Daniel 3:27

I was recently asked how epiphany differed from revelation. This excellent questions aims at the heart of our understanding of words and phrases in our everyday English and how they may have a different meaning within our life of faith.

2 Epiphany (17 January 2010)

Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11

Why does John’s gospel begin with the story of the wedding at Cana? That question has always fascinated me. Is it to show that Jesus was a relaxed guy and enjoy a good glass of wine? To show that he respected his mother? We often consider this a miracle- water that becomes wine, but the gospel writer considers this a sign- something that points to who and what Jesus is.

So, just to summarize, Jesus has gathered his disciples and they’ve traveled to a wedding. Perhaps that of a mutual friend. Perhaps a relative of Jesus’. It’s a big enough event that Jesus’ mother is also there. And the wine has run out. A wedding was likely a three-day event and this celebration may be occurring even before the marriage has taken place, but as the bride and bridegroom are being prepared. Men and women were mostly separated at events like these. Jesus’ mother is concerned enough about wine running out before things have even really gotten started to cross from where the women are, preparing the bride, to where the men are preparing the groom.

She probably had to hunt through the jostling men, laughing and then stepping back in surprise to see her among them. Finally she gets to Jesus and she pulls him aside. You can almost hear his friends, howling, “Oh, Jesus. What did you do? You’re in trouble now.”

Jesus’ mother pulls him aside and says, “Jesus, the family is out of wine.” I can only imagine him blinking at her and saying, “What does this have to do with me?” Why would his mother come to him in the first place? Surely she, of all people, would know if his “hour had not yet come”, if he was not yet fully exhibiting his power as the Son of God, as well as the Son of Man.

But His mother knew who he was. She knew whence he came. It wasn’t just that Jesus was her oldest boy, with the sense of responsibility that comes with that position. She knew he had power. She believed in him. And you can imagine her looking at him. The mother stare. You are the Son of God, but I am your mother. And then she smiles, turns to the servants, says, “Do whatever he tells you”, turns and walks back to the women’s area.

And Jesus is left standing there, her appeal ringing in his ears, several servants waiting and wondering what he will tell them to do. It’s likely that His mother might have expected that Jesus would move among the friends of the groom, take up a collection and get some more wine purchased. However, that’s not what God had in mind. Jesus orders the large clay purification jars filled with water and someway, somehow that water is transformed into wine. Abundant, wonderful, quality wine. This is the first of Jesus’ signs and his disciples witness it and have faith in him.

Why is this the first sign? Probably because it comes out of a need, but not a crucial need. It’s not a healing or a casting out of demons or a resurrection. It’s a simple sign that could have gone unnoticed by many, many people there. Yet it pointed to God’s abundant grace in Jesus Christ. It revealed God’s power in Jesus and fulfilled the statement in John 1 that through Christ, “we have all received grace upon grace”.

The abundance of this story, it’s graciousness, stands, for me, in stark contrast to the images of Haiti we have seen in the past week. Destruction, devastation and death. People who had very, very little have now lost everything. And many are crying out, “How could this happen? How could God do this to us? What can we do now?” And there are some people who have rushed to answer the question, “How could God let this happen?” That question is often well asked, but less often well answered.

When we read about 120 gallons or more of excellent wine provided at a wedding, I wonder where the relief is for the Haitians? Where is their grace upon grace? The sign they need is not only the outpouring of compassion now, but for this not to have happened in the first place.

It is the major struggle of faith, the questions of good and evil, the question of why do bad things, terrible things, happen to good people, to faithful people. When we hear of new cancer diagnoses, tragic deaths, natural disasters, manmade disasters… we wonder how can this happen? Where are the signs of Christ now?

What can we do when we have those questions? Where do we take our fear and our grief? To whom shall we go? When you have those questions, when I have those fears and frustrations, it is time to consider Jesus’ mother. Not to ponder these things in our heart. We must be like in her in taking what we know about Jesus and showing it to him. We must grab onto the power we believe he has and demand that it be used. We must dare to leave comfort and fear and stretch out our hand and grasp his robe, claiming his healing.

First Corinthians says that within the Body of Christ there are many gifts, but it is God who grants those gifts and who uses them. No matter what our individual gifts are, together we are the Body of Christ and we know that other parts of the body are hurting, are wounded, are in need of healing.

When we are given the Lord’s Prayer, we aren’t granted the permission to prayer with timidness and nervousness, to mumble “Thy will be done” and hope it happens. We are given words through the Spirit and called into action by those words, through those words, with the Spirit. If we believe in Jesus, like his mother did, we are called to go to him, to implore him to do something, to bring the needs before him. We both say to him, “Something must be done” and “I will do whatever you ask of me.”

Faithful living doesn’t just keep a pew occupied or dutifully sing hymns. Faithful living means bellowing questions, like Job, stepping out of the boat like Peter, going to a strange land like Ruth, being like Jesus’ mother and saying, “I believe that you can do more.” It’s messy, frightening, breathtaking, sweaty and miraculous.

