They Have No Wine!

Sermon for 2 Epiphany RCL 2010, Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts: Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11

When the wine was all consumed at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, the mother of Jesus came to her Son, who was enjoying the feast there with his new disciples, and said, “They have no wine.”

Who is it that intervenes to help in this situation? It is the mother, of course. No great surprise there. But in this story, it is not the mother of the bride, but rather the Mother of God. Mary explains the situation to Jesus, and it seems that she expects him to immediately jump to fix the problem, but he is not inclined to this. His hour has not yet come. He was not ready to respond, not yet ready to jump into action and to start his ministry of power among the people.

But there is no one who has as much of a claim upon the heart of a son as his mother. Jesus is prevailed upon to display his glory through the insistence of his mother, Mary.

Mary’s direction to the servants is paramount: “Do whatever he tells you.” Do whatever he tells you. God despises coercion. The blessing of the wine for this feast, the miracle of water changed into wine, depended entirely upon the servants taking orders from someone who had no standing at all there in the wedding, no position of influence. For all that they knew, Jesus was simply the son of a woman who was a friend of the family. Why take orders from him? Let’s remember: carrying 150 gallons of water in heavy stone jars is no small task! Besides, I am certain that there were many other things to be done. But, they listened to Mary’s guidance and they did as Jesus asked. And God’s glory was revealed.

How often is God’s blessing not poured into our lives because of our unwillingness to listen to what the Mother of God says, because of our unwillingness to do what Jesus tells us? The truth of our life is that God has given us all of the guidance that we need to live full, joyful, abundant, fulfilled lives. The task is ours to put this guidance into practice.

Just look at what happens when people listen simply and directly to what Jesus says. This amazing story is about abundance, extravagance, and transformation.

The amazing abundance of wine is a sign. The Hebrew prophets had often used the image of overflowing wine as a sign of the endtimes when God would restore the fortunes of the people or even simply as a sign of God’s tremendous goodness. Remember the beloved 23rd Psalm: “You have anointed my head with oil; my cup runs over.”

Here we see Jesus at the very beginning of his earthly ministry miraculously providing a huge amount of wine. 150 gallons of good, fine wine! And here at the end of the feast when most of the guests were already drunk!

It is clear that the Gospel writer intends for this story to be astounding. It is meant to teach us something very important. When the wine of life runs out, Jesus provides a superabundance of grace beyond anything that our human minds can comprehend.

It is no coincidence that in our lives today as disciples of Jesus we experience grace upon grace bestowed upon us in the amazing feast of the Eucharist which is itself beyond anything our minds can comprehend. At the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, the water is changed into wine, and here at this weekly feast the wine is changed into the life-giving blood of Christ our Lord.

God’s glory, divine power, and grace is offered to us in many diverse ways, but pre-eminently here at this table. Jesus calls us, his family, to gather at the table to feast, but we must do whatever he tells us. “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day” (John 6:54). True life is freely offered to us, but it is our task to get up and get out the door to gather where this grace is so freely offered.

The Gospel reading this morning ends by saying: “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” In the Church, Jesus does thing, an amazing sign each time we gather, and he reveals his glory among us; and we believe in his power and goodness.

This is the story that the Gospel of John presents to us today. But to be honest, my friends, it feels very difficult to talk about God’s abundant grace in these days. Our country is dealing with financial trouble, with many in our communities still unemployed. Our congregations wrestle with meeting our financial burdens and taking care of our facilities. And of course, we have just witnessed a horrendous earthquake to strike Haiti and cause human pain and suffering on a massive scale. This earthquake is likely to go into the record books as one of the 10 deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

In addition to the grim statistics, it is right for this disaster to affect us Episcopalians even more deeply. The Diocese of Haiti is the largest, most numerous diocese in The Episcopal Church. And in an era of falling church attendance and the closing of churches, Haiti has been our brightly shining exception. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti has continued to open new missions and new churches, and their attendance has been steadily increasing. At least in Haiti in recent years, the mission and message of our church has been appreciated and received by many.

But we know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So if this is the same Lord who made such a super-abundance of wine available at this wedding feast in Cana, we must ask the question: what can He do now in Haiti? If this Lord had the ability then to change ordinary water into the most excellent wine, then what can He do with the immense destruction of Haiti?

O Lord, our hearts are troubled and we ask you: can you change that immense pain into new hope? Can you, Lord alter that devastation so that it becomes a place of healing and new life?

