Community Charismata – eat, pray, and love toward new, abundant life together

Today’s Gospel lessons contain insight and wisdom for our church at large as well as the particular family of St. Andrew’s parish here in Emporia.

Consider the circumstances and situations that each of the authors is addressing.

In Isaiah…

-      The inhabitants of Judah had returned from exile have been planning to rebuild their temple… but there were disputes among them about leadership and direction – you might imagine that they’ve lost some vision and focus.

- Some were disoriented, having lost the physical reality and symbol that represented stability and endurance for them (temple for them; perhaps rector for us)

- For their sake, the prophet “will not keep silent” and “will not rest.” He is not so much bringing word from God to the people, but actually is standing strong with a depressed people and bringing their needs to God, in faithful anticipation of restoration (ref. Mary nudging our Lord the way only a mother can.)

- He is persistent that they will not be considered desolate or forsaken before God, but will be God’s delight, God’s bride over who God shall rejoice.

Paul writing to believers in Corinth…

-       Paul is addressing an early gathering of believers who seem to have fallen into the cultural norm of elevating some individuals above others and believing that some spiritual gifts are to be more valued than others. 

- He reminds them instead that everyone has been gifted by the same Holy Spirit with something special that is to benefit the community’s ‘common good’, inferring that each of their gifts is needed for the wellness of the body

- The value of these charismata / these spiritual gifts is not in their sometime miraculous nature, but in what they enable in building up of the community

Jesus and his mother at a wedding feast in Cana…

-     The story is set on ‘the third day’ symbolic of resurrection. 

- In the John’s telling of the wedding banquet in Cana, we hear that when supply was running short, when scarcity was about to spoil a good thing, a mother nudges her child (‘woman’/humanity nudge’s Christ) and though there appears to be some initial reluctance or resistance, miraculous things do happen on God’s timeline - abundance was provided, and the feast went on.

- Out of the old comes more than enough new (nearly 180 gallons worth in this story!)

- Not everyone at the party notices who has made the difference – only a small number of those serving behind the scenes witness the faithful labor and miraculous generosity of Spirit – the hosts the majority of the guests just know that the party continues and with even better wine than before.

What might the Holy Spirit have us hear in today’s lessons?     

-      We labor in God’s vineyard according to God’s timeline, not our own. And, it’s ok and expected that we ask the vineyard owner or fellow guests and laborers for what we need. What is hidden in us as children of God is to be revealed in due time and celebrated in community, as if at a joyous wedding banquet. Each of us has God-given gifts through the Holy Spirit that are to be discovered and used for the common good. In our holy stories, God’s partner/bridge is never a solitary individual, but a united community. 

- I like the words of a colleague who was formerly a staff officer for rural and small communities with our Church Center and now is vicar of a small parish in Arkansas: “If God can take a group of exiles and restore them to greatness, and if ordinary people are gifted by the Holy Spirit with what it takes to be the Church, then how can we dare say we do not have enough without insulting God's promise?...Throughout the Christian world people are building faith communities with nothing in terms of wealth. And they succeed because these people have caught the spirit of the Gospel, that God desires God's work to continue, and God will use what appears to be the lowly and unimportant to accomplish it. So, if you are waiting for better days in the church know that they have come. If you are waiting until the right leader appears know that the time is now. If you are feeling low because of the things you don't have, take an inventory of the assets you have. Most people are surprised when they discover the talent that is there and the resources that are at their disposal. The transformation of the lives of women and men is not expensive in terms of the world; and in God's economy, it is free. Our task is to lay aside the things that daunt us, make us afraid and captive to scarcity. Putting on the garment of light in Epiphany means moving into mission - NOW. So, rejoice with Isaiah that God finds your church worthy of delight. Celebrate the gifts given you by the Spirit to move forward in mission. Vow to be part of the work of the Gospel which transforms water into wine and God's people into a holy communion of faithful folk.” (The Rev. Ben Helmer, former staff officer for rural and small community ministries for the Episcopal Church from 1999-2005; now Vicar at St. James, Eureka Springs, AR)

So, what are we to do?

