2 Epiphany

 January 16, 2022

 

Isaiah 62.1-5; John 2.1-11

 

+ So, if I was going to ask you to define for me what it means to be a Christian, what would you say?

How do you define someone being a Christian?

How do you define yourself as a Christian?

It’s a very important question when you think about it.

Because many of us might have very different answers.

Or maybe I should ask you this:

If it was proved—beyond a doubt—that the miracles of Jesus’ life never happened, would that change your faith?

If it was proven beyond a doubt that the virgin birth never happened, that he never walked on water or turned water into wine, or raised the dead, would you still call yourself a Christian?

Is your faith dependent upon these supernatural aspects we encounter in the Gospel.

Or is your faith as a Christian based on something else?

These are important questions to ask ourselves occasionally.

Last week I preached about deconstruction, and all that it entails.

It was a sermon that generated some discussion.

I had several people reach out to me to tell me they were in the same process of deconstructing their faith without even knowing there was a name for it.

Well, I’m going to continue on with this deconstruction discussion.

 Because if we answer the question that I just asked along the lines of,

“one must believe that Jesus performed miracles, and did this and that and we must believe all of those things without question to be considered a Christian”

well, that might be a reason to start taking a good, hard look at deconstruction.

Because we can believe those things.

We can hold those beliefs close to us.

We believe that these things are true, even if they never historically never happened.

Those beliefs can be true for us and might be very important for us to helping us understand our faith.

But, those things do not define what it means to be a Christian.

There are many people who do not believe in those things, who don’t hold these things as factual, but who still call themselves Christian.

And I really hate to break this news to you:

Believing in those things will not “save” us in the end.

At least, not according to scripture.

And if it is proven none of those things happened (and no one will ever prove that to us, I am quick to add), will our faith as Christians is still intact?

It should.

Because our faith is based on loving God and loving others.

Our faith is based on following Jesus.

Our faith is based on living out what Jesus taught, not only on what he did (or may have done).

It is important for us to remember all of that that in our spiritual journey in this life.

Now, again, I’m not saying these miracles never happened.

And I’m certainly not saying that miracles don’t happen.

Trust me, they do.

I have experienced many miracles in this life.

As I’m sure many of you have as well.

AndI do believe that miracles like this actually can happen.

After all, Jesus is the Messiah.

Jesus is the divine Son of God.

God worked and continues to work uniquely in the Person of Jesus.

And if anyone could do it, Jesus could.

Miracles like the one at Cana still speaks to us, here and now.

In our Gospel reading for today, we find one of those miracles for certain.

 We find in our Gospel reading for today that there’s a problem at this wedding feast.

 The good wine has run out and the wedding feast is about to crash quickly.

 But Jesus turns water into wine and when he does, there is a renewed sense of joy and exultation.

 That I think is the gist of this experience from our gospel reading.

 It is not just some magic trick Jesus performs to wow people.

 It is not some action he performs at the whim of his mother.

 He performs this miracle and in doing so instills joy in those gathered there.

 But more than that, by doing this he does what he always does when he performs a miracle.

 He performs miracles not just for the benefit of those at the wedding.

 It is for our benefit of us as well.

 Because by performing this miracle, he is giving us a glimpse of what awaits us all.

 If we look closely at the story and at some of the details contained in it, we will find clues of the deeper meaning behind his actions.

 First of all, let’s look at those jars of water.

 This is probably the one area we don’t give a lot of thought to.

 But those jars are important.

 They are not just regular jars of water.

 They are jars of water for the purification rites that accompany eating in the Jewish tradition.

 That’s important

 This Jewish sense of purification is important still to us.

 If we think purity isn’t important to us, we’re wrong.

 Purity is important to us.

 Cleanliness and purity are still a part of our lives.

 So, those stone jars of water at the wedding feast are not just for thirst.

 They are about uncleanliness.

 Over and over again in the Gospels, if you notice, Jesus seems to have issues with these laws of purity.

 Or rather, he has issues with people getting too caught up in the rituals of purity.

 Those people who put too much emphasis on the laws, rather than spirit and heart of the law.

 Just as Christian today sometimes put too much emphasis on the miracles and the dogmas of the Church rather on the real heart and spirit of those miracles and dogmas.

