Sermon for Year C Epiphany 3

WE THE BODY

Many of us watched the Presidential inauguration this past Monday--

either on television or streaming it over the internet.

Regardless of our political persuasion,

I feel our President gave a very moving address.

He used the first line of the Preamble to our Constitution

as the phrase which united his speech:

We the people..

WE the people.

He emphasized the word WE

and how important it is for us to work together

to make a difference in this country.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians is making much the same point:

Just as the body is one and has many members

and all the members of the body, though many,

are one body...

We the people of God...

we are different, we are diverse, 

we come together as the Church, as the One Body of Christ.

Paul writes to the Corinthians--and to us--

to tell us that we need this diversity.

We are more dependent upon our diversity,

our different gifts, than we sometimes give credit.

Imagine...

Imagine if we were all the same.

Paul is almost comical 

as he leads us through this metaphorical

thinking.

If the whole body were an eye...

we wouldn’t miss seeing anything 

but we would never hear one note of music.

If the whole body were an ear,

we would never have the joy of smelling hyacinths in the spring

or freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven.

We need each other 

to fully be the body of Christ

just as our bodies need eyes AND ears AND noses

AND hands AND feet and elbows and fingernails...every part.

Every part of the body is important.

I can’t think of one part that any of us would give up willingly.

Sometimes we don’t have a choice,

but God is not about perfection.

God is about wholeness.

We need diversity.

Even though diversity sometimes makes us very uncomfortable

God chose to create a world where we are each different.

It is what makes us so amazing.

It is what makes so much possible.

I am reading this marvelous book right now

by Susan Cain.

The title is: Quiet: The Power of Introverts

In a World that Can’t Stop Talking.

She opens her book

with this quote from Allen Shawn:

“A species in which everyone was General Patton

would not succeed,

any more than would a race in which everyone

was Vincent van Gogh.

I prefer to think that the planet

needs athletes, philosophers, sex symbols,

painters, scientists; 

it needs the warmhearted, the hardhearted, 

the coldhearted, and the weakhearted.

It needs those who can devote their lives

to studying how many droplets of water

are secreted by the salivary glands

of dogs under which circumstances,

and it needs those who can capture 

the passing impression of cherry blossoms

in a fourteen-syllable poem

or devote twenty-five pages 

to the dissection of a small boy’s feelings

as he lies in bed in the dark

waiting for his mother to kiss him goodnight...”

We are not the same.
We are different.

That is good news.

And the rest of the good news

is that we need each other.

This is what Paul is trying to teach the people of Corinth.

We still need this lesson today.

Sometimes we seem to celebrate our diversity

only from a position of power and privilege.

How wonderfully kind I am to accept others 

who are so different than I am.

How generous and open hearted of me 

to welcome the stranger.

But I don’t think this is the gospel message.

Last week I mentioned billboards that say

Love God.

Love your neighbor.

Change the world.

I want to throw a bumper sticker into the mix this week:

God loves everyone.

No exceptions.

God’s love is deep and big and immense and inclusive.

God loves you.

God loves me.

God loves everyone.

God doesn’t love us EVEN THOUGH we are different and diverse.

God loves us BECAUSE we are different and diverse.

We are not being asked to be kind or be generous

when we notice that someone is different than us.

We are being asked to notice and to celebrate

that someone is not our clone.

The very things that may irritate us about someone

may be the very thing God loves the most about that person.

Each and every person matters to God.

Most of you know how much Tom and I love movies.
One of our nephews, Patrick, is also a movie-lover.
He lives in LA where he is an aspiring screen writer and film maker.
Each year he sends out a list of his TOP TEN films from the past year.
I am never surprised to see a James Bond movie on his list!
But I was surprised when he included the film THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Yesterday Tom and I went to see the movie THE IMPOSSIBLE.

It is based on a true story about a family of five,
spending Christmas vacation at a gorgeous new resort right on the beach
in Thailand--

there having fun together  in the beachfront pool--

when the tsunami hit on December 26, 2004.