                                                       

ENJOY THE WEDDING BANQUET AND KEEP IT GOING

o   We’re being shown that the best is yet to come – just when some might say the party is coming to an end because we’re ‘running out’, generous provisions of new abundance can be created, offering nourishment that is even better than before.

o   We, like the mother of our Lord, are to be on the lookout for our communal needs. And, we stand in good shoes when we nudge/prod God to notice our needs and to do something (remembering, often behind the scenes out the sight of the rest of the guests, to nudge/prod each other to do something)

o   EAT together in faith, enjoying this communion in Christ’s name, trusting that we’re all looking out for each other’s comfort and joy.

CULTIVATE HOPE IN OUR FUTURE (with God’s help)

o   We need the prophets among us to not stop talking to us and to God.

o   Stand strong in hope and petition for new unity and joy, continually seeking, identifying, and celebrating signs that God’s delight is in us.

o   PRAY daily, perhaps even prodding God (as Mary nudged Jesus) about what is needed so that risk of embarrassment or shame is reduced and the potential for joy and gladness increased.

DISCERN WHAT OUR GIFTS ARE AND USE THEM TOGETHER TOWARD OUR COMMON WELFARE

o   Miraculous vitality is restored when we are curious enough to continually discover the God-given gifts we each have to share for the common good.

o   LOVE each other so much that you can’t stop inquiring into each other’s interests, passions, and talents and then discerning your gifts together and discovering how each and every member of this family has something the Holy Spirit has given them to share for the common good of this church.

As the Psalmist says today, “How priceless is your love, O God!; your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings. They feast upon the abundance of your house; you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the well of life; and in your light we see light. Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you; and your favor to those who are true of heart.”

AMEN

Epiphany: God’s love is revealed to us… how do we show this Good News?

A powerful and influential Bernie Madoff’esque Wall Street king is visited by some Middle Eastern soothsaying speculators who are seeking the newborn who some believe is destined to bring about the redistribution of wealth and power, including with the oppressed underclasses.  After learning that this newborn has not been born among the establishment leaders on Wall Street, the head of the banking empire tries to trick these foreign visitors into telling him where they end up finding the home of this future leader so that all of Wall Street can honor him as well… with the real agenda of locating and eliminating this threat to the economy.  Instead, when these non-Christian astrologers journey outside the city and into rural areas, they find this new leader born to a young, lower-class couple among migrant workers. The visitors kneel before this newborn, lavish him with fine gifts fit for a king, and leave overwhelmed with joy at what has been revealed and without reporting back to the ruler on Wall Street.

A future king with a radical social agenda is born to a no-name family and is noticed first by some rough ranch hands who go on to proclaim far and wide what they’ve seen, and then by exotic foreigners who neither share his national identity nor his religion but nonetheless reverance before him and lavish him with extraordinarily generous gifts.  The truth about this child is not revealed to them through an existing religious establishment, but through direct divine revelation in one case and through observations and interpretation of natural signs that have gone unnoticed by everyone else in the other case. 

What is this story challenging us to consider about the future reign of this newborn leader?   To what sorts of people is the truth first made known?   What might this story be telling us about how people are to encounter each other and behave in his kingdom?

Epiphany (meaning of the season):

·         Today is one of the seven principal Feasts of our Christian liturgical calendar (BCP, p. 17)
·         Originating out of disputes over the proper date to celebrate the birth/Incarnation, Epiphany has come to represent (in the Western church tradition) the climax of the twelve days of Christmas.
·         epiphaneia…to shine upon / show / manifest / make known / reveal
·         …also known as “the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles” (BCP, p.31), or the revelation of Israel’s God to people of all nations
·         Recall that according to the author of Luke, it was lowly shepherds (in contrast to the wealthy magi) who were actually the first to make known the truth about this newborn Lord.  Today we have the author of Matthew telling us that non-Jews from the East are also some of the first to honor Jesus as new royalty through their kneeling before him and offering to him of gifts fit for a king. That these two contrasting sets of seemingly unlikely evangelists are first to ‘reveal’ the truth about this special birth are indications that God intends this revelation of a new kingdom to be available to people of all sorts and not limited to only one tribe or class.
·         As I said in one of my Christmas sermons, a ‘virgin birth’ is not what the beginning the story so interesting.  What is more unique and compelling about the hero of our religious story is the type of people to whom he is born, into what circumstances he arrives, what sorts of people are first to notice him as special Incarnation of God’s rule of love, and how the first witnesses respond to this revelation.

