What
is Needed is Given
What do you and I need?
There are the basic needs of life -food, water,
shelter;
then
there are the needs we find within friendships,
relationships, and
community -love, compassion, happiness;
and of course, spiritual
needs -faith, hope, grace.
No matter what we need, God knows what it is and
God
gives us what is needed.
There is a divine hand at work in lives of
individuals,
within a community, and
for the world.
All 4 scriptures in the lectionary for today tie
together with
God
knowing the need of the community and giving
what
is needed.
Yet there is more than what is simply needed.
The final chapters in Isaiah tells of rebuilding the
community;
those returning from
exile are uncertain
about their claim to the
land and their identity.
However, there is a divine plan.
For
Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.
The opening verses of Isaiah 62
Isaiah expresses God’s continuing
commitment to Israel;
it is not for the moment, it is for generations.
Isaiah compares the relationship to marriage:
You shall no more be termed
Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
Isaiah assures Israel of God’s love…
as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
How wonderful!
God
rejoices over you!
God gives love.
In our call to worship, we heard the words of Psalm
36:
How precious is your steadfast love,
O God!
God’s steadfast love{hesed} is mentioned throughout
the Old Testament and has
many meanings
-love
-loyalty
-mercy
-kindness…
all of these mixed together is steadfast love.
God’s steadfast love is God’s grace and mercy for all;
in
our need for forgiveness and deliverance,
God sent us a savior: Jesus.
Jesus, a gift for all.
God made flesh, God’s love embodied.
At the wedding at Cana, there is a miracle to behold.
You and I
may not know how to respond
to the turning of water
into wine;
it may seem like
something that is not a great need.
In the big problems of life,
sickness, poverty,
injustice,
where does running out of
wine
fit
on the scale of necessity?
It
is
about the water,
it
is
about the wine,
it
is
about God’s grace,
it
is
about the community,
and this miracle,
as Jesus’ ministry begins,
has great importance and significance.
Water:
Water is essential for life.
Throughout John’s Gospel, water is important.
John
baptizing with water…
the
one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the
Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’
the
Samaritan woman at the well…
“…those
who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water
that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal
life.”
Jesus walking upon the water…
they
saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat.
Water is for life, for rituals, for healings.
As I was reading for this week, I can across a saying,
a medieval ‘quip’
concerning the wedding at Cana:
“The
water recognized its Creator and blushed.”
Wine:
Wine is associated with celebrations.
Feasts, festivals, and celebrations
mean there is an abundance of food and wine.
In the Old Testament an abundance of wine is an
eschatological
symbol,
a sign of Israel’s
restoration,
the coming messianic age;
a sign of the joyous
arrival of God’s new age;
the fulfillment of
Israel’s hope for a coming age,
God’s
promised salvation.
Both the prophets Amos and Joel foresee the day when
“the mountains shall drip
with sweet wine”.
When Jesus changes the water to wine,
scarcity
has become abundance.
This is the first sign,
a beginning,
a
sign of God’s presence among them;
an
extraordinary act of grace,
a
first glimpse of greater things to come.
God’s
grace:
Grace
in the New Testament can be compared
to God’s steadfast love in the Old Testament.
God’s
love for humanity is why Jesus was sent to us;
as a Brief Statement of Faith tells
us…
God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.[1]
The familiar words in John’s Gospel proclaim:
“For
God so loved the world that he gave his only son,
so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal
life.
Indeed, God did not
send the Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but in order that the
world might be saved through him.”
God’s steadfast love, God’s grace
is manifested in Jesus’
actions at the wedding at Cana.
The glory of God is manifested through Jesus.
Turning water into wine
shows the power of God at
work in daily life.
Abundance, extravagance is at the heart of the
miracle,
it
exemplifies the abundance of gifts
available
through Jesus Christ.
Abundance will again be demonstrated in John 6
when the 5,000 are fed.
God’s grace gives us more than what is simply needed;
what
is need for the individuial,
for the community, and
for the world.
Community:
What do we know about Cana?
Not a lot… it is only mentioned in John’s
Gospel,
it is
a village of no special
significance,
a
typical community in Galilee.
Yet, it is the place where there is a
transition for Jesus.
He tells his mother…
“My hour has not yet come.”
With his instruction to the servants, his hour has arrived.
It is God’s time to be revealed through Jesus
and to show the many
gifts God has to offer through him.
It also signifies the beginning of something new,
it is
not a rejection nor a replacement of the old,
but a
new creation -new life, new hope.
What did water being turned to wine mean for the
community
gathered at the wedding
celebration?
A need is fulfilled;
a simple need in the day
to day lives of the people of Cana.
The steward is the witness to the miracle,
not
knowing where the wine has come from,
he says to the bridegroom…
“Everyone serves the good wine first, and then
the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk.
But you have kept the good wine until now.”
The wine is good.
The wine is abundant.
The community has received a gift;
God’s
grace and glory is revealed.
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians,
he is concerned about the
community.
The discussion is on spiritual gifts
and there is evidently
arguing concerning
who has the greater gift.
Paul recognizes the diversity of these gifts,
given by the Holy Spirit;
there is an abundance of
gifts
and
even though they are all different,
they are all equally
given by God.
These variety of the gifts, this abundance of good,
is for the benefit of the
community.
Each individual’s gift benefits all,
many gifts, one spirit;
many members all work
together as part of
the
body of Christ.
Tomorrow we remember Martin Luther King Jr.
and his dream, a hope for the future.
In his words from the I Have a Dream speech…
I have a dream
that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be
made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be
made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together. This is our hope.[2]
He looked for faith, hope, brotherhood,
to be
able to work, pray, and struggle together.
Just as Paul saw gifts benefiting the whole
community…
King’s
dream was about hope for a better community,
a
better world.
So a few question for you and me to ponder…
When
have we encountered God’s steadfast love?
How
has God’s grace affected our lives?
What
does abundance mean in daily life?
How
has the Holy Spirit blessed you and me with gifts?
Where
can we use these spiritual gifts
to
benefit the community?
The answers are for each of us as individuals to
discern.
Pray,
witness,
proclaim…whatever
your gift is, use it
to glorify God, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Once more, words from the Brief Statement of Faith…
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve
Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives…[3] Amen.
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