Even though I knew about the tsumani

and it’s vast destruction--of human lives and property and the land itself--

for some reason I had never thought about so many families,

so many little children, being there,

being overwhelmed by that 98 feet tall tidal wave.

This is not an easy movie--

and I know that the film is far, far easier to experience

than what it was that day--and the days that followed.

But what you see

is the diversity of humanity.

What you see is that none of us are protected

because of our income level or the color of our skin

or our jobs or our family or our country of origin.

We are each as vulnerable as the next.

I do not believe that God makes tsunamis happen

or earthquakes or hurricanes

nor do I believe that God will protect us from anything horrible

happening in our lives.

I do, however, firmly believe that God will be with us.

God is with us through everything

and God is with us through every person.

There is a scene in the movie,

after the tsunami first hits,

when the mother, Maria,

and her oldest son, Lucas, see one another

as they are being violently pushed along by the waters.

They are finally able to connect, to grab hands--

even though they are both hurt, injured,

especially the mother.

But the survival instinct is very strong.

They see a tree that is still standing and they know they need

to get to that tree and climb as high as they can

in case there is another tidal wave coming.

The tree will give them refuge until someone comes--

they hope and pray that someone will come.

But on the way to that tree

they hear a child crying out.

At first when you see Maria listening,

you think she is listening, hoping

it might be one of her two youngest boys,
two little boys, ages 5 and 7,
that she has lost--along with her husband-- when the tsunami struck.
She listens, hoping.

But then you can tell by the expression on her face

that it is not one of her own children.

Mothers--and fathers--

usually know the sound of their own children’s cries.

But she tells her son Lucas that they need to find this child,
this child who is crying out.

Lucas, who is about 11 years old, is the practical one.

He knows how badly his mother is hurt.

He knows they need to save themselves--

and at this point, they barely have the strength 
to save themselves.

NO, Lucas says.

We can’t.

We have to get to that tree and climb up.

NOW.

But Maria, even though she knows her son is right in so many ways,

she finally says to him,

“Lucas, it may be the last thing we ever do,

but we have to try to find that child.”

Maria sees and hears and feels, at least at that moment,

with the heart of God.

She knows that everyone matters.

She knows that everyone matters as much as she matters.
I have no idea of her religious beliefs
but at that moment, she fully understands what it is to be the body of Christ.

They go in search of that crying child.

God loves everyone.

No exceptions.

You may think you don’t matter.

You are wrong.

You do matter.

What you have to offer as part of the Body of Christ 

is so important, 

so vital,

so vibrant.

You matter to this little microcosm of the Body of Christ,

St. John’s Episcopal Church.

When you are not here worshipping with us,

you are missed.

I really mean this.

We miss you when you are not here.

The prayers don’t have the right cadence if YOUR voice is missing.

The hymns sound  a little flat if you are not here--

or maybe they don’t sound flat enough 

when you are not here!

Are we all the same?

No.

But we are all God’s children.

No one is superior.

No one is inferior.

We are different.

We are diverse.

To God we are each equally amazing.

We all belong to a God who loves us.

Our task is to learn to love one another as we are so loved by God.

To learn to love one another BECAUSE of our differences

not in spite of our differences.

Jesus came into the world to bring this good news to us.

Now the scroll has been passed into our hands.

To go into the world and share the good news.

God loves you.

God loves me.

God loves everyone.

No exceptions.

Sermon for Year C Epiphany 2

CHANGES

We are gospel hopping during Epiphany.

On the Feast of the Epiphany 

we heard from Matthew

as the magi traveled in search for the Messiah

who turns out to be a baby.

Last week

we were in Luke’s gospel--

the Baptism of Christ.

This week we have jumped over to the gospel of John

and we hear about the wedding in Cana

and Jesus turning water into wine.

I don’t believe we will hear from the Gospel of Mark

during the Epipany season

but hearing from three out of four of the gospels

makes it a rich and diverse season.

