New Wine, New Year, New Future Jan 20, 2013

I wonder if Jesus’ mother, Mary, is related to my mother, Elaine. When Mary comes to Jesus saying, “they’re running out of wine---you must do something!” I’m reminded of the many parties my parents hosted when I was young….the biggest worry leading up to those parties was whether or not there was enough food and drink---especially drink!  Now, whenever I have people over, or have a wedding reception, I am stressed and worried that there won’t be enough.
 Both my mom and I have a fear of scarcity, of there not being enough. But that’s not what was going on with Mary. You see, Mary’s always the smartest one in the room, the most intuitive, so when she says to Jesus—“you’ve got to do something, we’re running out of wine,” she wasn’t acting out of fear or face-saving, she just knew that it was time, time for her Son to live into the ministry he was born to do. Time for her son to take the old and turn it into the altogether new.
Jesus doesn’t think it’s his time, but Mary doesn’t really care what he thinks, she knows it’s time and he must act. So he does. Whether or not his time has come in his mind or not, Jesus’ ministry has begun.
But, because this is John’s Gospel, it just isn’t as clear as I’m making it sound.  This Gospel is full of symbolism. Unlike Matthew, Mark and Luke; John makes no pretense that his Gospel is a straight-forward, historical narrative of the life and ministry of Jesus.
When reading John we must always remember that what’s presented is only part of the story, with John there’s always more symbolism than our brains can take on the first read through. It’s a little bit like reading William Faulkner or Toni Morrison. Or watching the TV show Lost.
 In this Gospel, things are always different from how they seem, so it can be a bit tricky to figure out what John is getting at.
A prevailing theme for John is the dawning of a new age. To John, the coming of Jesus as the Messiah has changed the world from what it used to be into something altogether new.
This is why John prefers to use the word “signs” instead of “miracles.” The things Jesus did, like turning water into wine, were signs to the faithful that the way we experience God and the way God experiences us is now changed.
What Jesus did was not about an obedient son reluctantly doing what his mother asked; nor was it about Jesus making sure the host of the wedding was not embarrassed by the wine running out, nor was it about making sure those attending the party were able to keep drinking.
What’s really significant in this story is that the water is special water. It’s water that’s been set aside for the Jewish purification rites. It’s there for the people to use for washing. But it wasn’t about being sanitary or comfortable. This washing was a religious ceremony; a ritual cleansing in order to go before the Lord during the wedding feast. In this sign Jesus takes the old- the ritual bath water- and turns it into the new- fresh wine.
It’s important to realize that this is not an anti-semitic reading---Jesus didn’t take the bad or the wrong and turn it into the good and the right! He did not take the useless and turn it into the useful. He took good things from the past and transformed them, changed them, into other good things for the future.
On this annual meeting Sunday we ask, where have we been and where are we going? Or to expand the metaphor of this gospel: What’s our water that Jesus has come to turn into wine? What are the good things from our past that can be  changed into good things for our future?
[GOOD SHEP: We continue a very steady growth. We have lots of children in our midst, our Sunday School program is thriving. How else can we serve the young families of our parish and in our neighborhood? Would some of the older couples in the parish like to engage in a parenting support group, sharing the wisdom of years with the younger members? Do we want to have more intergenerational events? How shall we engage the new demographic taking hold here?
We are at a crossroads with the Elam Jewett Café, it may or may not re-open. If it doesn’t re-open what will we do with that space? If it does re-open how can we do more to support this effort? As we look at our role in the greater community, what can we do to make a bigger difference in this city? We’ve expanded the hours of the Food Pantry, how do we get more of us involved in this major outreach effort? What else can be done? How else can we be the Body of Christ, the Light of Christ in our neighborhood, our city, our state, our country, our world?]
[ASCENSION:  We have new parishioners, people who have started to attend here over the past two years who are taking on more leadership roles. Some of our long-time leaders appear ready to hand over the reins…but this transition can be difficult. New leaders may do ---new leaders will--do things differently. Are we ready to let some new people try some new things? Can we let go of the old water and allow it to be turned into new wine? It’s tough to do, but it is vital to our future.]
The new age brought by Jesus the Christ is an ongoing age of transformation and growth.
We’re not the people we once were; nor are we the people we will someday become.
We’re in a state of fluidity; we’re water being changed into wine.
We have choices, as individuals and as communities of faith. We can face the future's changes with fear of scarcity and resistance to change; or, we can embrace them with abundant faith and overflowing excitement.
Either way, change is going to happen, the new age is upon us, the water is beginning to change, and whether we’re ready for it or not, whether we think the time has come or not, God is smack dab in the middle of it all: past, present and future.