We do not believe that we have to act first. God always, always acts first. But we’re not waiting for that action. God has sent the Spirit so that we are able to say, “Jesus is Lord.” God turned the cross into a statement about truth and life. God feeds us, in the midst of fears and doubts, at His table.

And we’re called to respond to that movement with energy, with strength and with all our heart and soul and mind. Isaiah says, “For Zion’s sake, I will not be silent and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.” So his voice challenges us to take up our call. For Haiti’s sake I will not be silent. For the sake of those with cancer, I will not rest.

Wrestle, wrestle, like Jacob wrestled. Say to your Savior, children of God, say to your Savior. They are out of wine. There is fear. There is pain. Fix it. I will do whatever you tell me. I will not let go until you bless me.

And do not expect anything less than grace upon grace.

For that is what has been promised.

Amen.

Yesterday (Monday, 11 January 2010) Miep Gies died.

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV) In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men ^*2 from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
⁶“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd^* my people Israel.” ’

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men^*89 and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,^*10 until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped,^*1112 they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Today marks the celebration of Epiphany, the festival wherein we celebrate the magi or wise men coming to see and honor Jesus. (Read that passage again carefully: how many were there?)

One of the catchphrases that became popular a few years ago (after “Jesus is the reason for the season”) was “Wise men still seek him”. It’s a catchy phrase, makes a nice bumper sticker and serves as a reminder that looking for Christ is a journey that the faithful must undertake.

However, there is an implication that we, as people, (like the Wise Men), must do all the seeking. It’s important to remember that God acted first (in several ways). Jesus coming to earth was an act of God. A star to guide them was an act of God. The scribes understanding of the prophet Micah (5:2) was an act of God. The giving of wisdom, the understanding of travel, the beauty of the night sky… God, God, God.

In the season, our Epiphany must be that God always acts first, last and best. As the Alpha and Omega, God is the initiator of baptism, of wisdom, of life. When we realize that, our light bulb of faith burns more brightly and we’re able to seek God more truly and more fully. We’re able to recognize the face of Christ of those around us. We’re better able to live into our callings, vocations and avocations. We’re wise enough to know what we don’t know and what we can’t do.

Because we can see.

And because we have learned what we are looking for.

This year has been sparse in my blog. I stopped my posts about the 50 most essential Biblical passages, I hardly acknowledged any saint’s days and I never really commented on what was going on in my life.

In the past 12 months, I spent 8 full months pregnant, my husband left for Iraq on Good Friday, I had a C-section, a very close friend left me right after my son was born (and hasn’t spoken to me since) and my husband missed the first four months of our son’s life.

When I am really having difficulty dealing with situations, I can’t even write about them. It takes almost all my energy to actually deal with what’s happening and so I can’t bring myself to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).

Many people offered to help me and many people did help. There are several people without whose support- I might have pulled the covers over my head and refused to get out of bed.

Recently, someone suggested to me that I was trying to be perfect or that I might be depressed. I looked at the person carefully and said neither of those were the case. I recounted the tale of “The Canoe Trip of Near- Death”, in which my husband was swept out of the canoe, the dog nearly drowned, we got growled at by bears and I had to paddle on my own to save us all. My commentary how that related to the current situation was this, “I’m almost to shore. Please don’t push me out of the canoe now.”

And so, I’ve made it to shore. Not really by my own power, but by the grace of God and the support of lots of caring people. But sometimes there is nothing else to do, but keep paddling and hope the stream is clear around the next bend.

My husband is home safely. My son has made it through the most dangerous of the SIDS windows and is a fat, happy baby. My dog has survived the introduction of a new family member, being kicked off the bed and relegated to floor sleeping and reduced attention. And I have survived all of this. Some of the events hurt more than others (I’m not sure when I’ll be over my friend’s betrayal). Some of this will fade in time. And some of this will always be just what happened then.

In church, we lost some faces that I’m going to miss dearly. That adds to the pile.

However, I have survived to write again. No matter what I wanted in these situations, I couldn’t control much of them. So I just kept paddling.

And I’ll keep paddling right into 2010, which has no promises to be an easier year. And maybe there’s no such thing. They are what they are.

The main point is that, regardless of what a year brings or doesn’t, God remains. With us, far and near. Carrying us. Steering us. Captaining our boat- even if we’re sure we’re doing the navigating. Always.

Happy New Year.

After Psalm 137

by Anne Porter

<!– (from Living Things) –>

Malachi 3:1-4

1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. F13 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Luke 1:68-79

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Philippians 1:3-11

3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Luke 3:1-6

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ “

1. One of these things is not like the others. What’s up with the Philippians reading?

2. A psalm does not have to be a Psalm. Discuss.

3. What does John the Baptist mean to you?

In Anchorage, there is a gentleman who visits churches and writes up his experiences for the Anchorage Daily News.

He recently visited our sister church, Central Lutheran. You can read his warm and positive review here.

When he visits churches, he looks for warmth and friendliness to visitors as well as an organized service, Bible-based preaching and meaningful music.

Do we offer these things? What kind of review would he give us? What kind of review would Jesus give us?

Jeremiah 33:14-16

14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Luke 21:25-36

25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Questions?