If you are a fan of the PBS program Downton Abbey,

as I am,

but have missed the first two episodes of Season 3

I may need to issue a spoiler alert for the next part of my sermon.

If you don’t know the program Downton Abbey at all,

I can tell you that it has nothing to do with a religious abbey

and I haven’t seen a single monk in any of the seasons.

Downtown Abbey is the name of a large house and estate--really large--

think bigger than Biltmore Estate large.

Downton is owned and occupied by Lord and Lady Grantham.

They live there with their adult children, 

a variety of others who stop in now and again.

and a diverse group of servants. 

Lots of servants.

It is one of these servants that kept creeping into my thoughts

as I prepared this sermon.

Mr. Carlson is the Butler at Downton.

He is traditional to a fault, loves the old way of doing things,

does not like change

and is absolutely loyal and devoted to the family he serves.

All the male staff report to Mr. Carson.

Mr. Carson is in charge of the pantry, 

the dining room, and the wine cellar.

Mr. Carson has a kind heart but extremely rigorous standards.

I kept seeing Mr. Carson as the wine steward 

in today’s gospel.

That he tastes the water turned to wine

and is so surprised that he goes immediately to Lord Grantham

to point out how unusual this is.

Lord Grantham, sir,

we have an unusual situation here.

This wine...

What is it, Carson?

Well, your Lordship, we usually serve the more inferior wine

once the guests are quite--uh, might I say--tipsy?

But this wine which we are about to put out--

Yes?

Well, Lord Grantham, it is quite excellent.

In fact, quite a bit more excellent a vintage than what we served

the guests when they first arrived.

Lord Grantham trusts Mr. Carson

and values his opinion.

That is true of the steward in John’s gospel today as well.

It is the steward in today’s gospel--

his surprise when he tastes the wine--

that tells us

that something unusual has happened.

We trust him.

We value his opinion.

We know he is telling the truth.

Not only has the water been changed into wine,

the water has been changed into magnificent wine.

Remember? Epiphany is about shining light

onto Jesus being no ordinary human being--

yes, human.

But also, yes, absolutely divine.

The changing of the water into wine

is the first miracle Jesus performs.

We need to think of these moments--

following a star to find a baby in a manger,

the heavens breaking open 

        as Jesus prays right after his baptism,

changing water into wine--

these are “thin place” moments.

Moments when heaven and earth intersect--

right before our eyes.

In John’s gospel they are called “signs”.

The water into wine is the first of Jesus’ signs.

Jesus’ mother is there with him.

She is never named--she is only referred to as his mother.

It’s not surprising that she is there, too.

The tradition of that time

would have been to invite the whole village.

There would not have been a guest list---

everyone was welcome, invited.

And probably--because weddings were usually multi-day feasts,

everyone would have wanted to be there,

to eat, drink, be merry and celebrate.

Running out of wine

would not have been just bad planning 

but a disgrace for the family.

It would have remained an embarrassment for a long long time.

Some might have looked on it as a very bad omen

for the bride and groom and their married life together.

Running out of wine

would have been a disaster.

Jesus’ mother understands this.

She doesn’t tell him WHAT to do

but it is implicit that she wants him to do something

when she tells him they are running out of wine.

Oh, and then that moment when Jesus responds

and calls her “Woman”.

I don’t know about you,

but if I had ever addressed my mother as “Woman”

I don’t know if I would have lived long enough

to be standing here in this pulpit!

Yet that comment to his mother

lets us know quite clearly that Jesus is no longer a child.

He is coming into his own.

It is happening right before our eyes.

His mother also knows he is no longer a child either

and she knows that he is no ordinary person.

She tells the servants to 

“Do whatever he tells you.”

His mother knows.

His mother knows

that Jesus can--and will--do more

than just transform water into wine.

Jesus can transform us.
Jesus can take what is ordinary

and transform that ordinary into extraordinary.

Jesus came to transform the world.

That is our call as well.

