http://www.okwu.edu/blog/2015/11/this-is-not-a-day-care-its-a-university/

This is the piece I referred to in the sermon this morning.  I appreciated the words of the letter and could not have said it any better myself.  There is lots here to think about.  I hope it makes you "uncomforatble."

W.I.N.E -sermon Epiphany 2C

I was given an old book for Christmas containing a series of sermons by Lutheran pastor and professor, Helmut Thielicke.  I have been reading one each night before I go bed.  Thielicke had a unique way of turning parables upside --- always seeking to determine what in the world God was up to in Jesus’ words; he sat with each parable long enough to come up with poignant thoughts that applied directly to his context --- and to the context of today. Oft times these sermons from the 1950s seem directed at me.  His thoughts have coloured mine. 

This sermon pauses to delve into the reading of Jesus changing water into wine.  In this event, what in the world was God up to in Jesus’ actions?  What do we learn about God and applying Jesus’ example to our lives today?  I am going to focus on four take-aways for reflecting on and applying today’s Gospel reading.  Consider the acronym: WINE, W.I.N.E.

W. is for WELCOME:

It is a wedding.  To be more specific it is a middle-eastern wedding, in a town, in the countryside.  This wedding is the event of the week ---  nothing else is going on, things are put on hold ----  everyone shows up; those who live in the town, those from the neighbouring countryside, people visiting from farther afield.

I was watching “Say Yes to the Dress,” on TV Friday night and a young Ethiopian woman came to buy a dress, with an entourage of 20 other women to help in the picking of the dress.  The host commented, “It takes a whole community to find a dress.”  The wedding itself ---- the family was expecting upwards of 800 people over the multiple day event.

Jesus and the disciples are at a multi-day event that will welcome many hundreds of people.

Some of us grew up in rural towns – towns where you know of everyone and everyone knows of you; for good and ill. The town comes to the wedding. At the wedding there will be those of whom we approve; the ones having received proper invitations from the parents of the bride, and extended curtesies by the parents of the groom; but, at such a wedding the whole town is there: those belly-ached about, the brunt of jokes, those under watchful eye, the scapegoat, the town drunk, the show-off, the eccentric, the lunatic, the better-than-thou-tea-tottler, the one who talks too much, the couple with the wild-children; the please-do-not-let-me-be-cornered-by-that person;…. When the guests arrive at the door, all are welcome to come in to celebrate, to eat, drink, and make merry.

The wedding celebration of the church is celebrating the Eucharist and offering to all the invitation to come. Come celebrate, eat, drink, and be merry. People are not turned away from the rail, told that they cannot come, or made to jump through hoops to receive the gifts of Christ’s body and blood.  All are welcome for a blessing. The richness of the event is giving thanks.  It is sharing together in communion --- a wine that binds us together not just in this space, but, in the celebration of Eucharist in other Christian communities around the globe—in celebrations today, yesterday, and tomorrow.  In our prayers the prayer is not just over bread and wine, but, also the community.   Together in celebration we experience the welcome of God, receiving us as we are, a townsperson not entirely approved of by other townspeople.  We ask in one of our communion prayers, “O God, you are wine: warm our hearts and make us one.” And this is the grand welcome! We are welcomed and made one through Jesus, on God’s behalf.

I is for INPUT:

To think -  that perhaps the miracle of wine may never have occurred, is written about in many a commentary.  Writers suggest that without the nudge from Mary, without her input, Jesus may just have been like any other guest -welcomed to the celebration, to eat, drink, and be merry --- to return home filled with food, drink, and warmed by community fellowship. In God’s vision and understanding of kingdom, there was potential for far more. It was Mary’s input that had the celebration continue on, with new wine – fantastic wine -  that celebrated the revelation of the glory of God to those present in that day and to us who hear the story today.

The importance of input is that input shakes Jesus, shakes us, from the comfort of our regular operating procedures.  Input interrupts our thinking patterns and opens opportunities for communal miracles.  Input pushes the foundations of who we are and what we believe. Sometimes input kicks us in the behind and reminds us that life is short: get on with living and sharing and being whom God created you to be; get on with playing out the kingdom of God.

Input can act along the lines of last week’s sermon, commending us to open ourselves to bearing the Voice of the Lord, to those who are in need of hearing words of life and hope. Input from outside ourselves, urges us and others to act now, so that everyone may hear the invitation ---that all may be invited to the celebration and welcomed to the feast.

Input potentially changes everything.  It did at the wedding.  It was no longer a common affair, a typical wedding; Mary’s input, aroused Jesus’ input, and God’s input comes as an abundance of wine. 

And the purpose of wine… the wedding celebration lasted longer – people stayed until the wine was consumed … extended time means there is time for others to be invited, for others to still arrive.  With extra time we can give more invitations to come and celebrate.  It takes on average seven invitations to church before a person says yes.  So get inviting.  In the big picture the winner is the community, fellowship, and relationship; where all are equal, all are fed, all share in the joy.