We are God's Beloved. 1st Sunday after the Epiphany Jan 13, 2013

There are a lot of controversial issues in the church these days; hymnal and prayer book revisions, the election of a new Presiding Bishop, too many aging church structures, same gender marriage. And baptism. Ok so maybe baptism isn’t what first popped into your head as a hot button issue of the church, but it really is. This summer I got into a somewhat heated debate on Facebook about the role of baptism and communion—basically whether it is ever ok to give someone communion who is not baptized. I bowed out of the debate fairly quickly when I realized that the people with whom I was debating were never going to see that I was right. ;-)
So you see, Baptism is a hot button issue.
Actually canon law—the law that govern the church—is pretty straightforward: Communion is open to all baptized Christians. Now if one were to follow the letter of the law one would say this law is clear: no baptism, no communion. But it doesn’t say that, precisely. And therein lies the crux of the debate. Are we following the letter of the law or the spirit? And if the spirit, just what IS the spirit of the law? And who is the arbiter of that spirit? As you can tell, it gets murky and messy really fast.
So for me, while it may not be clear, it’s pretty easy, because I just proceed by doing what feels faithful and welcoming and by avoiding what doesn’t. And what doesn’t feel right, under any circumstance, is a litmus test for receiving the Eucharist. I mean it when I say that all who feel drawn to the altar are encouraged to come forward and be fed. That said, I am also a huge fan of baptism and feel that anyone who is drawn to the table of the Lord on a regular basis would benefit greatly from being baptized. So I am VERY COMFORTABLE inviting all to the altar but am also hopeful that those of you who are not baptized would feel compelled to pursue this fundamental sacrament of our faith.
 But baptism is a whole lot more than some type of admission rite to communion. Baptism is a naming rite,  a welcoming rite, a symbolic rite. Baptism is a cornerstone of our Christian faith….not for what it allows the recipient to do as much as for what it gives to the recipient and to the community of faith surrounding and supporting that person.
On this first Sunday after the Epiphany, on this first Sunday of the rest of Christ’s life, of the manifestation of Christ in our world, of Jesus’ baptism, of Jesus’ naming as God’s beloved, of Jesus’ reception of the Holy Spirit—on this First Sunday after the Epiphany-- a LOT HAPPENS.
Just like at every baptism. Which is why baptism, in and of itself, is such a big deal.
At the beginning of the Rite of Baptism we proclaim, in no uncertain terms, that there is One Body and One Spirit. One Hope in God’s Call to Us. One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. People often misread this as exclusionary language. “There is one Faith. Ours. We’re in, the rest of the world, OUT.” But that’s not what it says. With these words God is telling us, and we are reminding ourselves,  that there is one Faith with lots of different versions therein. We are all members of this One Faith if we do one very simple thing: love our God with all our heart and with all our mind and with all our soul. We are to love our Creator, the one who is Divine Parent and Creator of ALL. Everyone. No exceptions.
That’s why I say, all who feel drawn to the altar---all who feel drawn to God---are welcome here. Not because I get to decide if they meet an admission standard but because the only requirement for admission into the Kingdom of God is a willingness to accept the Love God continually and forever pours out for God’s Beloved---all of us. Everyone.
God gives, it’s up to us if we receive. And this receiving, this reception? Well it’s a big part of baptism.
In our tradition, most baptisms are of children.  A child is the most pure and present manifestation of God’s love in our world. The gift of a child is miraculous, precious and incomprehensible. It is, each and every time, a miracle. After being blessed with such an incredible indescribable gift, it’s natural for those who love the child to want to present him or her back to the God who formed them, who created them, who loved them before everyone else. So, we present the child to God, to thank God for the gift and to remind ourselves, and the community of faith of which we are a part, of our responsibility in raising this child. That it is our responsibility to help the newly baptized receive all the gifts of the spirit available. It is our responsibility, as a community of faith, to build them up, to raise them if they fall, to cheer them when they succeed, to weep with them when they don’t. You see that’s why baptisms should never ever be private. Because raising a child takes a whole community. So we, in the baptismal liturgy, promise to care for this child of God, be they an infant, a young child, a teenager or an adult, as long as they live. It is a huge responsibility, it is a solemn vow and it is what being part of a church community is all about.
So as we commemorate the baptism of the adult Jesus by John in the Jordan River, let us put aside the arguments about who is in and who is out and simply remember that in baptism we don’t say welcome to the club, in baptism we say, thank you to God. Because baptism is how we, as a people of faith, as a family of faith, as a church, say to one another: we are God’s beloved children and in us, God is well pleased.   Amen.