There are some Episcopal billboards going up around the country--

we are trying to get some for Western NC too--

they simply say this:

Love God.

Love your neighbor.

Change the world.

Because with love

anything is possible.

Jesus did not change the water into wine to be a show off,

to do a magic trick as entertainment.

He did this because he had compassion, love 

for that family, that bride and groom--for his mother.

Jesus did not want the wedding to be a disaster.

He cared about people.

Yes, the story is here in John’s gospel as a sign,

to show us that Jesus could do anything--and did.

It is also a sign for the future--

another third day will come.

When everything looks hopeless,

resurrection will come.

The time is not yet

but it is sooon.

But now, it’s the season of Epiphany.

Once more we see the Light coming into ordinary life.

Jesus’ mother gives good advice.

Do whatever he tells you.

Do whatever he tells you.

We are called to use our gifts--

and, as we heard in the reading from Paul’s first letter

to the Corinthians,

our gifts are many and they are wonderfully diverse.

We are called  

to use our gifts, to do whatever God calls us to do,

to go wherever God leads us,

and to love all those we meet along the journey.

Love God.

Love your neighbor.

Change the world.

I think even Mr. Carson
would approve of change
when love is at the heart of it.

Sermon for Year C Epiphany 1

Washing up for God

I was a teenager

and I was riding with my mother from Raleigh

where we lived

down to Wendell to see my grandparents.

As we drove along old Hwy 64

my mother pointed to a river that ran near the highway.

“Right over there--right at that spot in the river--

that’s where I was baptized.”

She had never pointed that out before 

and she never pointed it out again.

I was too young or too into my own adolescence

to be all that interested that day

or to ask any questions.

I regret that now.

Because I can’t remember the place on the river,

the place where my mother was baptized

and I wish I could.

But what really matters 

is that my mother remembered the place.

She knew the where of her baptism

because it mattered to her.

The place of Jesus’ baptism

obviously was important to the writers of the four gospels.

Matthew, Mark and Luke

all explicitly describe Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.

The gospel of John doesn’t describe the baptism 

but refers to it implicitly.

Today we celebrate the Baptism of Christ.

Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River.

Remember, we are in the season of Epiphany

and Epiphany is chock full of events

that shine light upon Jesus’ divinity.

This is no ordinary fellow the scripture keeps telling us.

No ordinary fellow.

So why then did Jesus need to be baptized?

Scholars and ordinary folks have wrestled and theorized

about this question

for centuries.

First a little background information:

The word baptism comes from the Greek word 

which means “washing.”

That’s right--”washing.”

Washing rituals were important.

Not only to the ancient Hebrews

but to many other ancient religions.

The washing of vessels used for food,

the washing of hands before eating,

the ritual washing by women at the end of their monthly cycle.

We read about these washing rituals in scripture

as well as other historical writings.

These washings were not for the purpose of getting physically clean--

they were for the purpose of getting spiritually clean--

preparing body, mind, spirit and all things surrounding

to receive God’s presence, to welcome God’s action.

One of these ritual washings

was used for someone who wanted to convert to Judaism.

At the time when Jesus lived,

there were several different sectarian Jewish communities.

The Pharisees and the Sadduces were essentially city dwellers.

They followed the tradition which said

 if your mother is Jewish, you are Jewish. 

Thus, no ritual washing, no baptism,

was needed for your conversion.

But another one of these groups was the Essenes.

They lived in the desert.

We best know the Essenes as those who authored and saved

what we call the “Dead Sea scrolls”

Some Essenes believed that everyone

needed a ritual washing,

even those who were, by tradition, already Jews.

They felt that the washing, the baptism,

was symbolic of their conversion and purification.

Archaelogical digs at the Essene community near the Dead Sea

have found large pool-shaped depressions

where these ritual baths, these baptisms,

probably occurred.

So you see, 

not everyone was baptized in a river.

Some believe that John the Baptist 

was a member of the Essene community.

Scripture and other writings do not confirm this

nor do they deny this. 

