Water sports

When the dog days of August hit (although, living in Syracuse right now, I can;t even imagine dog days....I am having trouble imagining days with the sun out and the ground dry!)..........there is nothing like running into the refreshing water of lake or beach or stream.  Shocked by the coolness of the water at first, we can feel the sweat being washed away and the heat exiting our body like commuters leaving the morning subway train.  Our cranky, overheated self is replaced by a refreshed and even giddy self as we find a burst of new life, new energy, new attitude. We are transformed.


A splash of water will do that.  When the pressure and heat of this world bear down on us, a splash of water will renew, refresh and re-enliven us.  Sort of like baptism, hmmmm.  Can this image help you to claim the transformation that God is bringing to our lives through that baptismal water?


In mid-January, when I wake to temperatures in the teens, and need to put on a coat, boots, mittens and possibly a hat just to navigate the 50 feet of driveway to retrieve my newspaper..........it is unimaginable to me that there will be a day, probably only 6 months ahead, where I will step out into searing heat, barefoot and in shorts and a tank top to do exactly the same job.

In the same way, on those days when the world is bearing down with relentless demands or crushing crises, it is unimaginable that there will be a day, probably not too far down the road, when I will be lifted up and experience the sweet nectar of life, the joy of being and the blessing of family, job and community.  On those days when I only feel failure, it is unimaginable that there will be a day when I will feel love, acceptance, forgiveness, grace and possibly even shalom.

Well, my friends, that is the Spirit - God's Spirit of Love which is, in fact, LIFE ITSELF, moving among us and within us, calling us into Jesus' presence, reminding us of God's love, renewing the gift of life within us, splashing us with the water of new birth, making us into God's holy people.

Furthermore, on the dog days, on the crushing and relentless days, on the failure days, it is the promise of that gift of Spirit and Life and Love that enable me to hold on.  It is the Spirit who 'calls, gathers, enlightens and sustains us.'  Thank you Lord.

Water into Wine..........

It's one of those expressions that American English speakers use (don't know about the British).....turning water into wine.  It's a wild example of an outrageous impossibility or a miraculous occurrence.  I've often wondered how many folk know its origin.....right there in the gospel of John, and a wedding at Cana.

It's the wedding story to top all others.  No wine in sight, a fact which will cause some serious embarrassment for the hosts.  12 jars ready for the purification rights.  A command from Jesus, 'Fill them with water.  Now draw out some and give it to the steward' (master of ceremonies). What do you know?  It has turned into wine.  Not any old wine, but a fine pinot noir from a good year.  In other words, a very fine wine indeed.

Since the writer of John uses this miracle to start off Jesus' public ministry it clearly has an important role in John's telling of the story, but I want to know what role this water into wine story has in your faith story, in your ministry, in your spiritual growth and in your faith life.

None of us are out there trying to turn water into wine, right?  ....except perhaps those who work daily with addicts, walking with them, confronting them, comforting them and occasionally seeing their transformation into recovery.

Or perhaps those devoted caregivers - often spouses and children - who repeat the same information again and again to their beloved ones who can no longer hold onto any memories.  "No Mom, I am Carol. Your daughter."  If you look closely you will see how the frustrating repetition of the mundane is now the fine wine of deep and abiding love.

Or the teacher searching for something (anything) which will open the pathways for the young minds in front of him....or the father who has no idea how to parent but takes his son fishing and his daughter to dance class and tucks each into bed at night with a prayer....or the clerk at the DMV (they always get a bad rap) who sorts out your confusion and puts you on the right path....or the medical technician who makes small talk while you nervously undergo yet again another test that has you frightened to your toes.

Or a thousand other possible examples of those who have been baptized into Jesus Christ stepping out into this world with mercy and grace and forgiveness and compassion and invitation and, in so doing, they turn the mundane that threatens to drown us into the wine of fellowship and belonging and being treated with dignity....and love.

What if Jesus was simply giving us a short lesson in faith walking?  It isn't about pulling some parlor trick or even accomplishing a true blue miracle.  What if this story is about a guy who shows up at a wedding with his mother, who steps into this' behind the scenes' dilemma and transforms that which would embarrass into that which brings enjoyment and sustains the fellowship?  What if we are supposed to do something similar?  Just step in and do what we can to ease the way.

Would you be able to see the miracle in that?  Would recognize God at work through you?  Would you be willing to name that moment (if only to yourself) as the kingdom of God breaking into our world?

I would.

Water into Wine....Who is this Jesus?

If you are familiar with the story of the Wedding at Cana in the Gospel of John, you have probably noticed the unusual conversation between Jesus and his mother (who BTW is not named).

Mary notices that the host has run out of wine.  More than an inconvenience, this would prove a major embarrassment to the entire family, and believe me, in the small towns of those days would be talked about not for months but for generations!

Mary tells Jesus who has tagged along to the wedding with her.  He has the strangest response, "Woman, what is that to me?" ...the first century equivalent of "none of my business" or the less polite "whatever."

