On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (although the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
We are all over joyed with the news that yesterday Judge Walker overturned Prop. 8 by declaring it "unconstitutional". The news reports are all over the board from the conservatives outrage and determination to fight, as well as all of the support rallies and commentary that says that time is on the side of the LGBTQ community for marriage equality to become the law in America. A USA Today article in "Faith and Reason: A Conversation About Religion, Spirituality and Ethics" wrote about both the outrage of Proposition 8's supporters and the joy of the opponents. Rev. Susan Russell was quoted as saying:
Progressive people of faith have biblical values, too -- and one of those values is telling the truth. And the truth is, if we're going to love our neighbors as ourselves, we need to be defending all marriages and valuing all families ...And
"No one has the right to write their theology into our Constitution. (This) should be celebrated by people of all faiths, of any faith and of no faith."
Bishop Gene Robinson was quoted as having said:
The fight is not over but the progress forward has certainly been strengthened by this. The most important thing is that the majority of the people may not always get it right. That's one reason we have the courts.
In an article in Episcopal Life Online you can read the reaction of L.A. Episcopal Bishop Bruno's statement in which he said:
"Justice is advancing thanks to today's ruling affirming Californians' constitutional right to marriage in faithful, same-gender relationships."
"it is only a matter of time before its [Proposition 8's] narrow constraints are ultimately nullified by the courts and our citizens' own increasing knowledge about the diversity of God's creation.'"
Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California cited General Convention 2006 Resolution A095, which reaffirmed "the Episcopal Church's historical support of gay and lesbian persons as children of God and entitled to full civil rights."
Later, he paraphrased the Sermon on the Mount while addressing a gathering at San Francisco City Hall. Jesus' blessings may be understood as congratulations, he said.
"All these congratulations and blessings are so that we can keep on moving, to extend congratulations to LGBT people in places where persecution is still intense, to use our great energies to help children get food and education, to give strength and support to women everywhere, to fight world-class diseases like HIV/AIDS, to heal the wounded planet," he told the gathering.
But he also added "tomorrow we continue the fight, lending our strength, the blessing of God, to those who need it."
Integrity USA's Vice President Albert Ogle made the following remarks at a rally in San Diego.
"We are part of a statewide movement of 6,000 faith leaders who support marriage equality. Today’s decision, wonderful as it is, will be appealed to higher courts. So we all still face an intolerable delay and further obstacles to implement inclusive values that are core to our understanding of what it means to be human and beloved by God. We are here today because we believe in the full inclusion of the LGBT community the life of our faith traditions, particularly to all couples who come to us seeking God’s blessing and the blessing of their community.
"Yet, without access to a State license, clergy are now still obliged to exclude same gender couples from the sacrament of marriage (and therefore the full life of the congregation) and to treat members of the community, whom we believe are created equal in the eyes of God, as unequal. For some of us, this practice contravenes the deepest core of our religious values and we must end this state-sponsored apartheid."
All of these statements coupled with the excitement of yesterday's historic decision is why I have chosen to transfer tomorrow's Gospel for the Daily Office to today. Tomorrow being the Transfiguration of the Lord, I will want to focus on that.
Among the things we know about the Wedding at Cana, what it does not mention is what kind of wedding it was. Notice throughout the wedding there is no mention of a bride or groom. There is a mention of a steward, but no mention of who was getting married. The writers of Gospel for Gays wrote that they believe Jesus was in the attendance of a gay wedding.
The NRSV notes that Cana was a small village, about 15 km north of Nazareth; that the “mother of Jesus” is never named in John’s gospel; that the word, “woman” was a term of respect and affection; and that (v. 11) “Jesus’ miracles were not wonders to astound, but signs pointing to his glory, God’s presence in him”. Further, it suggests that the “hour” to which Jesus refers is the hour of his glory on the cross.
Yet among the meanings of this Gospel is that Jesus has come to transform our ordinary lives that can sometimes just be full of water, into lives that are like the best of wine. With Jesus at the center of our lives anything that is ordinary and plain can be transformed into something absolutely wonderful and life-giving. We do not have to be straight, white, male, employed, wealthy, healthy, speak or write English or Christian, or interpret the Bible literally for God to transform the world through us. As lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people who believe in the God of love, through Jesus Christ transforming ourselves and the world around us from the most ordinary of water, into the best tasting wine can happen through our willingness to love and be loved by others. Jeremiah Bartrum goes on to write:
If natural water is changed into wine, and the natural union of a man and woman is transformed into a sacramental one (one of the traditional implications drawn from this story) – then why can’t the “natural” union of two men or women also be transformed?
Why, in other words, must our unions remain empty of grace, sterile, closed to the transformative power of this God of abundance, which is also the transformative power of love? I’m speaking, of course, about *current church teaching.(Note here that Jeremiah is speaking of the current teaching in the Roman Catholic tradition and not the Episcopal Church.)
In my view, the only argument against a positive answer to this question, so central to our lives, is drawn from philosophy, not from scripture. And the fundamental issue is lack of imagination.
Our gay experience tells us something different. It tells us that the transformative power of our God can and does live in our relationships. And it tells us that Jesus and his mother are present at our marriages, too – if we invite them, and (sadly) that’s another story.
The reality is that Jesus and the Bible really do not disapprove of marriage equality. Gray Temple in his book: Gay Unions In the Light of Scripture, Tradition and Reason writes that the concept of heterosexual and homosexual were not even part of the vocabulary that was used by the Biblical writers, because in the times in which they existed there was no concept of straight vs. gay. "Our Biblical and classical ancestors did not see "homosexuality" as a unitary phenomenon." (Page 52). Conservative Christians may get all bent out of shape about it, but it is because of erroneous interpretations of the Bible, not what the Bible actually teaches.
God has and does bless the love that exists between lesbian and gay couples, just as God blesses the love between straight women and men. God blesses and honors all loving relationships through which the individuals in that relationship sincerely seek each others common good. When two people commit to a life of loving companionship and compassion, placing each other and God first in their lives, they can and do receive the blessing of God. When people receive the honor and blessing of God, it really does not matter what any court, State, Bishop, Pope, Priest or Convention thinks. It is awesome and imperative to our common human experience to receive a level of acceptance and tolerance for our relationships. But when the the relationship is already blessed and honored by God, God can and often does transform any plain and tasteless water around us, into the best tasting and life-giving wine. The sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression of those in the relationship is only one part of humankind that God uses to transform a world and even the Church from darkness, hate and violence to celebrating the diversity God's love inclusively and peacefully.
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 13, Book of Common Prayer, Page 232).
O God, the creator and preserver of all, we humbly beseech you for all sorts and conditions of people; that you would be pleased to make your ways known unto them, your saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for your holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by your good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to your fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; that it may please you to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. (Prayer for All Sorts and Conditions, Book of Common Prayer, Page 814)
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