But certainly John lived an ascetic lifestyle like the Essenes

and he lived in the desert.

It is very possible that John was a member 

of this early Christian community 

which called for the baptism of all converts,

for everyone, even those who were born in Judaism.

And this leads us back to the question:

Why did Jesus need baptizing at all?

After all,

his mother was Jewish.

He was not an Essene--

he grew up in Nazareth in Galilee,

not in the Dead Sea area.

Plus if Jesus was the Son of God,

if Jesus was completely without sin

which is what we hear repeatedly throughout the New Testament writing,

why did Jesus need to be baptized?

There are a lot of theories from a diverse variety of scholars--

here are just a few:

THEORY # 1: 

Jesus and John plotted together to do this 

to get attention

for Jesus’ ministry.

Hmmmm...I don’t think I am going to buy this theory.

It sounds a little too much like a 21st century PR campaign

and it just doesn’t ring true to me.

THEORY # 2:

Jesus got baptized to please his mother.

This was suggested in an ancient text 

(the non-canonical Gospel of the Hebrews)

but it wasn’t even accepted by the early church

and isn’t likely to hold water (no pun intended)

even today.

THEORY # 3:

Jesus submitted to baptism 

as a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection---

Now this theory makes more theological sense--

in baptism,

you go under the water (death), 

and you are raised back up again (resurrection). 

This is some of the theology behind full immersion baptism--

but we have no proof that Jesus’ baptism was full immersion.

We believe that was the early tradition

but already by the 3rd century baptism was primarily by pouring

or even just sprinkling with water 

as part of the washing ritual.

The oldest icons of this baptism event 

show Jesus standing in the Jordan River, 

the water barely up to his mid-calf 

and John is pouring water over his head. 

He is not being “dunked.”

THEORY # 4:

Jesus came to represent all of sinful humanity

and his baptism represented the washing away of all sins.

Again, there is theological soundness to this theory,

but the problem with this theory is

John was not primarily baptizing for repentance,

the TURNING AWAY from sin--

yes, that was part of it,

BUT John’s was much more a TURNING TOWARD--

turning toward the coming kingdom of God.

John the Baptizer’s mission was to prepare the way 

for the Messiah to come,

not to just cleanse humanity 

but to get them ready to receive.

So why did Jesus go to be baptized?

Perhaps for much of the same reason

we bring a baby to be baptized 

or we go to be baptized ourselves.

Baptism makes us part of a community--

a community of people who love God

and believe that God loves them.

A community of people 

who commit to trying their hardest 

to love one another, too.

A community of people 

who desires justice and peace 

and respects the dignity 

of every human being.

Through baptism

we are given new birth

by water and the Holy Spirit.

And so was Jesus.

He was given new birth

because his baptism marks the beginning

of his public ministry.

God promised John

the Messiah was coming 

and God gave John some ways to identify Him.

John looked at Jesus

and what he saw was God’s promise fulfilled.

Jesus chose to be baptized

as a confirmation, fulfillment of what God had promised.

Jesus did not go to the Temple to be baptized.

Jesus went to his crazy cousin, this radical preacher John.

Jesus went to the river.

The river Jordan.

The waters of the Jordan River,

just like the waters of the Red Sea in the book of Exodus

represent all that is chaotic, all that can pull us under and drown us.

But chaos does not win.

The Hebrew people make it through the Red Sea

and escape the chaos of oppression.

Joshua leads the Israelites over the Jordan River,

out of the chaos of the wilderness

into the promised land.

Both the names Jesus and Joshua

come from the Hebrew “y’shua”

which means “God saves.”

Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River 

shows us once more 

that God is with us.

Sometimes the river rages,

threatening to overflow the banks.

Sometimes the river moseys along gently, peacefully.

Just like our lives,

the river is constantly moving, always changing.

But one thing never changes:

The love God has for each one of us.

A love so deep, so immense, so full of light

that it can never be washed away.

Never.

Not ever.