Fourth Sunday in Lent, cycle C

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

There is a line in a prayer that goes something like this: “Dear Blessed Mother, I pray that you will help us to see ourselves as God sees us.”

I don't remember all the details, but many years ago one of my daughters attended a service which was conducted by an Irish layman. As part of the service the young people came forward individually and were told something meant just for them. My daughter was told “Jesus is crazy mad in love with you!” My teenage daughter came home in a state of euphoria, but of course a few days went by and she reverted to her normal self. I don't know if she remembers that, but I still do.

The story of the prodigal son has been seen through many lenses. Is it about repentance? The younger son comes to his senses and seeks forgiveness. Is it about reconciliation? The younger son returns to the heart of the family he had left. Is it about the Father's love as an example of God's love? That's the interpretation we tend to favor today. The Father is God the Father who is always holding his arms out to welcome us home no matter how far we've gone astray. But like most of Jesus' stories, we can find many other ways to see the parable.

The younger son, having burned through his inheritance, isn't hoping for much; he just hopes that if he goes back to his Father, he will have a place to sleep and a little food in exchange for work. I think the son has reached bottom, at least that's how the story goes. He is “employed” probably for way below the minimum wage, taking care of pigs. His wages, whatever they were, were not sufficient to feed him, since he wishes he could eat some of the food the pigs are given. Jesus uses pigs deliberately, since the people he spoke to would have nothing to do with pigs. The younger son is so much at bottom that he swallows what little pride he has left and returns to his father. He could not find a job being a servant or even a slave. He rehearses his speech, but before he can give it, his Father is all over him. Even as the son is giving his speech, declaring that he no longer deserves to be his son, he is just hoping to be a servant, the father is rushing about, demonstrating that he is the son. That's the significance of the robe and the ring and the sandals; being shoeless was a sign of slavery; wearing a ring indicated privilege; and being given a robe is sort of like when Jacob gave his son Joseph a coat of many colors; it was a sign that you didn't have to do manual work. The Father is in effect saying, “you may see yourself as a slave, but I still see you as my son”.

The party gets started and the fatted calf is slaughtered and there is a lot of merriment going on. The older son hears this and calls his father out of the party. Listen to his words: All these years I slaved for you (I know the translation in the missalette says “I served you” but “slaved for you is probably closer to the Greek). The older son points out that not once did he disobey his father's orders – the son truly believes that he has been a good slave. And of course the older son expresses his hurt and anger. But notice that the father says, in effect: I do not accept the idea that you are a slave to me. You are my son and everything I have is yours.

The older son refers to the younger one as “your son” but the father refuses to recognize this designation as well, saying “your brother was dead and has come to life again...”

So one thing this story does is it reminds us that no matter what we think of ourselves, God sees us as we really are – beloved sons and daughters – and we can imagine that he is looking at us with a frown on his face, or making a spreadsheet with good stuff on one side and bad stuff on the other, and the longest column is going to determine where we end up. But those images are just plain wrong. I am beloved, I am a favored son, and my Father wants to welcome me home and start the party. I am a favored son and what my Father has he gives to me.

But the other part is equally important: he points out my brother; he is father to that person as well, who is also a favored one. We can't say that God shows no favorites – he sees each of us as favorite.

My daughter knew that Jesus loved her; she'd heard that from before kindergarten. But maybe up until that moment she didn't really let it sink in. It wasn't until an enthusiastic Irish evangelist put his hands on her shoulders, looked her in the eye and said, “Jesus is crazy mad in love with you!” that it struck home.

And maybe that's another lesson from the story of the prodigal son. God refuses to go along with how we see ourselves, or for that matter, how we see each other.

This week is a good time to make a resolution: when I start to have negative thoughts about myself, when I feel that everything is going wrong and I'm not much good for anything, when other people treat me like I'm an inconvenient object (and unfortunately, there is a lot of that going on in nursing homes) it's a good time to remind ourselves that that's not the way God sees us. God is in fact, madly in love with you and with me and will never cease to welcome us when we choose to return to him.

Third Sunday in Lent, cycle A (scrutinies)

John 4:5-42

The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is one of the longer stories in the gospels. And yet, it only appears in the Gospel of John. You would think that something like this would be remembered by the apostles. And they probably remembered something like this. But John never writes with a historical eye; he always has layers and layers in his gospel, and a story like this is practically a textbook of theology.

In the Old Testament, there are several stories of men meeting women at wells. Isaac meets Rebecca at a well, and Jacob meets Rachel. Moses meets his wife Zipporah. And King Saul meets three women at a well, and very much contrary to the tradition, does not become acquainted with his future wife. It is sort of a prediction that Saul will fail at answering God's call. So John expects his readers, who will mostly be Jews, to remember the significance of a man and a woman meeting at a well. And everything starts out typically. Jesus asks for a drink. Jewish men didn't talk to strange women if they could help it, and certainly not Samaritan women. And then we begin to notice other things.

The Samaritan woman reminds me of a patient I once took care of. Roberta, not her real name of course, had been married twice and her current man was not her husband. She had abandoned her family which included two young children. This had to do with alcohol, abuse, poverty – all those things, apparently. She was always poorly groomed and smelled of tobacco smoke. And yet she was an intelligent and pleasant woman. She had just given up. Her life seemed to be devoted to the pleasure of alcohol and the avoidance of responsibility. And like the Samaritan woman she needed saving.

The woman in the story is coming to the well at noon, You didn't do that unless you were trying to avoid other people. That's the time everyone was inside, trying to avoid the heat. The woman is a Samaritan – to Jewish people, she would be an outcast. Pagans you could understand, but a Samaritan, who didn't worship at the Jerusalem temple? Who denied the divine authority of the books of the prophets and the wisdom books? Who worshiped on a sacred mountain which was almost a sacrilege to the Jews, because that's were a lot of Pagans worshiped. Samaritans were even worse than pagans, practicing some perverse mockery of the true religion.

Jesus draws out that the woman has been cast out by five husbands; women could not initiate divorce. Or maybe she was the widow of five men; that's not much better, because it gets you thinking about how that happened. And the cherry on the Sundae is that she is an adulteress. The Samaritan woman is about as far from an ideal marriage partner as you could get.

But it is to this hopeless sinner that Jesus reveals himself. She begins by calling him “sir”, then a prophet; then Jesus reveals that he is the one to come. And finally the villagers become convinced, first on her testimony, then on their own witness, that this is the savior of the world.

So it is a love story, of sorts. It's a story of mercy, how Jesus reaches out to us as we go about our daily activities, how he enters into our ordinary lives and asks for water and then offers us living water, water that will once and for all quench the thirst in us.