N is NEW BEGINNINGs –

Weddings are a new beginning: in the way a couple relates to each other; in the way that others relate to the couple.  This wedding is a new beginning for Jesus as he ventures into public displays of miracles.

For the church, weddings are times when new beginnings occur as someone walks into church for the first time and hears the Word of God; or a wedding guest has a positive experience with a minister/pastor; or a guest puts their own stuff aside (like a divorce, broken relationship) for the sake of a child getting married.  The wedding becomes a time for a new beginning, a time of transformation for the heart.

And talk about transformation: Helmut Thielicke refers to Jesus as, “a storm in a Galilean tea cup.” –one man, in a tiny region, who through word and action puts not only others in motion, but, realizes God’s vision. This miracle is just the beginning of God breaking into the world in provocative ways.

E. is for EPIC: 

Seriously, the thought of this miracle illustrates that Jesus bears God’s CREATIVE POWER and JOYFUL PRESENCE in the world.  Jesus turns an enormous amount of water into wine.  One commentary suggests the amount works out to 700 bottles. This is epic extravagance!

One might argue about the necessity of such extravagance. One might comment that wine is a ridiculous waste of miracle power --- a group of people happy and drunk--- when there are hungry, and poor, sick and in imprisoned.  Why waste time on wine when there are worldly kingdoms to overthrow and justice to be brought?

Why? Because …. In the sharing of wine, in the sharing of Christ’s suffering and blood, all are welcomed, all are equal despite the townsperson they are, all commune together and celebrate an abundance beyond imagination.  This story is not about a simple wedding at Cana in Galilee, it is a description and symbol of the fullness of God and God’s want for creation. One’s experience of the grand celebration brings joy, hope, a willingness and wanting to invite others to come – to input, to nudge, to speak, to act – to prolong the celebration so that the late comers are not forgotten.

This miracle shows who God is; God is a God of great abundance.

Helmut Thielicke doesn’t usually suggest prescriptions in sermons, however, he offered this one, “Faith is nothing but being quiet and receptive when God speaks, being still when God acts.  What I have to say, then, applies only to this quiet receptiveness.  Or, to express it in a different way, it is suggested only in order to help us stop putting ourselves in the limelight and asserting ourselves when God wants to turn on his light and enlighten us.

When we are sitting in a train or bus or the backseat of our car, when the telephone is silent for a moment and secretaries and appointment books are gone for a time, we should try for once not to reach for a radio knob or a bell push.  Then we should try taking a deep breath and saying, “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.” This will give a sense of distance and peace.”  

And I would add that the pause, the moment of quiet receptiveness, is the moment to drink in the wine of heaven.  It is a moment to accept the invitation to the celebration, to attend the wedding and be filled with welcome, input, and a new beginning.   This is epic!  God’s miracle of abundance extravagantly showered for you, for all! Thanks be to God! Amen.

Voices

Baptism of Our Lord C -2016

Voices.

 I invite you to close your eyes and concentrate on how many of the following peoples’ voices you can conjure and hear in your head:

President Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., Nixon, Churchill, the Queen, Jean Chretien, Rene Levesque, Joe Clarke, Peter Mansbridge, Lloyd Robertson, Barbara Walters, Pamela Wallin, Rick Mercer, Foster Hewitt, Brian Williams, Peter Gzosky, Anna Maria-Tremonty, David Suzuki, Mike from Canmore, Elvis Presley, Cher, James Earl Jones, Charlie Farqueson, Lawrence Welk, Miss Piggy, Bert and Ernie, the Friendly Giant … God.

Curious isn’t it?  I am sure that each of you could hear the voices of at least a few of the people and characters mentioned.  I hazard a guess that most of you had no voice in your repertoire for God.  Why is that?

Each of us has thousands of audio files stored in our brains; voices that are often filed along with certain phrases or songs said by that person:  Yes you can. I have a dream.  Ask not what your country can do for you. And that’s the way we saw things for…  Luke I am your father.

With a little more thought, does God sound like the actors who were cast in the role of God?  Morgan Freeman in the 2003 Hollywood movie, Bruce Almighty; Alainis Morrisette from the 1999 movie, Dogma; Graham Chapman in the 1975 Monty Python and the Holy Grail; or George Burns from 1977s, O, God!?  From such a list we might have a preference or hazard a guess as to which might be the closest – but, it would all be conjecture based on individual likes and dislikes.

Seriously though, there is something about voices.  How many of you have an audio file of your mother or father calling you in for supper, or calling when you were in trouble?  Do you have a file of a loved one’s voice when they were comforting or soothing you?

The voices of the people mentioned moments ago are unique – they are recognizable.  They have a compelling power, a mesmerizing cadence or accent.  The voices mastered medium, and specialized in crafted articulation and delivery of a message. At some points in their lives and careers could their voices have been the sound of the voice of the Lord?