We don't want Jesus to sound like this.  None of us and I am more than willing to think that his tone of voice would give it a different inflection, and possibly this phrase doesn't translate well across time and culture, but really....doesn't it sound a bit harsh to you?  Impolite?  Disrespectful?

Now Jesus follows this up by saying "My hour has not yet come" which in the gospel of John is shorthand for "I'm not on duty yet as the Messiah"  It is, in fact, a very important phrase; when Jesus was about to be arrested he announced that now his hour was upon him.

But it all gets even stranger because Mary does not argue with him.  Rather she tells the servants to do whatever he commands.  This whole episode feels like a text message sent in all those three letter abbreviations...a little cryptic to outsiders.

But that does it.  Jesus commands the jars be filled with water.  When it is drawn out again it is fine wine, better than anything the bride and groom planned on.  And no one knew where it had come from ......although the servants knew.  And thus completes the first miracle of Jesus according to the gospel of John.

Thus begins Jesus' public ministry, a revealing of who he is and whose he is.  John gives us a wonderful metaphor for the life of faith and the reality of a human being God incarnate and eventually the resurrection where death becomes the fine wine of new life.

Why did Jesus had to talk that way?  I'm not sure [and I've read any number of explanations]. Why did Mary simply ignore his response and prepare the servants for what was coming?  I don't know.  How did Mary know what was coming?  I don't know.

These things I do know.  In the gospel of John, these were Jesus' first steps as the bringer of life to those around him.  Mary chose to focus on the moment and to do her part in Jesus' work rather than dwell on an awkward exchange between mother and son. Those servants who followed Jesus' command were given unique insight into who he was. From Mary (who doesn't even get the honor of being named)  to those who were working the kitchen, it was the anonymous ones who receive the first invitation to faith.

That funny dialogue between Mary and Jesus trips me up every time. But if Mary could ignore it and simply support the work that God was about to do in Jesus, then I guess I can too.

Some thoughts on the Samaritan woman......Sunday, March 23, 2014

People will do extraordinary things in the name of religion.  Sometimes this will lead to unexpected peace and unity.  Other times it will be destructive and squeeze the life out of God.  Once someone begins to limit where and how God can be found and who it is God loves, you have entered dangerous territory.

Fred Phelps, who headed the Westboro Baptist Church, took his rejection of homosexuals in the name of religion to such an end that he, and his followers, with hateful, angry posters would picket the funerals of American soldiers.  Phelps insisted that the soldiers' deaths were God's just punishment on the US for its acceptance of homosexuals among us.

So it wasn't just long ago and far away that people drew lines over who was acceptable to God and who not.  In 1st century Palestine, Jews were acceptable and Samaritans (even though they shared heritage) were not; just 30 years ago in the ELCA men were acceptable proclaimers of the gospel and women not.  There continue to be folks who consider only heterosexual/straight individuals acceptable and those who don't conform sexually for whatever reason beyond the pale.

The Samaritan woman at Jacob's well falls into several categories of unacceptable.  Her life is a bad dream, a wasteland of widowhood, divorce, rejection and abandonment.  Perhaps it was all the heat she took from others that brought her out to get water in the heat of the day. We can talk another time about why commentators have historically implied this woman was of ill repute leading too many to look at her and only see a tramp.

What they fail to see is a woman without fear.  A woman who approaches a stranger, a Jewish man who would logically assume he was superior to her in all important things.  She challenges Jesus' ridiculous claims about providing water without a bucket and living water at that.  She held her ground, remembering her catechism, and the values she was taught.  She had the courage to listen closely to Jesus' answers, knowing full well she just might be proved wrong.  And here is the astonishing thing....she shakes off her pride, announcing to the entire village He. Told. Me. Everything. I. Ever. Did. in order to invite them to 'Come and See.  This one just might be the Messiah.'

Jesus stands in a place where he shouldn't have gone, talked to a woman he shouldn't have talked to and announces that God's hour is upon them.  God = Jesus.

If he did it before, he will do it again.  Jesus will cut across any barriers we erect: ethnicity, gender, income, tattoos, piercings, who we love and who loves us.  Just where you are sure you won't find Jesus, he will be standing, drinking some water, talking to the unacceptable.

If you want to know God, look for Jesus.  He'll be down at the local watering hole, having a drink with a woman only known by reputation.  He'll be at the bus station buying a Coke for a scruffy teen with a huge backpack who has been thrown out or run away from a home that is no longer safe.  He'll be on the street corner in the early morning hours, talking with the sex workers just coming off a night's work and the undocumented workers looking for a day's wage.  There is where Jesus is, talking with everyone he meets.

This Lent we are reminded of this Samaritan woman who carried the Good News to the very people who made her life a desert, because By George! Come and See! This guy knows me through and through and I think he is the real thing.  You really don't want to miss this.

Isn't that the Good News we carry?  Jesus offered me - ME!- true living water.  It is almost too good to be true.