We are thirsty. If you've ever been really thirsty, it's hard to think of anything else. And once your thirst is quenched, you know it won't be long before you want more. Thirst is a good name for our human condition. Do you have everything you want? I don't. I think all of us could think of something we would like to have. Maybe good health, maybe youth, maybe more money, maybe more success. Maybe we are content but we want something for our spouse or our children. But unless you have reached a very high spiritual level, you can't say “I want nothing”. But whenever we get what we want, our satisfaction is very brief, and then we turn to the next thing on our list to want. We live in a constant state of thirst. Most of our thirsts can be grouped under one of four headings: pleasure – we want to feel good, we want to get rid of aches and pains, we want to be warm and comfortable and have full stomachs. But when we experience pleasure, it's brief and never lasts. Wealth is another thirst. It goes without saying that an enormous amount of pain is caused by the seeking after wealth, and often most of the pain goes to the one seeking, who loses relationships, health and time in the process. A third is being noticed. We could call that fame. There are people who are driven by this, but most of us like a little attention. How far we are willing to go to get it, of course, is where we get in trouble. Some of the people who go into a crowd and begin shooting are looking for fame. And finally there is power. In our country, especially during a presidential election, it's never hard to see how seeking power can distort and destroy a person. I'm always amazed that people with very little real life experience think they are qualified to run our country. And like the other thirsts, people who get power are always thirsting for more. Indeed, these thirsts make us hurt, and when we devote our lives to one of them, we are the most wretched of creatures.

And that's what Jesus offers this wretched woman – a woman who immediately grasps how wonderful it would be to get away from the constant cycle of going down to the well every day, bringing water home, using it up, and then going back the next day. If she had living water, she would be free of this burden; if you and I had living water, we would be free of the endless thirst that is in us. And we hear Jesus tell us “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest”.

That's what Jesus offers her – the quenching of her thirst. And that's what he offers us.

Second Sunday in Lent, cycle C

LUKE 9:28-36

THE TRANSFIGURATION ALWAYS TROUBLES ME. IT IS DESCRIBED IN THREE OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN SUGGESTS IT, AND THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER REFERS TO IT. THERE CERTAINLY SEEMS TO BE AMPLE EVIDENCE THAT IT TOOK PLACE. AND YET IT SEEMS SO OUT OF PLACE. JESUS IS GOD MADE MAN, GOD WHO BECOMES ONE OF US, LIKE US IN EVERYTHING BUT SIN. AND THAT SEEMS TO BE GOD'S PLAN, TO MAKE HIMSELF SO APPROACHABLE THAT HE WANTS TO BE OUR FOOD AND DRINK, HE WANTS TO PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY BE IN US, TO BE UNITED TO US IN A MOST INTIMATE WAY. AND YET THE TRANSFIGURATION SEEMS TO BE A STARK REMINDER THAT JESUS IS GOD AND WE ARE BUT MEN. IT SEEMS TO BE A REMINDER THAT IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THERE IS SOMETHING UNBRIDGEABLE HERE, THAT ALL WE CAN DO IS STAND BACK AND TREMBLE – JUST AS THOSE APOSTLES DID.

AND THERE IS JESUS CONVERSING WITH MOSES AND ELIJAH – HOW DID THE APOSTLES KNOW THAT? THEY DIDN'T HAVE CAMERAS IN THOSE DAYS AND MOSES AND ELIJAH NEVER HAD PICTURES OF THEMSELVES PAINTED. AND YET THEY REMEMBERED SNATCHES OF THE CONVERSATION – THEY SPOKE OF JESUS “EXODUS” – HIS LEAVING THIS LIFE – WHICH WOULD TAKE PLACE IN JERUSALEM. I WONDER WHAT THEY SAID. DID MOSES AND ELIJAH TRY TO GIVE JESUS ENCOURAGEMENT? WAS IT A PROPHECY OF SORTS? OR WAS JESUS INFORMING THEM OF WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO DO? AND THE VERY FACT THAT JESUS IS THERE TALKING TO THE GREAT LAW GIVER AND THE GREATEST OF THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL IS IN ITSELF ANOTHER WALL BETWEEN THE DIVINITY OF JESUS AND OUR HUMANITY.

SO ON THE ONE HAND WE HAVE THE INCARNATION – THE WHOLE POINT OF WHICH WAS FOR GOD TO TRANSFORM OUR HUMANITY SO THAT WE COULD BE LIKE HIM. AND ON THE OTHER HAND WE HAVE THIS TRANSFIGURATION WHICH SEEMS TO MAKE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT HE IS VASTLY BEYOND OUR REACH.

AND PEOPLE HAVE SPECULATED ABOUT WHAT JESUS INTENDED WHEN HE ALLOWED THOSE APOSTLES TO SEE HIM TRANSFIGURED. SOME WRITERS SAY IT WAS TO SHORE UP THE COURAGE OF THE THREE APOSTLES GIVEN THE HORRIBLE DEATH HE IS ABOUT TO UNDERGO; IT WAS SO THAT IN THEIR DARK DESPAIR THEY WILL NOT LOSE HOPE. BUT IF THAT WAS THE REASON, WHY NOT THE OTHER NINE DISCIPLES? WOULDN'T THEY NEED THEIR FAITH STRENGTHENED AS WELL, MAYBE MORE SO? AND OBVIOUSLY IF THIS WAS THE REASON, IT DIDN'T WORK; PETER'S BETRAYAL AND THE FACT THAT THE APOSTLES WERE LONG GONE DURING THE DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS, AND THE FACT THAT THEY WERE HUDDLING IN THE UPPER ROOM FOR FEAR OF THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES, SHOW THAT THEY DIDN'T PICK UP A LOT OF COURAGE FROM THEIR MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCE.

AND THE DISCIPLES HEARD THE FATHER AND HIS LAST COMMAND TO THE HUMAN RACE – “THIS IS MY CHOSEN SON, LISTEN TO HIM.” AND THE APOSTLES MAY HAVE HELD BACK A REASONABLE QUESTION, “WHAT DO YOU THINK WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS?”

SO HOW DO WE MAKE SENSE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION? HOW SHOULD IT IMPACT OUR LIVES?

MAYBE THE ANSWER LIES IN THE INCARNATION; MAYBE THIS IS A HINT OF WHAT GOD MEANS TO HAPPEN THROUGH THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS. IT ISN'T THAT JESUS IS IRREDUCIBLY DIFFERENT FROM YOU AND I. IT'S THAT JESUS SHOWS US WHAT IS REALLY AT THE CORE OF OUR OWN BEING; HE REVEALS THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR BAPTISM TO US.

