or feet. Together we were the Body of Christ -- God made manifest in the world.

In this congregation I see it all the time. There is a quilt on our bed which speaks to this reality. We pull together to support each other and to meet needs we see in the world. From providing food and transportation when someone is sick to making sure that someone is at the door passing out bulletins, you give of yourselves for the common good. At the end of our reading from 1 Corinthians today, Paul writes, “But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31) A still more excellent way? It is at this point that he launches into his famous description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. When we are drawn together by love and prompted by love to share ourselves with each other, community happens and life for everyone is enhanced beyond measure. Community really is more than just a fringe benefit. It is how life is most fully and richly experienced. It is one of the key places where we can discover God revealed among us. May we continue to be community for each other.