After all, that is the mystery that we are talking about here. When Jesus first replies to his Mother’s concern, he states: “My hour has not yet come.” In the Gospel of john, that is a clear reference to the Passion of the Lord. Later in the 12th chapter, Jesus makes the connection clear: “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). In His Passion, the Lord takes a brutal and horrible death and turns it into a source of unending life and healing. THAT, we believe, is how God works! Bringing light into dark places, bringing life into places of death.

At this wedding feast at Cana, there was no great suffering, no terrible human need that called out the Lord’s response. They ran out of wine! So what?! I think they would have survived. But here…here in this dire situation in Haiti, the need is clear. And billions of prayers are being made each day now for the people of Haiti. Will the Lord hear and respond?

The answer may be up to us. After all, we are the body of Christ.

The collect for today has expressed this truth: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory. And why? What happens when we do this? “That [Christ] may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth.” So may the Lord listen to the prayers of his people, and also make us listen faithfully to Christ and do whatever he tells us, for the healing of the nations. Amen.

Response to Haiti disaster

(An e-mail message sent on 1/15/2010 to the congregations under my charge)

Hello brothers and sisters,

 

You all are aware of the horrible catastrophe that has struck the people of Haiti. As those who are called to share the love of God with all, and especially with those "who are the least of these brothers and sisters" of Christ (Matthew 25:31-46), we have a special duty to respond with compassion as far as our means allow.

 

Some of you might not be aware, however, of our particular connection with the people of Haiti. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is, in fact, the largest diocese in our Episcopal Church in terms of average Sunday attendance. Our brothers and sisters there use the same prayer book and hymnals as we do, though of course translated into Creole. This diocese has been growing steadily in recent years, adding new missions and churches and schools, thereby giving hope to all of us about the power of the gospel to touch new lives still today.

 

Unfortunately, our sister Diocese there seems to have been particularly hurt by this earthquake. The entire Cathedral complex in Port-au-Prince (the Cathedral, the Diocesan House, the Cathedral school, and the Bishop's residence) have all been destroyed or badly damaged. A house of the Sisters of Saint Margaret has been destroyed. And it is certain that a number of other Episcopal churches there have also been destroyed or damaged, though numbers cannot be confirmed yet. For people as poor as the Haitians are, this is devastating to lose the work of previous generations of Christians in this way. Thankfully, the Bishop and his family survived, but the deceased among the clergy and laity are still being counted.

 

On Sunday, we will collect a special offering for the work of Episcopal Relief and Development in Haiti. I believe that this is the best way for any of us to donate to the human needs there now. The Episcopal Church there still has schools and churches in place which are being (and will be) used as primary locations to distribute much needed food, water and medicine.

 

In addition, you are encouraged to visit the following websites for more information:

• http://www.er-d.org/ - the Episcopal Relief and Development website, where you can also donate by credit card directly
• www.episcopalchurch.org/haiti.php - continually updated news from the Episcopal Church in Haiti

 And above all else, let us surround all of our thoughts and efforts in prayer. Pray for the people in Haiti and for the Diocese of Haiti, because in the end it is the Lord Jesus Christ who can take this horrendous situation and bring good out of it.

 

Nathan Ferrell +

 

Prove the World Wrong!

Sermon for the Feast of Pentecost (RCL – B)
Offered by Nathan Ferrell at Church of the Holy Spirit, Bellmawr

Texts: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-37; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27 & 16:4b-15

“And when he comes, the Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong.” Amen.

My dear friends: we are all gathered together here this morning as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, as a community in which the Holy Spirit is moving and working.

Today, by the grace of God, we bring into this community a new member: Royal Tomeo. Of course, I will have the privilege and grace of pouring the water on his head, but remember this: it is all of us together who are baptizing Royal this day. We are baptizing Royal into the fellowship of the Church.

But remember this as well: Royal is NOT baptized today as an Episcopalian. No one ever is baptized as a Catholic, a Methodist, a Baptist, a Presbyterian or anything else! Royal will be baptized today in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. So in another sense, it is not us at all who are doing the baptizing. It is in fact the Holy Spirit who will baptize Royal, who will immerse him into the new life we have in God.

This new life that we share together in the Holy Spirit – it changes us! It changes the way we act, the way we treat others. By the power of Holy Spirit, we are able to respect the dignity of every human being, to seek and serve Christ in all persons.

Tony Campolo tells a wonderful story of a time when he was in Haiti a few years back. Tony’s ministry works to promote good education for poor children in places like Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as places here like Camden. But once when Tony was in Port-au-Prince for a visit to check-up on the work there, as he was walking into the Holiday Inn hotel, three young girls intercepted him. They were probably about 15 years old. The one in the middle said to him, “Mister, for ten dollars you can have me all night long.”

