Second Sunday After Epiphany: Who Crashed the Wedding Party?

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 62:1-5 (NRSV)

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,

until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.

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.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;

but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;

for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

Psalm 36: 5-10 (BCP., p.632)


1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 (NRSV)

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

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. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

John 2: 1-11 (NRSV)

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 (though 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.

Blog Reflection

Saint Paul gave us a great way to begin our meditation.  Everyone of us has something special about us that God gave us to share with the family of God's Church; and make a difference in the Church and the world.  Our gifts are different, and they will impact the lives of others very differently.  Yet, they are just as valuable and important.

As Episcopalians, we have been deeply disturbed (and for good reason) by the statement made by the Primates of the Anglican Communion.  The Episcopal Church has been censured for becoming an inclusive church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people.  Those who are LGBTQ are justified in responding to this statement with anger, sadness, confusion and concern for LGBTQ people in other parts of the Anglican Communion.  I am sure many others who want nothing to do with religion of any kind have another good reason to avoid it.

Our Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry has suggested that The Episcopal Church's vocation might be to help lead the Anglican Communion to become a fellowship of churches that are truly inclusive of all God's people.   Not a bad thought.

Our Gospel today tells us that Jesus arrived at a very unusual wedding party.  Jesus was there with His mother.  The wedding party and the steward were looking at being ostracized for running out of wine.  Mary asks Jesus, Jesus appears to be the mouthy child in response to her.  Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them.  We know the rest of the story from the text.  Jesus made the best wine at the party out of water.  That which was plain and appeared to be useless, became the generosity of God in double doses.  The love of God poured out in Jesus Christ became the life of the party.  God was revealed in Christ who gives of God's Self in totality so that others could draw closer to God.  In particular those who were outcast and in need of being included.  God crashed the wedding party and made a difference by changing the outcome of the story.

There are those who view LGBTQ people as having come to crash the party of "traditional" marriage, family and "the good" of human society.  The fact is LGBTQ people bring as much beauty to marriage, family and the good of all human society as other diverse peoples.  As Episcopalians and Anglicans who are the "via media" we make good use of the gifts God brings to the Church in those who agree with each other, and those who do not agree with each other.  In a quote by the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, the President of the House of Deputies,

"We re-affirm our identity as Anglican Christians. That identity, since its inception, has included two foundational principles: the ecclesiological autonomy of the church in a given land, and a comprehensive inclusion of divergent theological viewpoints. Our identity as Anglicans has never been a matter of credal or doctrinal subscription, nor of conciliar membership requirements."

The work of Jesus at the wedding at Cana was about bringing together all of the relationships present there into the focus of the relationships shared by everyone there.  They all served a different function from a different point of view; yet their work brought everyone to a similar ending.  Jesus made the water into wine, because people did what they knew how to do in their unique potential and capacity.  

A possible message; God places us where we are with the gifts we have to use them to manifest the presence of God in Christ.  It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us with those gifts.  It is up to us to discern what God would have us do with them.

May we all be open to crashing the parties where God can make a difference through us.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light
of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word
and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's
glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the
ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with
you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 215).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Prayer for Social Justice, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 260). 

Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.  (Prayer for the Church, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).

St. Benedict: A Saint of Beginnings

Today's Scripture Readings

Proverbs 2:1-9 (NRSV)

My child, if you accept my words

and treasure up my commandments within you,

making your ear attentive to wisdom

and inclining your heart to understanding;

if you indeed cry out for insight,

and raise your voice for understanding;

if you seek it like silver,

and search for it as for hidden treasures--

then you will understand the fear of the LORD

and find the knowledge of God.

For the LORD gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,

guarding the paths of justice

and preserving the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

Psalm 119:129-136 (BCP., p.774)


Luke 14:27-33 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the crowd, "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

Blog Reflection

I have written my share of blog posts about St. Benedict.  He has been an inspiration to me since 1993.  St. Benedict is known as the Father of Western Monasticism.  His Rule continues to speak to women and men in all times and places for over 1500 years.  Many names have passed through the history of the Church.  Monastic communities have come and gone, their founders forgotten.  St. Benedict's name is Latin for the word blessed.  How blessed the Church and much of Western Civilization is that St. Benedict's Monastic communities and influence in any number of things such as the Liturgy of the Hours, higher education, graduation garments, art, music, books, prayer, spirituality and labor.  The prayer and work of St. Benedict, The Rule and his emphasis on community gave birth to The Church of England and The Anglican Communion.  The Book of Common Prayer has Benedictine Spirituality all throughout its many pages.  

Among the many ideas that come from St. Benedict, I would like to focus on the idea that Benedict is the Saint of beginnings.  Throughout The Rule of St. Benedict he tells us that we are at a beginning point.  He either says so directly, or suggests it on not so many words.  Benedict tells us so in the Prologue, Chapter 4: The Tools of Good Works,  5: On Obedience, 7: Humility, the chapters about the Divine Office and so forth.  His over all message is that wherever we are, whatever we do, whatever we fail to do; we always have the opportunity to start over.

In the Gospel chosen for today's commemoration, Jesus is telling His disciples to pick up the cross and follow Him.  It is a beginning point.  Taking up our cross, taking an account of our lives and choosing to follow Christ as a disciple, requires us to commit ourselves to a fresh beginning.  To begin, we will have to let go of many things; our possessiveness, power, positions, prejudices and self-centered egos.  We will have to let go of our desire to hang onto our grudges hoping to get revenge.  If we are going to seek union with God in prayer and work with our devotion to justice for the oppressed and marginalized; we must begin with letting go.  We start to change the world around us, as we allow the Holy Spirit to begin to change us.

May all of us pray and work together by meditating on God's word in the Scriptures, and responding with compassion and mercy on ourselves and others around us.  St. Benedict gives us encouragement and direction.  Even when we are faced with difficulty because of our insecurities and limitations, Benedict tells us to keep on moving towards the goal in the here and now.

Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation.  It is bound to be narrow at the outset.  But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.  Never swerving from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery [or any other place we may be in life] until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom.  Amen.  (RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English. Prologue, vs. 48-50, p.19).

Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, your precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the teaching and example of your servant Benedict, to walk with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord's service; let your ears be open to our prayers; and prosper with your blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints., p.457).