 What we see him doing is deconstructing some traditional views on purity.

 And what a way to do it!

 He turns these waters of purity into wine.

 And not just any wine.

 But abundant fine wine that brings about a joy among those gathered. 

 In a sense, what Jesus has done is he has taken the party up a notch.

 What was already a good party is now an incredible party.

 It’s a beautiful image and one that I think we can all relate to.

 The best part of this view of the wedding at Cana is that Jesus is saying to us that, yes, there is joy here in the midst of us, but a greater joy awaits us.

 A greater joy awaits us when the Kingdom of God breaks through into our midst.

 When it does, it is very much like a wedding feast.

 When it does, the waters of purification will be turned into the best-tasting wine because we will no longer have to worry about issues like purity.

 In God’s Kingdom, there is no impurity, no sin, so racism, no homophobia or transphobia or sexism.

 To some extent, the wedding at Cana is a foretaste of what we do every Sunday (and Wednesday) here at this altar.

 It is a foretaste of the Holy Eucharist—the meal we share at this altar.

 And the Jesus we encounter at this feast is not a sweet, obedient son, doing whatever his mother says, though I truly believe there is an almost playful attitude between Jesus and Mary in their exchange.  

 Both Mary and Jesus know who he is and what he can do.

 They know he is the Messiah.

 They know that is he is this unique Son of the Most High God.

 They know that because he is, he is able to do things most people cannot.

 Now, to be fair to Mary, we must realize that at no point does she actually request anything from Jesus, if you notice.

 All she does is state the obvious.

 “There is no wine,” she says.

 She then says to the servants, “Do whatever he asks.”

 No one, if you notice, asks Jesus to perform this miracle.

 And that is important too.

 I will take this one step further.

 I have a standard message at most of the weddings I do.

 It’s adapted to each couple, but the message remains the same.

 And the message carries within it my own understanding of how love and marriage works.

 This coming from your celibate/asexual priest—your aromantic asexual priest nonetheless.

 I say this at weddings.

 Love and marriage are a grace from God.

 But to truly understand that statement we have to understand what “grace” is in this context.

 My definition of grace is this:

 Grace is a gift we receive from God that we neither ask for nor even anticipated.

 It is something God gives us out God’s own goodness.

 Love and marriage are often—often, not always—signs of grace.

 Oftentimes the right person comes into our lives at just the right time.

 No matter how much we might want to control such situations, the fact is we cannot.

 That person comes into our lives on God’s terms, not ours.

 Often it happens when we least expect that person.

 But when they do come into our lives, our lives change.

 That is how grace works.

 God’s grace changes our lives.

 We can’t control God’s grace.

 We can’t really even petition God and ask God for a particular grace.

 Grace is just there because God chooses to grant us grace.

 That’s how grace works.

 It just happens on God’s own terms.

 Sometimes we might not even deserve it.

 But God—in God’s goodness—just gives us this one right thing in our lives.

 And all we can do, in the face of that grace, is say, “Thank you, God.”

 That to me only cements the fact that what happens at Cana happens each time we gather together at this altar for the Eucharist.

 Here too, at this altar, we see Jesus reflected in this wine.

 And in each other!

 Just like the wedding at Cana, this Eucharist we celebrate is a foretaste of that meal of which we will partake in the Kingdom.

 In that meal, the words of the prophet Isaiah that we heard earlier this morning will be spoken to us as well:

 “for the Lord [will delight] 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.”

 God rejoices over you!

 In God, our truest and deepest joy will come springing forth.

 So, as we come forward for Communion this morning, let us do so with that image of the wedding feast of Cana in our hearts and minds.

 Let us look, and see the image of Jesus reflected in the Communion wine. And in one another.  

 Let us know that what we experience today is not a magic trick.

 We come forward to a miracle.

 We come forward to a sign of God’s kingdom breaking through into our very midst.

 We come forward to partake of an incredible grace.

 And all we can do, in that holy moment, is say,

 “Thank you, God!”

 Let us pray.

 Loving God, you delight in bestowing your grace upon us, and turning the water of our complacent ways into the wine of new understanding; help us to see the miracles your perform in our very midst in our everyday life, and when we do, help us to see with new eyes your Reality in this world; we ask this in Jesus’s name.