(Homily for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on January 20, 2019, Second Sunday after Epiphany)
Before Teaching And Training
Before today’s passage, Jesus
calls his disciples. Their
relationship is quickly established.
They call him, “Rabbi”—teacher.
Normally in those days, a teacher
would have taken his students to school or perhaps to the desert. He would have taught lessons. He would have trained them in the
practice of important spiritual disciplines. This is what we see, for example, in John the Baptist, who
attracted quite a crowd in the desert, where he taught repentance and practiced
baptism.
What is the first thing Jesus
does with his disciples? Does he
teach them a lesson? Does he
initiate them in the practice of certain spiritual disciplines? In the other gospels, he does. Perhaps most famously, in the gospel of
Matthew Jesus calls his disciples and then teaches them his most timeless
lesson, the Sermon on the Mount, where almost everything he says is spiritual
dynamite, liable to blow you to bits, like blessed are the poor and love your enemy
and don’t worry about tomorrow, only seek God’s kingdom.
But according to the gospel of
John, Jesus does something else before he teaches or trains his disciples. He takes them to a party! He takes them to a wedding feast in
Cana of Galilee! You’ve probably
heard how significant such an event was in Jesus’ time. Weddings then were village events, a
gathering of family and friends and all the folks around. For seven days, they would eat and
drink, talk and laugh, sing and dance.
They would celebrate love—not the sappy, romantic idea that passes for
love in Hollywood, but the sacred union of two persons from which springs new
life: new life between two families, new life in the birth of baby boys and
girls, new life in the hearts of the married couple.
The gospel of John loves to use
symbols and metaphor. It’s John
who popularizes the ideas of Jesus as the bread of life, the water of life, the
great shepherd, and the lamb of God.
And so I can’t help but think that John’s using this wedding feast as a
symbol too. “Begin as you mean to
go on,” we often say, and here John shows us how Jesus means to go on. Life, for Jesus, is about love. And love, for Jesus, is worth
celebrating.
I wonder if this has been lost
amidst the church’s love affair with “eternal life.” Eternal life conjures up a horizontal image of life: life
with no end, a heart that keeps beating forever and ever. But as I think Jesus shows his
disciples in his very first experience with them, life is about much more than a
mechanical, tick-tock heart that beats forever. Such a life is meaningless if it is not filled, from top to
bottom, with love. Such a life is
meaningless if it is not filled with eating and drinking, singing and dancing,
if it is not filled with relationships of love, which invariably cultivate
forgiveness and tenderness, generosity and compassion. A mechanical, tick-tock heart is
nothing compared to a heart that laughs and cries, that gives and forgives,
that loves and rejoices. Perhaps
it would help to remember this the next time we quote John 3:16. Perhaps instead of “eternal life,” we
might say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not live a mechanical, tick-tock life, but a
life filled with love—and love never ends.”
Water into Wine
If the wedding is a symbol that
life is about love and love is worth celebrating, then what Jesus does at the
wedding only deepens the metaphor further.
For when the wine runs out, Jesus
turns to a collection of stone water containers. Rocks and water had an important place in Jewish
history. They meant survival. On more than one occasion in the
wilderness, Moses had struck a rock and miraculously water had sprung forth for
the thirsty Israelites to drink.
But at this wedding, the problem
is not survival. The problem is
celebration. When the wine runs
out, Jesus’ mother fears the worst: that the rejoicing will run dry too. So now we see a new miracle, a new
wonder, a symbol again of what life means for Jesus. He turns water into wine. He turns survival into celebration. Jesus has come to give us life, not
just the kind that keeps going but the kind that is worth living, filled top to
bottom with love.
Love Is the Beginning
In last week’s scripture from the
gospel of Luke, we see Jesus at his baptism, right before he begins his
ministry. At that point he hasn’t
healed a single person, he hasn’t taught an inspiring lesson, he hasn’t
preached a great sermon. In the
gospels’ account of things, he’s done practically nothing at this point. But even so, he hears the voice of God
proclaim, “You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Whereas the world preaches that
achievement and hard work come first, and only afterward affirmation and love,
we see the opposite in the life of Jesus.
The love of God is at the beginning of the story when he hasn’t done a
thing. The love of God is what begins the story. It’s only after Jesus hears these words
of love and blessing from God that he embarks on an unforgettable three-year
adventure that will forever change history.
It’s almost, then, as if today
Jesus shares with the disciples the truth of his baptism. By taking them to a wedding instead of
teaching a lesson or training them in some spiritual discipline, he is sharing
with them his experience. The love
of God is always the beginning of the story. It is what begins
the story. If there is no love,
there is no life.
This truth echoes in all our
world. I’m reminded especially of
the timeless fairy tale trope of the sleeping princess. Her heart may be beating tick-tock
underneath the enchantment, but that’s no kind of life to be living. So what is it that breaks the enchanted
sleep? What is it that raises her
to life? It’s not strength. It’s not intelligence. It’s a kiss.
The Good News That There Is More to Life
The good news of today’s story is
that
Whenever we’re just surviving,
Whenever our hearts are a
mechanical tick-tock,
Whenever we’re in the wilderness
With nothing but a trickle of water
among the rocks—
There is more to life.
I can’t tell you
Where you will find it,
Where it will find you.
I can only tell you
That it will move you,
Like a dance,
Like wine,
Like a kiss,
That it will let you know you are
beloved
And draw you out into the world.
Maybe it’s a cat.
Maybe it’s an honest
conversation.
Maybe it’s a path in the woods.
Maybe it’s a calling that keeps
you up at night.
Maybe it’s breaking bread with
the homeless.
Maybe it’s singing with memory
care residents.
What is it in your life
That turns survival into
celebration?
Whatever it is, know this:
It is also Christ,
Whose love gives us life,
Not just a life that keeps going,
But a life that’s worth living.
Prayer
Smiling Christ,
Who celebrated
Weddings and wine
And most of all
The wonder of love—
We study your teaching,
We try to practice your way.
Let us never lose sight, though,
Of what is first and foremost.
In the mid-winter routine of our
lives,
Grant us an epiphany, a
revelation.
Amid the odds and ends of our
days,
Share with us your love,
Which turns survival into
celebration.
Amen.
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