·         In today’s Gospel lesson, we have someone who would claim to be a king of Jews (Herod) fearful that people outside his jurisdiction (the magi) believe that a new king is found among the common people. And, we see wealthy foreigners and poorer commoners uniting in joy and peace around Jesus as a vulnerable child – a powerful testament about the new order this Christ calls us to.  In the lectionary readings that follow in this season (for the next six weeks), we’ll hear of other signs that ‘reveal’ Jesus as Christ (our Lord) and point toward the mission of his church in the world:

o   The Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32, “Lord, you now have set your servant free…”) at the ‘presentation’ of the baby Jesus to him at the temple by his mother (observed Feb 2)

o   The Holy Spirit announcing Jesus as ‘beloved by God’ as his baptism (Luke 3:15-17,21-22)

o   The miracle of Jesus turning water to wine at the wedding banquet in Cana (John 2:1-11)

o   And perhaps most revealing, Jesus’s own proclamation as boy in a Nazareth synagogue that scripture has been fulfilled (to the astonishment of those listening) …the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4:14-21)

·         Our Epiphany-season Gospel readings will conclude with our Lord’s transfiguration on a mountain alongside appearances of Elijah and Moses.  We will hear this story on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday (Feb 13 this year, the day before Valentine’s) ushers us into Lent.

“Wise men from the East…” (what’s the significance of their story)

·         magos – wise men, probably more priestly than kingly, likely what we’d consider astrologers, and certainly practitioners of ‘other’ religions
·         The star was up there for all to see… but it was foreigners outside of the religious and political establishment who interpreted it to mean something so extraordinary that they were willing to travel long distances, away from what was familiar to them, into a new land and to offer extraordinary gifts to this new king

o   “Three Kings Day” (in some Latin cultures) –the notion that there were ‘three’ or that these were ‘kings’ is a matter of tradition based on the mention of three gifts (frankincense, myrrh, and gold) that were fit for royalty

§  traditional names of the three: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar (scholars from India, Persia, and Arabia)

§  ref. house blessings and chalking on door lintels 20+C+B+M+13

§  ref. Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, "Christ bless the house"

·        Whoever they were, and however many there were, we can consider them ‘wise’ because of their prudent interpretation of what God revealed to them (by stars and through dreams) AND, as importantly, their faithful action according to what had been revealed to them. They are humble in their approach, generous in their giving, and wise in their going forth from their encounter with Christ.

So where are we in this story – what’s the Spirit calling us to do this season?

·         During Christmastide, we were celebrating the extraordinary act of love in God coming to us.  In Epiphany, we’re invited to come to God through witnessing and sharing what has been revealed in this event.

·         To kick-off this season of revelation, what is made known is that God reaches out to people outside of what is familiar to most of us to draw us all together in wonder and faith, particularly using the visions and perspectives of people different from us to help us see anew the truth of God at work in our shared world

·         [anecdotes about mission and ministry with young-adults around campuses]

o   Many young-adults are spiritual seers and seekers who are not coming from within our own religious norms and traditions, and yet have something important to share with us about how God is at work in our shared world

o   What’s possible when we’re less concerned about conformity and converting to a particular way and more focused on radical hospitality and curious conversation with each other about how we perceive God’s light in the world and what they might mean to our lives together?

o   How can deeper discussions of the circumstances of the first Christmas and stories of who first noticed this new birth draw people together in holy curiosity?

·         We’re called to join the shepherd and the magi in being awe-struck and humbled by the truth that God chosen to come among the common people first and to be revealed through the wisdom of visitors from outside our comfort zone. 

o   Has Christ ever been revealed to you through an epiphany through something foreign, unfamiliar, or outside your comfort zone?

o   Where might we look today to see God’s love being revealed among people who are otherwise overlooked?

·         We’re called to be as extravagant as the visiting magi in the generosity of our offerings and as enthusiastic as the shepherds in spreading of the word about the light that has come to the world through God’s love incarnated among us through Jesus.

o   What offerings do you make in Christ’s honor that might be perceived of as extravagant or unreasonable generous?

o   What can you personally do this Epiphany season to encourage compelling conversation about how people perceive and follow the light of Christ?

·         epiphaneia…to shine upon / show / manifest / make known / reveal

o   How will we show growth in our knowledge and love of God through Christ this Epiphany season?

o   How will we invite conversations with others this season to more fully reveal how Christ is manifested and made known among all people?

AMEN