FIRST, THERE IS HIS APPEARANCE. ALL THE ACCOUNTS TALK ABOUT THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS GARMENTS – DAZZLING, WHITE. AND IN THE LAST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, THERE IS THAT SCENE IN WHICH WE MEET THOSE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE GREAT TRIBULATION, AND WASHED THEIR GARMENTS IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB – AND THE GARMENTS ARE WHITE. THE REAL YOU, THE REAL I, LOOKS LIKE JESUS DID ON THAT MOUNTAIN.

THEN THERE ARE THE TWO COMPANIONS. THEY SYMBOLIZE HOW GOD GUIDED THE JEWISH PEOPLE THROUGH ALL THOSE TROUBLING YEARS. HE GAVE THEM LAW AND HE GAVE THEM PROPHETS TO CALL THEM BACK FROM THEIR ERRORS. BUT TWO PROPHETS MADE A PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE, ALMOST IN THE SAME WORDS: “I WILL TAKE YOUR HEARTS OF STONE AND GIVE YOU HEARTS OF FLESH, AND I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT IN YOU SO THAT YOU WILL KNOW MY DECREES AND TAKE CARE TO KEEP MY REGULATIONS.” THE NEW HUMANITY WHICH JESUS GIVES US IS NO LONGER ONE WHICH WILL BE FOREVER STUBBORN AND DISOBEDIENT; WE ARE NO LONGER LIKE STUBBORN BEASTS, BUT ARE GIVEN THE GRACE TO FOLLOW GOD'S LAW OUT OF LOVE. LIKE MARY WE HAVE THE POWER TO SAY TO GOD WITH OUR WHOLE BEING, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD!” MOSES AND ELIJAH ARE NO LONGER EXTERNAL VOICES, BUT SPEAK TO US FROM WITHIN OUR HEARTS.

AND THERE IS MORE. THE FATHER SAYS, “THIS IS MY CHOSEN ONE, LISTEN TO HIM!” AND JESUS TOLD US LONG AGO THAT WHATEVER WE DO FOR THE LEAST OF OUR BROTHERS, WE DO FOR HIM. THE TRANSFIGURATION TELLS US THAT WE, LIKE JESUS, ARE CHOSEN; BECAUSE OF OUR BAPTISMS WE ARE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD. AND PART OF BEING CHOSEN IS THAT WE LISTEN; WE LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF JESUS, IN OUR SCRIPTURES, IN OUR CHURCH, IN OUR CONSCIENCES, BUT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE, IN THE VOICES OF THOSE AROUND US. BECAUSE GOD IS ALWAYS SPEAKING TO US AND SPEAKS TO US MOST STRONGLY THROUGH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE LEAST, WHO ARE POOR, FORGOTTEN – WHO LIVE ON THE MARGINS. WHEN WE BECOME WHAT WE ARE MEANT TO BE, WHEN WE ACCEPT THAT WE ARE CHOSEN, WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO THOSE OTHERS WHO ARE ALSO CHOSEN.

SO MAYBE IF YOU WANT TO ASK HOW THE TRANSFIGURATION AFFECTS YOUR LIFE, THAT MIGHT BE THE DIRECTION TO TAKE. LOOK AT JESUS ON THAT MOUNTAINTOP, AND SEE YOURSELF THERE. IT ISN'T THAT THERE IS AN UNBRIDGEABLE GULF BETWEEN JESUS TRANSFIGURED AND MYSELF; IT'S THAT JESUS TRANSFIGURED IS WHAT I AM MEANT TO BE, IS WHAT I REALLY AM IN THE EYES OF THE FATHER. AND SURE, I DON'T SEE IT VERY CLEARLY TODAY, OR MAYBE EVEN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE; BUT INCARNATION HAPPENED, GOD BECAME MAN, SO THAT MAN COULD BECOME LIKE GOD.

AND AS YOU AND I LOOK ON WHAT GOD HAS IN MIND FOR US, WE CAN SAY WITH PETER, “MASTER, IT IS GOOD THAT WE ARE HERE!”

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 5:1-11

I HARDLY NEW ANY DOCTORS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP. THERE WAS THE FAMILY DOCTOR WHOM I SAW NOW AND THEN; MY FATHER HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS A SURGEON, AND I'D TALK WITH HIM ONCE IN A WHILE. AND I HAD AN UNCLE WHO WAS A DOCTOR. BUT I DON'T REMEMBER EVER TALKING TO ANY OF THEM ABOUT BECOMING A PHYSICIAN; IN FACT DURING THAT PART OF MY LIFE I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT MYSELF. IN COLLEGE I GRAVITATED TOWARDS MEDICINE BECAUSE IT SEEMED TO ANSWER TWO THINGS I THOUGHT I NEEDED; THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AS MUCH AS I COULD ABOUT SOMETHING, IN THIS CASE HUMAN BEINGS; AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME GOOD IN MY CAREER. AND THERE WERE OTHER THINGS – THE CERTAINTY OF A GOOD INCOME, THE RESPECT THAT USED TO COME WITH THAT TITLE “DOCTOR”. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT I DID NOT SAY I WANTED TO BECOME A DOCTOR BECAUSE I HAD MET A DOCTOR I WANTED TO BE LIKE. THAT CAME LATER.

WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT GOING INTO A SPECIALTY, I SPENT SOME TIME WITH A PHYSICIAN WHO SPECIALIZED IN DISEASES OF THE BLOOD. HIS ELECTIVE WASN'T VERY POPULAR, AND HE HIMSELF WASN'T A VERY IMPRESSIVE FIGURE. HE WAS QUIET AND WHEN HE SPOKE TO YOU HE NEVER LOOKED YOU IN THE EYE. BUT AS I GOT TO KNOW HIM, I LEARNED THAT HE WAS A VERY WEALTHY MAN – HE HAD MARRIED THE DAUGHTER OF ONE OF THE TITANS OF INDUSTRY. HE DONATED ALL HIS SALARY BACK TO THE MEDICAL SCHOOL. HE WAS DEEPLY RELIGIOUS, AND AT ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY CHAPEL, I'D SEE HIM AT MASS DURING THE WEEK. HE KNEW AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT ABOUT MEDICINE, BUT ABOUT A LOT OF OTHER THINGS AS WELL. AND WHEN HE DEALT WITH A PATIENT, OFTEN ONE WHO WAS DYING OF LEUKEMIA OR A LYMPHOMA, HIS COMPASSION AND LOVE COULD ALMOST BE FELT. THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED, THAT WAS THE PHYSICIAN I WANTED TO BE, AND THAT'S WHAT DREW ME INTO THE SPECIALTY OF CANCER MEDICINE.

TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE CALLING OF PETER, JAMES AND JOHN. THEY WERE CLEANING UP AFTER A LONG FRUITLESS NIGHT OF FISHING. AND JESUS ASKED PETER TO PUT HIS BOAT BACK IN THE WATER AND PUSH OUT SO HE COULD TEACH THE EAGER CROWDS. PETER MUST HAVE BEEN PRETTY TIRED, BUT HE OBEYED. AND THEN JESUS SAID, PUT OUT INTO THE DEEP AND CAST YOUR NETS. PETER KNEW YOU DIDN'T CATCH MUCH IN THE DEEP PART OF THE LAKE; THE FISH FED ALONG THE SHORES. AND YOU DIDN'T CATCH MUCH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY; FISH TENDED TO BE MOST ACTIVE IN THE EARLY MORNINGS AND LATE EVENINGS. AND I'M PRETTY SURE PETER WASN'T EXCITED ABOUT GETTING HIS NET OUT AGAIN; HE'D JUST HAVE TO CLEAN IT UP AGAIN. AND WHAT DID A CARPENTER KNOW ABOUT FISHING? BUT PETER TRUSTED AND OBEYED JESUS FOR THE SECOND TIME.

DURING JESUS' LIFE THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE AMAZED BY HIS MIRACLES, OR EVEN THE SUBJECT OF THOSE MIRACLES. PERHAPS PETER WAS DIFFERENT; HIS REACTION WAS NOT AMAZEMENT, IT WAS REMORSE – HE SUDDENLY REALIZED HE WAS IN THE PRESENCE OF SOMETHING HOLY AND RECOGNIZED HIS OWN SINFUL NATURE. NOW I DON'T THINK PETER WAS A SPECTACULAR SINNER. I SUSPECT IF YOU HAD ASKED HIS NEIGHBORS, HE WAS SEEN AS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS, WHO WORKED HARD, WAS CHARITABLE, TOOK CARE OF HIS FAMILY, WAS CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT HIS BUSINESS – BUT THEY SAY THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY CLOSE TO GOD ARE LIKE PETER; THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THEY ARE SINNERS MUCH MORE SO THAN THE REST OF US.

JESUS INVITES PETER AND JAMES AND JOHN TO A LIFE OF MISSION. THE FIRST REQUIREMENT WAS TO NOT BE AFRAID. YOU CAN'T ABRUPTLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE IF YOU ARE BOGGED DOWN BY FEAR. REMEMBER THE RICH YOUNG MAN? HE ALSO WAS GIVEN AN INVITATION, AND TURNED IT DOWN BECAUSE, IT SAYS, “HE HAD MANY POSESSIONS” AND UNDOUBTEDLY FEARED LOSING THEM. BUT PETER, JAMES AND JOHN, AT JESUS' INVITATION, DROPPED EVERYTHING, LEFT THEIR FAMILIAR AND PROBABLY COMFORTABLE LIVES, AND FOLLOWED JESUS WHO PROMISED THAT THEY WOULD BE CATCHING MEN.

THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT THIS STORY, THE MORE YOU WONDER. WHY DID THEY LEAVE EVERYTHING? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THIS INVITATION THAT CHANGED THEIR WHOLE LIVES AROUND?

I HAVE MY OWN THEORY. I SUSPECT THIS WASN'T THE FIRST TIME PETER, JAMES AND JOHN HAD MET JESUS. AFTER ALL, PETER CALLS HIM “MASTER”. NOT ONLY DID THEY KNOW HIM, BUT THEY PROBABLY KNEW HIM WELL, AND HAD SEEN HIM PREACH TO THE CROWDS AND HAD HEARD ABOUT HIS MIRACLES. THE MORE THEY HEARD, THE MORE THEY SAW, THE MORE THEY WERE INTRIGUED, THE MORE THEY ADMIRED HIM. SO WHEN JESUS TURNS TO THEM AND IN EFFECT OFFERS TO TEACH THEM TO BE LIKE HIM, THEY ARE READY, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIM AND KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO.

THAT'S KIND OF THE LESSON FOR US. OUR FAITH TELLS US THAT JESUS IS GOD AND MAN, THAT HE HAS THE KEYS TO ETERNAL LIFE, THAT WHEN WE SEE HIM, WE SEE THE FATHER. BUT WE ARE LIKE THAT GREAT CROWD ON THE SHORE OF THE LAKE – WE RECOGNIZE HIS TEACHINGS AS SOUND AND GOOD, AND WE TRY TO FOLLOW THEM; BUT MAYBE WE DON'T KNOW HIM AS WELL AS WE COULD; MAYBE WE DON'T KNOW HIM WELL ENOUGH TO SAY, “I WANT TO BE LIKE HIM” BECAUSE WANTING TO BE LIKE HIM IS A BIG COMMITMENT. YET THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF BEING A DISCIPLE; TO BEGIN THE WORK OF CHANGING YOURSELF TO BECOME LIKE JESUS.

WHEN WE MEET PETER AFTER THE FIRST PENTECOST, HE'S GOTTEN THE POINT. HE IS TEACHING, HE IS CURING THE SICK, HE EVEN RAISES A DEAD PERSON; HE'S BECOME LIKE JESUS. WHEN WE MEET SAINT BENEDICT OR SAINT FRANCIS OR SAINT JOHN PAUL II, OR FOR THAT MATTER ANY SAINT, BECAUSE THAT'S THE DEFINITION OF A SAINT, WE SEE THAT THEY HAVE GOTTEN TO KNOW JESUS VERY WELL, AND CANNOT HELP BUT WANT TO BE LIKE HIM. SO THEY MAKE A FULL TIME COMMITMENT TO BECOME LIKE HIM.

AND THAT'S WHAT YOU AND I NEED TO DO. WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW JESUS WELL ENOUGH TO WANT TO BE LIKE HIM, AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, BE READY TO GIVE UP WHATEVER STANDS IN OUR WAY AS WE ANSWER THE CALL OF HIS GRACE. THE THEOLOGIAN LEON BLOY WROTE “THE ONLY REAL SADNESS, THE ONLY REAL FAILURE, THE ONLY GREAT TRAGEDY IN LIFE, IS NOT TO BECOME A SAINT.” PETER, JAMES AND JOHN RECOGNIZED THIS AND EVEN THOUGH THE ROAD WAS OFTEN ROCKY AND THEY FAILED MANY TIMES, THEY BECAME HIS DISCIPLES. ARE YOU AND I WHERE WE SHOULD BE IN BECOMING SAINTS?   

Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 4:21-30

WHENEVER I HEAR THIS GOSPEL I REMEMBER A LONG TIME AGO SHORTLY AFTER I HAD GRADUATED FROM MEDICAL SCHOOL. I WAS KIND OF FULL OF MYSELF, I GUESS, AND VERY PROUD. I HAD GONE BACK TO MONTANA FOR A BRIEF VISIT AND WAS INVITED TO HAVE SUPPER WITH MY RELATIVES WHO LIVED AND FARMED AROUND BELT, MONTANA. I GOT THERE A LITTLE LATE AND TOOK MY PLACE AT THE BIG FARM TABLE. AFTER A FEW HELLOS EVERYBODY WENT BACK TO TALKING ABOUT WHATEVER AND I FINISHED MY MEAL IN SILENCE, PRETTY MUCH IGNORED. AFTER SUPPER IT WAS THE CUSTOM FOR THE WOMEN TO GATHER IN THE KITCHEN WHILE EVERYTHING WAS CLEANED UP AND PUT AWAY. ON A PLEASANT EVENING LIKE THIS ONE, THE MEN WENT OUT IN THE YARD TO HAVE A BEER OR SMOKE A CIGAR AND OF COURSE, TALK. THE TOPIC THIS EVENING, I SOON LEARNED, WAS THE RELATIVE MERITS OF COW MANURE AND CHICKEN MANURE WITH RESPECT TO RAISING A VEGETABLE GARDEN. I LISTENED WITH SOME FASCINATION AS MY COUSIN TOOK THE SIDE OF CHICKEN MANURE AND MY TWO UNCLES HELD FORTH ABOUT COW MANURE. MY UNCLE PHIL, WHO DID NOT HAVE A FARM, BUT HAD A VEGETABLE GARDEN THAT WAS THE ENVY OF EVERYONE, DID NOT VENTURE AN OPINION, BUT MERELY PUFFED ON HIS PIPE. EVENTUALLY I WAS ASKED WHAT I THOUGHT. NOT BEING ABLE TO SAY “I DON'T KNOW” I CHOSE TO DEFEND CHICKEN MANURE FOR WHAT I THOUGHT WERE QUITE RATIONAL SCIENTIFIC REASONS. AT THE END OF MY DEFENSE, ONE OF MY UNCLES WHO FAVORED COW MANURE LOOKED ME IN THE EYE AND SAID, “A LOT OF GOOD ALL THAT EDUCATION DID FOR YOU!” AND THEY ALL LAUGHED. YOU CAN TELL I'M STILL TRAUMATIZED.

WHY DID JESUS' NEIGHBORS GET SO UPSET? YOU REMEMBER LAST SUNDAY WHEN JESUS TOLD THEM HE WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF ISAIAH'S PROPHECY. THE PEOPLE LIKED WHAT THEY HEARD; AND AS THEY THOUGHT ABOUT IT, THEY REMEMBERED THAT HE WAS JOSEPH'S BOY, THE HOME TOWN BOY WHO MADE GOOD. THEY'D HEARD ABOUT THE MIRACLES AND THE HEALINGS, AND HERE HE WAS, READY TO DO EVEN MORE FOR THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH. BUT JESUS HAD ANTICIPATED THIS; HE QUOTED TWO SAYINGS TO THEM: “PHYSICIAN, CURE YOURSELF!” AND “A PROPHET IS NOT WITHOUT HONOR EXCEPT IN HIS OWN COUNTRY”. AND THEN HE WENT ON TO POINT OUT THAT IN THE PAST GOD HAD PASSED OVER THE ISRAELITES WHO WERE SUFFERING TO SHOWER HIS GRACE ON PAGANS. NOW YOU'D HAVE TO BE A JEW OF THAT TIME TO GET THE POINT. JEWS KNEW THAT THEY HAD A TWO-FOLD MISSION FROM GOD. IT'S ALL THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT. THE FIRST MISSION WAS TO KEEP GOD'S LAW. WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE 630 LAWS THEY HAD TO KEEP AND WONDER HOW ANYONE COULD DO THIS. BUT TO THE AVERAGE JEW, THERE WERE ONLY A FEW LAWS THAT PERTAINED TO HIM OR HER, AND WHENEVER THEY KEPT THOSE LAWS, IT WAS LIKE A PRAYER; IT MADE THEM FEEL CLOSER TO GOD. TALK TO AN ORTHODOX JEW TODAY ABOUT THE LAWS – THEY LOVE THOSE LAWS, THEY CAN'T WAIT TO KEEP THEM. SO MOST JEWS NOT ONLY KEPT THE LAW, BUT THEY KEPT IT WELL; AND WHEN THEY TRANSGRESSED, A SACRIFICE OR A RITUAL WASHING, OR A PERIOD OF TIME AWAY FROM THE COMMUNITY WAS ENOUGH TO GET BACK IN GOD'S GRACES.

BUT THE OTHER MISSION OF THE JEWS WAS TO BE A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES. THEY WERE THE VANGUARD WHOSE EXISTENCE WAS TO SHOW EVERYONE ELSE THAT GOD MOVED AMONG HIS PEOPLE AND INVITED ALL NATIONS TO JOIN HIM. AFTER ALL, ABRAHAM HAD BEEN PROMISED THAT IN HIS OFFSPRING ALL THE NATIONS ON EARTH WOULD BE BLESSED. JERUSALEM, SAID THE PROPHETS, WAS TO BE A SHINING CITY ON A HILL, WHERE EVERYONE COULD LEARN WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO KNOW. AND IN FACT THE QUOTATION FROM ISAIAH THAT JESUS GAVE US LAST WEEK, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME ...” IS TAKEN FROM A LONGER SECTION WITH THIS SAME THEME THAT GOD WAS NOT JUST FOR JEWS. AND THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME SEEM TO HAVE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN THIS. THEY WOULDN'T EVEN TALK TO THE SAMARITANS, LET ALONE THE GENTILES, UNLESS THEY ABSOLUTELY HAD TO. THE MORE RELIGIOUS AMONG THEM WOULDN'T EVEN HANDLE THINGS THAT GENTILES HAD TOUCHED. THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM LOOKED DOWN ON THE JEWS WHO HAD BEEN SCATTERED AROUND THE ROMAN EMPIRE, BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T HELP BUT BE RITUALLY CONTAMINATED. PERHAPS THINKING OF THIS SITUATION, IN ANOTHER PLACE JESUS SAYS “WHO WOULD LIGHT A LAMP AND PUT IT UNDER A BUSHEL BASKET?”

