A sermon preached at St. Francis by teh Lake Episcopal Church, Canyon Lake, TX.
The lectionary readings for the second Sunday after the Epiphany are here.
Imagine going to a state park and only looking at the entrance sign and not actually entering the park. Signs aren’t the thing, they only point to it. Street signs tell us what street we are on but aren’t the actual street. Directional signs tell us how to get to our destination but aren’t the destination. Signs are an invitation to enter what they point to.
This is how Jesus used what John calls ‘signs’ and others call miracles. The amazing things that Jesus does are just that – amazing, wonderful, miraculous acts that heal and restore, but the purpose of them is what comes next, entering into the abundant life, this life, in the here and now, of the Kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. So often, Jesus cautions people to not be so enamored by the sign that they get distracted from actually entering into God’s Kingdom.
Isn’t it curious that the first sign pointing at the now and not yet Kingdom of God isn’t a healing or raising someone from the dead or an exorcism, it’s turning water into gallons and gallons of wine at a family celebration.
But before we talk about that, let’s look at this wedding with an understanding of the time and place in which it happens. In the Jewish culture of first-century Palestine, a wedding celebration would last up to a week and the wine served was an important sign of hospitality. And, just like at St. Francis’ Decktime and FEASTS, the guests brought wine to contribute to the festivity. So, running out of wine tells us that this wasn’t the upper crust of society but just ordinary folks coming together to celebrate with all that they had!
Also, in this long ago culture, to run out of wine was more than just inconvenient; since wine was a key mark of hospitality, running out would bring shame on the host family and the whole community. Mary, in her request to Jesus, isn’t just looking to refill her own glass, she’s worried about the reputation of the family and wants the best for them.
Let’s take a short sidenote to talk about Mary: despite what well known Christmas Carols may say, she wasn’t meek and mild. Mary was bold and courageous. As we talked about during advent, Mary said yes to God’s radical plan. To be a young jewish woman in an occupied culture which looked on her as mere property, pregnant outside of marriage was at best to be cast out of your family and society because of the shame, and at worst, a death sentence. Her relationship with God, her faith and her trust in God, gave her the courage to risk her life to be the one who brings God’s own son into this broken world.
It should be no surprise to us that at this wedding Mary is the one who steps up to prevent the shame that was about to come upon the family. The exchange she has with Jesus makes me laugh with delight because of her boldness. She wasn’t looking to take over for God or do things her way, she knew of God’s life-giving love and is sharing it abundantly symbolized by the wine.
Mary tells Jesus they are out of wine and he responds, ‘why should we care, I don’t want to make a scene’ – please note, when he calls her ‘woman’ it isn’t a put down but a term of respect, much like we’d use ma’am today. And Mary, knowing her intent to to prevent any relationship damage in their community, presses on. She turns to the servants and says, ‘do whatever he tells you.’ Mary knows the way of God’s Kingdom on earth.
The vessels Jesus uses aren’t random – six purification jars, one shy of the number of wholeness signaling the kingdom is now and not quite yet, vessels that held the water for washing before worship, each about 25 gallons, a glimpse into the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, the outward signs that we are kingdom. people.
The first thing that Jesus wants us to understand is the abundance of good in God’s Kingdom. God’s Kingdom isn’t about keeping others out or condemning or shaming others. God’s Kingdom is a hospitable and welcoming Kingdom, filled with looking-out-for-each-other, telling-each-other-when-we-have-spinach-in-our-teeth kind of relationships, God’s kingdom is a building-bigger-tables, and inviting everyone to the abundant feast kind of Kingdom.
It’s not small thing that Jesus started his public ministry with a party, a wedding, a joyous celebration of a relationship and the coming together of families to do life together. This sign both points us to the beginning of the journey into God’s Kingdom and gives us a taste of the banquet to come. To be in God’s Kingdom isn’t restricted to a particular time or place, in this building or sometime in the future when we die; to be in God’s Kingdom is to be in abundant relationship with God and each other now. If we don’t start with relationship, the rest makes no sense and there’s no point to the journey. If we aren’t willing to be in self-giving relationship with each other and with God, what good does healing do if there is no community in which to be healed. What good does forgiveness do if there are no relationships to be restored? What good does casting out evil do if there is no modeling of goodness in which to grow into God’s beloved?
Jesus loved a good party; he was accused of fellowshipping with the drunkards and gluttons, what polite society calls ‘the wrong sorts of folks’. This first sign wasn’t at all frivolous, it points to the foundation of who and Whose we are: beloved people in loving, life-giving, liberating relationship with God in the kingdom on earth as in heaven.
So, how do we participate in the abundant now and not yet Kingdom of God in our here and now? The answer is the same as Mary gives to the servants: do whatever Jesus tells you. Love God with your whole being, love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemy. Love. Invite. Include. Bring all you have to the party, share life with each other, and build each other up.
Be bold and courageous like Mary to stand in the kingdom even if the culture around us says differently. The most powerful force in heaven and earth is God’s love. Jesus showed us the signposts into the Kingdom, we know the Way, and it’s up to each and all of us to walk the Way as we courageously and boldly stand up to the forces of hate and shame and oppression in this world. Don’t just marvel at the sign; do what Jesus tells us and we enter the life we are created for. Live the life the sign is pointing to – life in community with God’s beloved, building each other up, bringing all we have to the table, celebrating our good, sharing our abundance, grieving our sorrows as we walk together in the Kingdom of God here and now. Amen.
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