Psalm 29 is an ancient Canaanite Hymn from the area of present day Lebanon-Syria and was adopted into the hymnody of the Hebrew people. It describes “the voice of the Lord.”

The voice of the Lord is over the waters. What do you hear?  Babbling brooks, roaring waves, lapping waves, raging rivers, thunderous water falls, or swelling seas?

We are told that the voice of the Lord thunders, is powerful, and full of majesty!

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.  Translation – we are talking large trees, think old growth forests full of straight tall trunks.  The trees large enough to be used as a complete mast for a ship or as a beam in the temples of the day.

The voice of the Lord flashes with flames of fire and shakes the wilderness.  Does this sound like spewing volcanoes, the crackle and rush of forest fire, or the sound of splitting earth and rock in an earthquake?

The voice of the Lord is such that it causes oaks to whirl/strips forests bare.  Does this sound like hurricane winds or the wind of a Nor’ester?

This is a pretty unique voice – not one I would have applied to God the beginning of this sermon. Is the kind of voice we are to be listening for?  Is this God’s voice?

In the passages from Isaiah and Luke the voice of the Lord, I perceive the sound of the voice to be different.  In Isaiah the voice says: I have called you by name, you are mine. ……. I hear soft and lilty, comforting, quiet.  In the Gospel of Luke, at the baptism of Jesus, a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. ……  I hear strong yet gentle, as a parent speaks affectionately to a child. How do you hear the voice of the Lord in these instances ---like I do, or like a voice that would fell a forest of trees, so majestic it would shake the very foundations of the earth?

Perhaps that is why we have no audio file for God’s voice.  The brain has a file cabinet waiting for soft and lilty, strong yet gentle.  In baptism we hear and see a sprinkle of water, do we actually think about or hear crashing cascade of abundant water, cleansing, life changing, and full of grace….a voice so full of majesty it consumes every particle of being?  If not, we miss the voice of the Lord.

The first reason we fail to hear the voice of Lord is we have reduced the voice to a sound far smaller than possible to contain God, likewise we fail to consider that there is no one container to hold and be God’s voice, so the voice of Lord has been parcelled out to be heard in its fullness and majesty.

Isaiah’s voice was the sound of God’s voice in his time.  It is Isaiah’s vocal cords that said: Thus says the Lord.

John the Baptist – was the sound of God’s voice -  the voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord. There was a host of voices: Moses, the judges, the prophets, Jesus, the Apostles, Paul; and that is just the articulation of God’s voice in Holy Scripture.  Others participated in speaking “the voice of the Lord.”

Perhaps in our time, we not have an audio file for God’s voice in our heads because we have been trying to hear a definitive singular voice.  Could God’s voice not be singular, but, plural?  And who is it that speaks the voice of the Lord?

I guess that is partially answered by asking, What does God’s voice articulated in sound say?

Well there is far too much to be articulated by any one sound or phrase: the words are cosmic, grand, earth shattering, forest splitting –

So the sound must articulate a Creator who first created in love; then gave freedom for creatures to continue in formation -

The voice of the Lord says – according to sacred text – for the words are repeated again and again:

 do not fear, do not be afraid; I love you, you are beloved. Peace be with you.

-throughout scripture from a variety of people, times, and places – a myriad of voices the voice of the Lord forms us with the words;

do not fear, do not be afraid; I love you, you are beloved. Peace be with you.

 So where have you heard these words continued in the speeches of today, in the voices of your every day lives? The people who articulate these words are the voice of the Lord for you at the time and place.

 The Queen’s 2015 Christmas address is an example of allowing her voice to be the voice of the Lord. This year she called on the voice of God from John’s Gospel, The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. These words were to dispel fear.  She also reminded listeners that the same sacred text continually reminded and commended human beings to be about the command, Love one another. In doing this she was the voice of the Lord in our time and place.

This week I am inviting you to be the sound of God’s voice:

If you noticed there is a note in the bulletin for God-parents.  How many of you are God-parents?  Show of hands.  To fulfill the vows made at baptism, where sponsors promise to share in lives of the child, to share faith and experience, to talk with God-children about God and living, to put in their hands the Holy Scriptures; God-parents are asked to send a note to their God-children.  Include in it the words of the voice of the Lord --- from Isaiah,  when you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  …or  you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you…. Or do not fear, do not be afraid; I love you, you are beloved. Peace be with you.

No God-children: reach out to your own children or a niece or nephew who lives away; if you were a faith-buddy contact that young adult – give them a text or phone call, a card, a note and be the sound of God’s voice. 

Through you, may the voice of the Lord be unleashed on the world. May fear be dispelled and light shine in the darkness.  May being open to being the voice of the Lord, have you receive ten-fold the blessing of hearing the voice of Lord spoken to you.