THAT'S WHY THE JEWS GOT SO MAD. THEY WERE REMINDED THAT THEY WEREN'T SPECIAL, IN FACT, THEY HAD FAILED MISERABLY IN WHAT GOD HAD CALLED THEM TO DO. THEY COULD LOOK AT THEMSELVES AND SEE THAT THEY KEPT THE LAW, THEY WORSHIPED IN THE TEMPLE, THEY OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY TITHED, THEY PRAYED, THEY NEVER MIXED MEAT WITH MILK – IF YOU LOOKED OUT OF JUST ONE EYE, YOU COULDN'T FIND FAULT. BUT IF YOU LOOKED OUT OF THE OTHER, THEY HADN'T EVEN BEGUN TO DO WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO.

AND FOR THE PEOPLE LISTENING TO JESUS IN THAT SYNAGOGUE, THAT WAS TOO MUCH.

BUT HOW DIFFERENT ARE WE? MOST OF US LEAD PRETTY GOOD LIVES. WE KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS, WE PRAY, WE TRY TO DO THE RIGHT THING, WE TURN UP HERE EVERY WEEKEND TO WORSHIP, AND WE SUPPORT THE CHURCH. BUT JESUS WANTS MORE FROM US; HE WANTS US TO BUILD HIS KINGDOM. HE WANTS US TO MAKE A WORLD WHERE THE BLIND SEE, THE LAME ARE HEALED, THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM, CAPTIVES ARE SET FREE, – HE WANTS THE POOR TO BE RAISED UP AND THE RICH CAST DOWN, THE HUNGRY TO EAT AND THE WELL – OFF TO GIVE UP A LITTLE; HE TOLD US THAT HOW WE TREAT OTHERS IS EXACTLY HOW WE TREAT HIM.

AND WE FEEL PRIVILEGED AND LOVED HERE IN OUR TOWN, HERE IN OUR BEAUTIFUL CHURCH; WE ARE CERTAINLY FAVORED BY GOD. BUT ITS HARD TO ACCEPT THAT GOD LOVES THAT UNPLEASANT VAGRANT DOWNTOWN IN SPRINGFIELD JUST AS MUCH AS HE LOVES YOU OR ME, AND EXPECTS YOU AND I TO SHOW THAT PERSON THAT HE IS LOVED AS WELL. NO WONDER THEY TRIED TO THROW JESUS OFF A CLIFF. WE PROBABLY WOULD ALSO.  

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 1:1-4; 4;14-21

IF YOU COME TO CHURCH EVERY WEEKEND AND EVEN HALF-WAY LISTEN TO THE SCRIPTURE READINGS, AFTER A WHILE MOST OF THEM, ESPECIALLY THE GOSPEL PASSAGES, BEGIN TO SOUND FAMILIAR. AND OF COURSE THAT'S NOT SO GOOD; ONCE WE HEAR THE SAME READING FOR THE THIRD OR FOURTH TIME, WE DON'T LISTEN CAREFULLY AND WE MISS A LOT OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE SAYING. WE SORT OF DISMISS IT.

THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN NAZARETH WERE LIKE YOU AND I. THEIR WORSHIP SERVICE CONSISTED OF SCRIPTURE READINGS AND PRAYER AND SONG. AND SOMETIMES THEY LOST SIGHT OF WHAT WAS BEING SAID BECAUSE IT WAS SO FAMILIAR.

I LEARNED SOMETHING INTERESTING WHEN I WAS RESEARCHING THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE. NAZARETH WAS A LITTLE VILLAGE, BUT MORE LIKE A SUBURB OF A LARGER CITY CALLED SEPPORAH, WHICH WAS FILLED WITH A MIX OF JEWS AND GENTILES MANY OF WHOM WERE ROMANS. THERE WAS A LOT OF URBAN UNREST IN SEPPORAH, RIOTING BY ONE GROUP OR ANOTHER; THERE WAS CRIME; THERE WAS POLICE BRUTALITY BECAUSE ROMAN SOLDIERS DIDN'T PUT UP WITH MUCH. AND THE CITY WAS PUT UNDER A MILITARY GOVERNMENT MORE THAN ONCE, IN AN ATTEMPT TO QUIET THINGS DOWN. SO IT WAS PROBABLY A LOT LIKE CHICAGO. NAZARETH WAS A LITTLE TOWN MADE UP MOSTLY OF JEWS, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS SO CLOSE, IT COUDN'T COMPLETELY AVOID BEING SWEPT UP IN THE TROUBLES. BETWEEN THE TAXES AND THE BRIBERY AND THE BRUTALITY OF THE ROMAN SOLDIERS IT WAS NO WONDER THAT THE NAZARENES HARBORED A SMOULDERING RESENTMENT.

SO HERE THEY WERE ONE SATURDAY GOING THROUGH A ROUTINE WORSHIP SERVICE. FAMILIAR MUSIC, FAMILIAR READING FROM THE TORAH, A SERMON, A PRAYER, THEN A READING FROM THE PROPHETS, ANOTHER SERMON, MORE PRAYERS, THEN MORE MUSIC AND GO HOME. AT LEAST THAT'S HOW THINGS STARTED OUT THAT DAY.

JEWISH MEN WERE SUPPOSED TO STUDY, AND MOST DID, AS MUCH AS THEY COULD. SO OUT IN THE LITTLE TOWNS WHERE PEOPLE WORSHIPPED IN THE SYNAGOGUES, SOMETIMES THERE WOULD BE SOMEONE WHO HAD ACTUALLY STUDIED WITH ONE OF THE MASTERS, AND HE WOULD USUALLY SPEAK ON THE TORAH READING, THE FIRST READING. THE SECOND READING FROM THE PROPHETS OR THE WISDOM BOOKS WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY COMMENTARY FROM THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN SELECTED TO READ IT. SO NOTHING WAS OUT OF THE ORDINARY. AND PEOPLE HALF LISTENED TO THE FAMILIAR WORDS FROM ISAIAH “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME...” BEING READ BY JESUS, THE YOUNG MAN WHO HAD GROWN UP THERE AND WAS BACK FOR A VISIT. BUT THERE WERE TWO THINGS THAT WERE DIFFERENT. FIRST, JESUS DID NOT FINISH THE READING. AFTER THE WORDS “AND TO PROCLAIM A YEAR ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD” SHOULD COME “AND THE VENGEANCE OVER HIS ENEMIES THAT BELONGS TO HIM” BUT JESUS DIDN'T READ THAT PART. THE SECOND WAS EVEN MORE UPSETTING: JESUS SAT DOWN TO GIVE HIS COMMENTARY, BUT ALL HE SAID WAS “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING. NEXT WEEK WE WILL SEE HOW THE CONGREGATION GOES FROM ADMIRATION TO TRYING TO THROW HIM OFF A CLIFF IN A VERY SHORT TIME PERIOD. AND WE MIGHT WONDER WHY?

