Abundance....

1/16

Monkey Cup art...

Today it is FREEZING cold.  When I go out for my Sunday Times and coffee at my favorite Venezuelan cafe, the Monkey Cup, it's only 11 degrees F. (Celsius -12). Today I am preaching to a bilingual (English-Korean) joint service of the Good Shepherd -Faith congregation before taking the long journey out to St.Alban's, Queens for my first official act as Moderator, a much anticipated and long awaited ordination and installation service. Here is my reflection  for the Good Shepherd- Faith people....

Well, sad to say, we are still in it. In the midst of the first year of coronavirus world, I got my covid collection.  My Grateful Dead dancing bear “Grateful Distancing” t-shirt. My “We will get by, we will survive” shirt.  For last year’s  spring training I got my shirt with the Pirates’ logo man wearing his head bandana as a mask. And last summer I gave them all away thinking they would be just a bad memory. Little did I think..

During Covid I produced 62 virtual open mics and 10 showcase concerts on the great “Stay at home” tour of 20-21. Making my way back to live performance has been difficult. SO I was every excited to have three big performances coming up this winter. And by Friday, all three had been cancelled or postponed until fall. Yes, we’re still in it.

Later today is my first “official” act as Presbytery moderator. In a live in person service, I will ordain and install Eric Toodles as Pastor of St. Alban’s church. But in order to do that, to be a responsible moderator, I had to ask all these questions…how many people will be there? What are you protocols? Do you have ventilation? And then, how do we do the traditional laying on of hands?  I mean we’re all used to the ecclesiastical liturgical mosh pit.  Can’t do that in covid.  I asked my colleagues.  One suggested we just stand at a distance and hold up an out stretched hand. Until someone pointed out that it would look like a Nazi salute. Can’t you see that viral video….yes, we’re still in it…

Everyone seems to be making up their own rules. Younger friends just carry on and folks my age are battening down the hatches.  We’re still in it.

SO in the midst of Covid, we’re invited to a wedding.  At Cana of Galilee. With Jesus, his mom and disciples. So let’s see what’s going on there. 

This is one of my favorite stories. And only John tells it.  You know how it goes…The wine is running low. Mary points this out to Jesus. Who responds rather rudely, to be honest. And Mary doesn’t argue or engage, she just tells the servants to “do as he tells you”  and low and behold six stone jars are filled to overflowing and the steward says the best wine was saved for last…By the way, you can get a kit to do this for only $8.95, though it says, warning: do not consume, for entertainment purposes only..

Okay then, what do we make of this?

From the literary criticism side, lots of parallels between this story and John’s Easter story. Three days, Mary’s presence, stone jars, stone tomb…intentional …

Jesus is concerned about revealing his identity. Mary on the other hand, is simply concerned about what running out of wine will do to the host. It is a potentially embarrassing situation. A real social faux pas. She is sensitive to and  aware of this and intervenes to help someone without  their even knowing it. 

So let’s see what Easter eggs are here…

There are six stone jars…the number of almost, not quite, imperfection…and the jars are empty…since these are for purification rites, it’s a not so subtle critique of tradition. The religious establishment was imperfect, more than imperfect, empty. It would take Jesus to fill them to overflowing…We make a serious mistake if we see this as a comparison between Judaism and Christianity. To feel this as John’s readers first felt it, we need to read it as  a criticism of our own institution. To what extent are we coming up short? To what extent are our jars empty?  Over 40 of our 88 Presbytery congregations have no ordained and called pastoral leadership. Our seminaries are preparing young people for jobs that no longer exist. How do we fill these jars to overflowing again?

What we have here is a story of God’s abundance, God’s overflowing abundance. Meeting a need right where it is. Some have said we Presbyterians fall into two categories…one, those who hear  Jesus say pick up your cross and follow me..and two, this who hear, I have come so that you might have life and have it abundantly …Honestly, our dour Scots DNA puts more of us in the first camp. This is a good reminder that we  need both. Jesus’ first miracle, Jesus’ first sign…keeps the party going….we need joy, my friends…that spirit Desmond Tutu shared with us even in the darkest days of apartheid. Abundant life.

But look deeper. Nobody sees this “sign” except the servants who draw the water. (Though one of my Bible study companion has a day job as a server who says the servants always know where the good stuff is stashed. Just a nod from Jesus and…) Who are we at this wedding? If we are the privileged guests, what are we missing?

I’m building up to a point here…we might well ask, if our God is a font of overflowing abundance, how can so many of us, Gods creatures, be in such  crushing need? How many of us are stuck outside in freezing cold weather? Hungry? Having our votes taken away? Living in the  deadly oppressive chaos allowed  to reign on Rikers’ Island? And what does any of this have to do with Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend? 

God’s abundance, summoned by Jesus, needs the servants to fill the jars. God’s abundance needs us to flow through…we are the servants, we are the jars, God needs us for the abundance to reach others…..and that’s what I want you to take what you on this cold January morning…abundant life flows through us…let those with ears to hear, hear…

Amen.

Gospel John 2:1-11

1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come" 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10and said to him, "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." 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Second Sunday after Epiphany: What are your gifts?

 1/17

We’re back in the chapel. It’s cozier there. Eric’s back again, it’s been good having him with us. We read the passage from First Corinthians , 12: 1-11 and then the Wedding in Cana story from John 2: 1-11 in a readers’ theatre style. Then it’s time for reflection.

A lot can happen in a week or so…

* A musician and his wife race to the hospital only to discover that the child they waited for with anticipation for 9 months is already dead. The sadness of that is almost too much or me to imagine.

* David Bowie dies. Even though he’s a musician I never fully “got”, I can see that the internet is filled with eulogies. My oldest son posts his own tribute and I learn something I didn’t know before. About a difficult teen year and what this artist meant to anyone who felt different or “alien.”