Tony was shocked. He was aware of the extreme poverty in Haiti and what desperation that kind of poverty leads people to, but he wasn’t expecting this from girls so young. So he looked at the other two girls and asked them, “Can I have you each for ten dollars too?” They nodded yes, trying to hide their disgust for the bald, middle-aged American man. Quickly hatching a plan, Tony said, “Fine! I’ve got thirty dollars right here. I’m in Room 210. You be up there in half an hour. I’ll pay you then and I want all three of you for the whole night.”

As soon as he got up to his room, he called down to the concierge: “Send up every Disney movie you’ve got. If it’s made by Disney, send it up.” This was before the days when you could order a movie right on the TV. And then Tony called the hotel restaurant: “Do you make banana splits? Good! I want extra full banana splits, with extra fudge and extra whipped cream. And … I want four of them! Right away.” Pretty soon, the movies and the ice cream and the girls all arrived. And Tony sat them down on the bed and let them pick out movies that they would like to see. And they all ate ice cream and watched movies until 1 o’clock in the morning or so, when the girls all fell asleep.

And as Tony fell asleep on the chair in the corner of the room, he thought with disgust about how dirty men could abuse young girls like this, and how in the morning they will go back to the street and once again do whatever they can to find some money for their families. But at least for this one night, Tony felt sure that the Holy Spirit was speaking to him and guiding him to give these girls at least a chance to be kids again, to just have some fun together. At least for this one night, Tony could be a conduit for some blessing to these poor girls.

You see, the Holy Spirit proves the world wrong. There is a different way to be. We can treat others with dignity. By the power of the Spirit, we can love others with the love of Christ. It is our calling, and it is our gift, to love others in this way.

The famous Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard (see his Works of Love) points out the distinction between celebrated love and commanded love. Celebrated love is the love about which people write poems, about which movies are made. Celebrated love is all about making a distinction: I love this one person more than any other. With this love, the lover makes a clear choice.

But commanded love, the love to which Christ calls us, the love which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts, - this love makes no distinctions. This is the beauty and majesty of it.

You see, God intends that I learn to see every single woman as my sister, and every single man as my brother. Every single one, without exception. This is the love that God calls us to in Christ. But it’s not the kind of love that we are accustomed to talking about in society. No one sings a song about this kind of love! But when it comes down to it, it is this Holy Spirit-empowered, commanded love which has the power to change the world.

Let’s practice it for just a moment: please take a moment and look at your neighbor on each side of you in the eye and say to them, as is appropriate, “You are my sister.” Or, “you are my brother.”

The Spirit leads us into all truth, and this is the truth about us.
It doesn’t matter what your neighbor looks like, what language they speak, who they live with, where they come from. It doesn’t even matter what they have done in their lives. This new community love in the Spirit has no boundaries. This is the way God intended it to be.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has always had the intention of creating a community that includes people of every language and race and color and gender and orientation.

This is the heart of what it means to be “church”. We don’t get to choose our family in the church. God brings all together and makes something new and different.

This agape love that we share in Christian community is demonstrated clearly every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. This is what St. John Chrysostom wrote:
“The whole ceremony [of the Lord’s table] is [also] a meal at which everyone has an equal place at the table. Thus we are celebrating our fellowship as brothers and sisters, with Christ as our unseen elder brother at one end of the table, and God our unseen father presiding at the other end” (On Living Simply: The Golden Voice of John Chrysostom).

Our Lord speaks of the Spirit of Truth who comes to guide us into the truth about life, and who comes to prove the world wrong. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son into community gathered in the name of Jesus. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see the Holy Spirit filling a lone individual; the coming of the Spirit always happens in the community of Christ’s body. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name…(Matthew 18:20).

I really love this image of the Spirit: “he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” I love it, because every day I see a world that needs an awakening. Come on, Holy Spirit, let’s prove this crazy world wrong! Let’s prove this world wrong that “looking out for #1” is the only way to live, that “getting what is mine” is the way you have to be. Let’s prove the world wrong and show that there is an alternative, that Jesus creates a different kind of community where everyone is respected and honored and loved.

It is possible! We are the assembly of the Holy Spirit. When we gather together as God’s people, we create a free space where the words of Jesus, and the gifts of Jesus, are able to re-create the world, to make the world new again, to make us new again.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery that we enter into today as we celebrate the baptism of our newest brother into this community of love which is unlike any other.

As the great St. John Chrysostom preached: “Nothing can destroy love which is rooted and grounded in Christ.” So may the Holy Spirit always bring forth this love among us. Amen.