I IMAGINE NO ONE HAD PROBLEMS WITH BRINGING GLAD TIDINGS TO THE POOR. WELL, AS LONG AS THEY WEREN'T TOO GLAD BECAUSE IT WOULD SURE MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT IF THE POOR DECIDED TO TRY TO CHANGE THINGS ONCE THEY HEARD THE GLAD TIDINGS. WHY THE ROMANS WOULD BE ALL OVER THE PLACE. LIBERTY TO CAPTIVES? DON'T BE SILLY. YOU COULDN'T RUN A DECENT FARM WITHOUT A FEW SLAVES THAT YOU HAD PAID FOR FAIR AND SQUARE. AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE JAILS MOSTLY DESERVED TO BE THERE – ROBBERS AND THIEVES BUT THE WORST OF ALL WERE THE TROUBLE MAKERS, WHO WENT ABOUT UPSETTING EVERYONE.

BEING ABLE TO SEE IF YOU WERE BLIND WOULD BE A GREAT THING, RIGHT? BUT IF YOU COULD SEE, YOU'D HAVE TO GET A JOB AND WORK AND COULDN'T LEGITIMATELY BEG ANYMORE; AND YOU'D GOTTEN USED TO NOT SEEING AND IT REALLY WASN'T SUCH A BAD LIFE; YOU WEREN'T SURE YOU COULD HANDLE THE CHANGE. AND TO LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE? THAT WOULD REALLY BRING DOWN A WORLD OF HURT. SOMEONE WAS ALWAYS COMING ALONG TALKING ABOUT FREEDOM, OF THROWING OF THE YOKE OF THE EMPEROR. AND THAT ALWAYS MEANT THAT SOONER OR LATER PEOPLE WOULD BE GETTING CRUCIFIED AND TAXES WOULD BE RAISED AND THEY'D PUT NEW RULES INTO PLACE SO THAT PEOPLE COULDN'T EVEN GET TOGETHER WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE ROMANS.

SO THE PEOPLE WERE LISTENING TO JESUS RECITING THE WORDS OF ISAIAH, AND THEN HE SITS DOWN AND SAYS, “I'M THE ONE ISAIAH IS TALKING ABOUT; I'M THE ONE WHO IS GOING TO MAKE THESE WORDS MORE THAN A NICE DREAM.” AND WHEN THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT HE WAS SERIOUS, AND WORSE, THAT HE MIGHT EVEN ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING, THAT WAS IT.

ONE OF THE SAD THINGS ABOUT HUMAN NATURE IS THAT IT DOESN'T CHANGE. WE STILL LISTEN TO THE REVOLUTIONARY WORDS OF THE GOSPEL, THE SUBVERSIVE MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST, THE AWESOME PROMISES HE MAKES TO THOSE WHO WILL BE HIS DISCIPLES; WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD AS A WAY OF INVITING HIM TO CHANGE US INTO OTHER CHRISTS. BUT IN OUR HEARTS WE DON'T WANT THINGS TO CHANGE, AND ESPECIALLY TO CHANGE IN WAYS WHICH WE CAN'T FORESEE OR PREPARE FOR.

BELIEVE ME, WE PREACHERS ARE NOT SPEAKING FROM A POINT OF MORAL OR SPIRITUAL SUPERIORITY. I DON'T WANT THINGS TO CHANGE EITHER.

BUT HERE WE ARE, SITTING IN THAT SYNAGOGUE IN NAZARETH, AND JESUS CHRIST TELLS US THAT FROM NOW ON THINGS ARE GOING TO CHANGE; SOME OF THOSE CHANGES WILL BE WONDERFUL, BUT ALL OF THEM WILL DISRUPT OUR LIVES. AND WE WILL EACH HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER TO JOIN THE MOB THAT WANTS TO THROW HIM OFF OF A CLIFF, WHERE HE WON'T BOTHER US ANYMORE, OR CHOOSE TO JOIN HIM IN THE REVOLUTION HE IS PREACHING. BECAUSE THE WAY THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY JESUS IS THROUGH YOU AND I. WE HAVE BEEN ANOINTED, WE HAVE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD, AND IT IS OUR JOB TO SHOW THE POOR THAT THEY HAVE REASON TO BE GLAD; TO FREE THE CAPTIVES – OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL, HOPELESS SITUATIONS; TO GIVE SIGHT TO THE BLIND – BY OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS TO SHOW THEM THAT THERE IS A BETTER WAY; AND TO MAKE THIS YEAR ABOVE ALL PREVIOUS YEARS ACCEPTIBLE TO THE LORD. JESUS TOLD HIS NEIGHBORS THAT SOMETHING TOTALLY NEW AND WONDERFUL WAS HAPPENING, AND INVITES US TO GET ON BOARD. WHAT WILL OUR REACTION BE?

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

JOHN 2:1-11

I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SOMETHING BURIED DEEP IN HUMAN NATURE OR PECULIAR TO OUR CULTURE, TIME AND PLACE, BUT OVER MY LIFETIME I'VE SEEN INNUMERABLE INSTANCES WHERE A MAN IS DESIGNATED TO DO SOMETHING AND IT TURNS OUT THAT A WOMAN OR SOME WOMEN ACTUALLY DO THE WORK. AS A PHYSICIAN, I WOULD SET DIRECTION, AND MY NURSES WOULD CARRY OUT DETAILS. AS AN ADMINISTRATOR, I WOULD HAVE TO WRITE A REPORT, BUT GATHERING THE DATA AND PUTTING THE RESULTS INTO A FINAL COPY WOULD BE DONE BY MY SECRETARY. AND THIS GOES ON IN EVERY PARISH IN THE CHURCH, EVERY PROTESTANT CONGREGATION, EVERY JEWISH COMMUNITY – WOMEN HOLD THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE TOGETHER. I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS EITHER GOOD OR BAD. I EVEN THINK THAT IN MOST CASES, NEITHER THE MAN NOR THE WOMAN WOULD HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

AND IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU KNOW HOW OFTEN A WOMAN RESCUES SOME ENTERPRISE BECAUSE SHE HAS NOTICED SOMETHING IS MISSING, SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED BY THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE. I READ ABOUT A LAVISH HOME THAT HAD BEEN COMMISSIONED; THE ARCHITECT HAD DRAWN UP DETAILED PLANS AND THE HOME BUILDER WAS ABOUT TO SIGN OFF ON THEM WHEN HIS WIFE ASKED A SIMPLE QUESTION: WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS? BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. HERE IN SAINT MARY'S IT'S NO DIFFERENT. IF WE PUT ON A PARISH SUPPER OR SOME OTHER EVENT, YOU WILL SEE WOMEN MANNING THE TABLES CHECKING PEOPLE IN, TAKING MONEY FOR TICKETS – AND OFTEN THEY ARE THE SAME WOMEN EVENT TO EVENT.