* A father shares with me the challenges of a young teenaged daughter trying to figure out where she fits on the gender line. He introduces her to David Bowie and she is amazed.

*My own first grandchild is born in Berlin. And I am reminded what I forgot …that every child is a gift of the grace of life.

* A good friend of mine, a colleague in study and witness, must go to the hospital and lose a kidney. Another friend of mine from Germany is now freed from dialysis  because a beloved  friend gave up one of his own kidneys.

* Our friends from Noche perfomed Antigona for 250 high school students from the Bronx. And the hip hop kids completely responded to flamenco.

* One of the Noche dancers is being trained by the son of a flamenco dancer I knew 40 years ago in the hills of Northern New Mexico,,,,

What we’re talking about this week is gifts. All these little vignettes involve gifts at some level or other…artists, healers, friends….

Let’s look at Paul’s list….first remembering that all these are gifts of the Spirit, given for the common good..

* The utterance of wisdom….. and to another the utterance of knowledge

* We need people who know how to do things, but we need people who know why to do things. Both are important. These gifts need each other. We need people who press for the bottom line and those who know when true value goes beyond dollars. Without the one we simply don’t survive, without the other, we are no longer who we are. Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing…we need both to be in dialogue with one another.

*Faith. It’s not always easy. Not everyone can have it. At least all the time. Paul’s words recognize that and remind us. But we always need a critical number who believe it can happen, that we can do it….it will happen, in God’s time, and that the victory is already won.

*Healing. Doctors and nurses are the healing hands of God. Others bring prayers and healing words. Others do the listening that allows healing to begin.

*Working of miracles. We need those with us who can do the impossible. Who can do what no one believes can be done. Who are willing to try.  The very fact that our doors are still open here is thanks to a small and dedicated group of miracle workers.

* Prophecy. Those who can see what’s coming down the road if we don’t change course. Those who are brave enough to speak truth to power and those who can organize prophetic action, effective action.  Those who pass out loaves and fishes and those who train bakers and fishers.

*Discernment of Spirits. Those who get it. Who can feel rightly the gift of others. I had a friend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Bishop Thomas Smith. Of the Church of the Living God. I knew he had a conservative theology to go with his rigorous social ethic. For one of his revivals, he invited one of our colleagues, Rabbi Charles Sherman, to speak. I knew how closely Thomas guarded his pulpit so I asked him why he invited Charles. I have the gift of discerning Spirits. And there is one spirit, he said. And the Holy Spirit has shown me that Charles is of the spirit. And that’s why he’s in my pulpit.

*Tongues. To speak other languages. To other cultures. I’m not just talking ethnicity and national origin, you know? Thee are all kind of cultures and communities in this city. This is where artists come in: Speaking the WORD without WORDS.

*Interpretation of tongues. Those who can hear the various languages being spoken and help others understand. Those who are translators, the readers of signs…. Helping us understand one another.

The gospel story yet another in the series that could be called Jesus learns and grows.. from the teen-aged boy in the temple to the man at baptism called out from the life he’d been living for 30 years  to the young man called by his mother to use his gifts…

So what are your gifts? Which one are you? What do you contribute to the common good? May the Spirit help us with discernment of that question…today..and every day…

Biggest thing to remember, often these gifts work best in dialectic….but still, even in dialogue, there is  ONE SPIRIT…

Amen.

I ask for us to consider, talk about our gifts. I realize how hard it is for some of our people to own their gifts. Like Leila with her artistry and esthetics. Her creativity and sense of beauty. Or Dion with his cheerful spirit and willingness to do whatever is necessary. I remind him of how much it lifts me when I see him when I arrive on Sundays.  Or John, who truly is in service to others in caring ways.  I remind him that  he’s the essence of the traditional meaning  of Deacon. And Rachel. I remind her that she was  nurse. And how much she did for others. Reflecting  on being 94 she says, but it’s all gone now. And I said, but not  your heart. We still feel your care and concern for us. It lifts  me, strengthens me, just to see you here.  (I saw her this morning outside approaching from an unexpected direction. When I asked her about this,  she said that sometimes she like to walk around the block just to see what's going on.  She is a real New Yorker.) I think of John walking her home every Sunday. And so many others…gifts. All.

We say our prayers. Sing our songs. Our amens. And it’s time to go back into  the world.

SECOND READING 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

John 2:1-11 The Voice (VOICE)

2 Three days later, they all went to celebrate a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was invited ² together with Him and His disciples. ³ While they were celebrating, the wine ran out; and Jesus’ mother hurried over to her son.

Mary: The host stands on the brink of embarrassment; there are many guests, and there is no more wine.

Jesus: ⁴ Dear woman, is it our problem they miscalculated when buying wine and inviting guests? My time has not arrived.

⁵ But she turned to the servants.

Mary: Do whatever my son tells you.

⁶ In that area were six massive stone water pots that could each hold 20 to 30 gallons.^[a]They were typically used for Jewish purification rites. ⁷ Jesus’ instructions were clear:

Jesus: Fill each water pot with water until it’s ready to spill over the top; ⁸ then fill a cup, and deliver it to the headwaiter.

They did exactly as they were instructed. ⁹ After tasting the water that had become wine, the headwaiter couldn’t figure out where such wine came from (even though the servants knew), and he called over the bridegroom in amazement.

Headwaiter: ¹⁰ This wine is delectable. Why would you save the most exquisite fruit of the vine? A host would generally serve the good wine first and, when his inebriated guests don’t notice or care, he would serve the inferior wine. You have held back the best for last.

¹¹ Jesus performed this miracle, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee. They did not know how this happened; but when the disciples and the servants witnessed this miracle, their faith blossomed.