Held in One Spirit

“Held in One Spirit”
1 Corinthians 12:1-11   John 2:1-11
Second Sunday after Epiphany, Year C January 16, 2022
First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho
Andy Kennaly, Pastor

          When is it that worship begins?  As we gather here on Sunday mornings, what is the actual start of the worship service?  Is it the prelude, as Annie shares piano music and people gather in the pews?  That’s a great time, it’s kind of a mix of saying hello to people but also a time of reflection, listening, preparing our hearts for worship.  Or is it when the light of Christ, the candle is lit, often walked in from the back of the sanctuary?  Is this what invites awareness?  This visual symbol of Christ in our midst, the flame links spiritual and material in the glow of divine life; is that the beginning of worship?  If so, is it when the light enters the room, or as the worship leader brings it forward, or as the candle is lit?  If I blow it out, is worship over?  Does worship depend on this candle burning?  Maybe worship starts with ringing the bell, an aural way to begin.  We hear the tones, we feel the frequencies of vibration and our bodies get tuned in like a child who gets giddy when it’s time to do something, like open presents or have dessert or welcome a friend they’ve been waiting for with anticipation.  The bell means our rendezvous with God is here.  But then there’s the silence, the pause, the moment of reflection as the bell fades off.  Silence is more than empty space.  Silence is an entity, a living presence that holds creation in itself.  Silence is a solace, a friend that surrounds us when nothing else helps.  Maybe as we welcome silence, worship begins because spaciousness opens our hearts and minds and sets aside lesser concerns.  Then again, we do have announcements, and a verbal welcome as we say hello, acknowledge in-person and online worshippers, and introduce the context, like today being the Second Sunday after Epiphany, a season we celebrate God with us.  Perhaps it’s all the way into the opening prayer before worship begins?  Or the opening hymn?  Then again, worship could start before we even arrive at a place, or a time.  Our anticipation, the pull, the draw, the desire to desire something deeper in life, to find meaning, to feel spiritual; maybe worship takes place without ceasing, like breath or the beat of our hearts.

Asking “when does worship begin” is an impossible question to answer.  There are many layers, lots of options, but whatever the line of argument, eventually it breaks down.  Somehow, all these aspects are needed and have a place.  Integrating multiple layers, holding meanings that sometimes have paradox, and trusting that God is always in an open stance to receive, share, and inspire through worship, we discover that worship has no beginning, and thankfully, no real end.

Reading from 1 Corinthians about different spiritual gifts but all of them are important and held by the one Spirit, and in John the story of the wedding in Cana in Galilee, I’m reminded of a joke.  Did you hear the one about someone who went to the grocery store to buy water?  They found the aisle that had all the big jugs of distilled water, drinking water, and even those smaller water bottles.  But all that water was wine!  There was a sign posted, and it said, “Jesus was here.”

Jesus is here as we read this passage from the Gospel and discover it’s kind of like the beginning of worship.  There are many layers, lots of options to explore, and it speaks to us in ways that may really help at one point but break down when things change.  Somehow all the various interpretations have a place and a valid voice in the conversation.

As we listen to these verses with our Christian ears, things stand out, like the very opening, “On the third day there was a wedding.”  We remember that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.  In scripture, the number three is significant, an indicator that something important is at work that needs to be noticed.  John uses this to get our attention.

Here we have a wedding, in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  This is a family situation, a community event, a very important time in a culture based on honor and shame.  To be invited, like Jesus and the disciples, is prestigious and points to the importance of connection and identity.  Yet this wedding has an issue, they didn’t go to the right grocery store.  They have plenty of water, but they ran out of wine.  In that culture, this was a massive disgrace, one the couple may never recover from in the eyes of the community.  Shame is a powerful mark and hard to shake.  No wonder the mother of Jesus is concerned and points out that “They have no wine.”

Jesus responds, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?  My hour has not yet come.”  “Woman” isn’t something we typically call our mothers.  It sort of sounds harsh, judgmental, condemning.  Is Jesus being chauvinistic?  Controlling?  Or is he trying to avoid the responsibility of ministry before it even begins?  The cultural intrigue starts to pile up, but this is nothing compared to the religious level that emerges.

“Six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons” are standing there.  Jesus has the servants fill them to the brim with water.  We started with a wedding and the cultural implications, now we are at a spiritual level of religious observances, rites, and traditions.  Purification is needed in a shame-based world assumed to be fallen and sinful.  Yet there’s only six, not the perfect seven.  There’s something missing, something these jars are unable to complete.

Then the water is wine, and the chief steward knows the best.  Jesus has done his first sign in John’s gospel, a display of divine power and transformation.  At a magical level we notice the water is wine and Jesus made it so.  How?  Because Jesus is the true vine and nature does his bidding.  At a mythical level we know this to be true because of the power of God.  Jesus has authority and reveals his glory.  Traditional faith is inspired by sacraments expressed, like baptism fulfilled as cleansing water saves the situation and wine flows like communion as the fullness of relationship is restored and celebrated.  The requirements are met.  Shame is exchanged as honor takes center stage through the ministry of Christ and Jesus makes it so.

Modernity suggests that woman is more than a gender, but a title of completeness.  Mother of Jesus, woman, like no other.  Scandal is replaced by celebration, and it only gets better and better as the best is saved for last.  Progress happens as social justice is done and good outcomes are shared for generations.  Servants are empowered and know more than those in charge.  The world is changed because everyone has a place that’s important.

Or maybe we could read this biblical narrative as a metaphor for how life is?  Like first half of life, second half of life.  The first half of life, we focus on identity, we learn the rules and try to follow them, we shape a life and observe tradition.  We are born, we grow, we peak and flourish, and then gradually fade as age takes its physical toll.  That’s the bell curve of the first and second half of life.

Yet this story shows us another type of growth, spiritual growth.  While physical decline is part of life and everyone faces this, spiritual growth is optional.  Second half of life doesn’t have to be a bell curve, but a steady incline.  But this requires transformation, and it helps to learn the art of letting go.  Notice Jesus isn’t hooked by social conventions, not limited by religious observance.  His actions draw us toward a second half of life spirituality.  For Jesus it is love that motivates, relationship that defines, completeness and covenant that shape his words and actions.  Jesus holds it all in perfect tension.  New wine in new wineskins, as second half of life learns what and how to let go of from the first half of life.

Practicing contemplation, life’s meaning goes deeper, and ordinary things take on a new hue, like water into wine.  At many levels this story is amazing.  From magical realities to spiritual metaphor, this sign of Jesus is a gift from God.

May God’s Spirit help us grow in depth of faith as God’s glory is revealed.  As we live and follow Christ, in service, unity, and love, may God be glorified, now, and forever.  Amen.