IN JESUS' TIME THINGS WERE PROBABLY NO DIFFERENT. AT A LITTLE COUNTRY WEDDING TO WHICH MARY AND JESUS HAD BEEN INVITED IT IS MARY WHO NOTICES A LOOMING PROBLEM: THE WINE IS RUNNING OUT, AND THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL HOURS OF THE PARTY LEFT TO GO – THESE AFFAIRS SOMETIMES STRETCHED ON FOR FOUR OR FIVE DAYS. NOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTICE TWO THINGS: FIRST, JESUS HASN'T DONE ANYTHING YET. SURE, THERE WERE WONDERFUL AND STRANGE EVENTS THAT WENT ON BEFORE HIS BIRTH AND DURING HIS EARLY INFANCY, BUT SINCE THEN JESUS HAD BEEN LIKE ANY OTHER YOUNG MAN IN PALESTINE – HE PRACTICED A TRADE, HAD A BUNCH OF FRIENDS, TOOK CARE OF HIS MOTHER AND THERE BEING NO TELEVISON IN THOSE DAYS, HE WOULD GO OFF AND LISTEN TO JOHN THE BAPTIST AND OTHER PREACHERS. IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND EVEN IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THIS COUNTRY, A GOOD FIERY SERMON WAS GREAT ENTERTAINMENT.

MARY NOTICES THAT THE COUPLE ARE RUNNING OUT OF WINE AND COMMENTS ON THIS TO HER SON. DOES SHE EXPECT A MIRACLE? PROBABLY NOT. MAYBE SHE'S JUST ASKING WHETHER HE'S GOT ANY IDEAS? AND JESUS SAYS, “WHAT IS IT TO ME AND YOU? MY HOUR HASN'T COME YET”. IF YOU REMEMBER THE OTHER GOSPELS JESUS GOES BACK TO HIS HOME TOWN TO START HIS MINISTRY – IN THE SYNAGOGUE. THAT IS HIS TIME. BUT MARY TURNS TO THE SERVANTS AND SAYS, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”. MARY HAS DONE ALL SHE CAN. SHE'S NOTICED A PROBLEM, DECIDED SHE CAN'T SOLVE IT BY HERSELF, BUT DOESN'T WANT TO GIVE UP. SHE TURNS TO HER SON, THE CARPENTER, AND HIS BUDDIES AND LEAVES EVERYTHING IN HIS HANDS.

ONE THING WE DON'T NOTICE IN THIS PASSAGE IS THAT WHEN JESUS DOES WORK HIS MIRACLE, HE DOESN'T JUST SOLVE THE PROBLEM; INSTEAD, HE MAKES ABOUT 150 GALLONS OF WINE, AND GREAT WINE AT THAT.

JOHN THE EVANGELIST NEVER WRITES ANYTHING WITHOUT A REASON. THIS STORY IS NOT SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE OF THE MIRACLE. RAYMOND BROWN, A GREAT SCHOLAR OF JOHN'S GOSPEL, SAYS THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT THE LAST WORDS: “JESUS DID THIS … AND SO REVEALED HIS GLORY, SO THAT HIS DISCIPLES BEGAN TO BELIEVE IN HIM.” THE POINT IS THAT EVERY JEW WHO HAD ATTENDED SYNAGOGUE AND LISTENED TO THE SCRIPTURES HAD HEARD THAT WHEN THE NEW AGE CAME, WHEN THE MESSIAH SHOWED UP, ONE OF THE SIGNS WOULD BE THE ABUNDANCE OF WINE. AND IN FACT, THE LACK OF WINE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS EQUATED WITH THE WITHDRAWAL OF GOD'S FAVOR. SO IF YOU HAD EYES TO SEE, IF YOU KNEW YOUR SCRIPTURES, YOU WOULD SEE IN THIS MIRACLE A FULFILLMENT OF ALL THOSE PROPHECIES AND UNDERSTAND THAT GOD'S FAVOR HAD RETURNED IN SPADES TO ISRAEL. THAT'S WHY THEY BEGAN TO BELIEVE IN HIM.

JOHN WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND THAT MARY, WHO FOR JOHN REPRESENTS THE FAITHFUL PEOPLE OF THE FIRST TESTAMENT, IS NOT JUST WAITING AROUND FOR THE MESSIAH, BUT IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN TRYING TO BRING ABOUT THE WORLD TO COME. EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS WITH HER, SHE EXPECTS SOME SORT OF INTERVENTION FROM GOD. SHE HAS GREAT FAITH. JESUS, WHO IS THE MESSIAH, REWARDS HER FAITH BY AN ACT WHICH TELLS HER THAT THE MESSIANIC AGE HAS DAWNED.

THE ONLY OTHER TIME WE WILL RUN ACROSS MARY IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IS THAT SCENE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS, WHEN JESUS COMMENDS HIS MOTHER (REPRESENTING THE FAITHFUL WHO HAVE WAITED FOR THE MESSIAH) TO THE “BELOVED DISCIPLE” (REPRESENTING THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS). THIS ALSO IS A “MESSIANIC “ ACTION, SINCE THE FIRST TESTAMENT PREDICTS THAT IN THE AGE TO COME, ALL NATIONS WILL STREAM TO JERUSALEM – TO LEARN FROM THE ISRAELITES ABOUT THE TRUE GOD.

AND OF COURSE THIS STORY TELLS US SOMETHING AS WELL. LIKE MARY, THE CHRISTIAN IS TO NOTICE THE WORLD AROUND HIM, AND IF HE SEES SIGNS OF DISTRESS, HE'S TO DO WHAT HE CAN TO RELIEVE IT, FAITHUFLLY TRUSTING THAT GOD WILL MAKE SURE THAT HIS EFFORT IS IS NOT WASTED. OUR FAITH TELLS US THAT GOD'S REPLY TO OUR PRAYER IS A GIFT OF ABUNDANCE, AND THAT EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS IT IN HIM OR HER TO BRING INTO THE WORLD A BIT OF THE WORLD TO COME, THE WORLD WHEN CHRIST RULES WITHOUT CHALLENGE FOR ALL ETERNITY.