January 20, 2019; ICCM; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson; Extravagant Grace
How priceless is your love, O God! All people can take refuge under the shadow of your wings. We feast on the abundance of your house; we them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light.
From Psalm 36:7-9
One of the things that makes living here so nice is how many opportunities there are to socialize. This year, Mary and Trish have taken on the task of organizing fellowship activities for our congregation. A week from tomorrow we will have the first of three potlucks, right here at church. I love potlucks, the variety, the heaping plates and hearty conversation. One gets a sense of the divine party that never ends and a real foretaste of the feast to come.
In each of the lessons for this Sunday is an invitation to come to God’s party and bring our spiritual gifts with us. All four readings have something to bring to the table: a feast of words and images to inspire, equip, and, well, feed disciples who are hungry for a good Word to fill their bellies and carry them through the week. And, like a church potluck, there is no reason at all that folks should leave worship hungry today. In fact, there’s so much good stuff going on that we can take it right on out of the building, inviting others to God’s party and putting our gifts to good use.
In the first reading, Isaiah proclaims to Judah the wonderful words “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate” (vs. 4). The prophet goes on to use the joyous comparison of a wedding with how God intends to honor and rejoice over the people. God is faithful; the gatherings of God’s people are beautiful, and there is reason to rejoice. God will not leave God’s people bereft.
The opening words we spoke today come from Psalm 36, appointed for today. The first song we sang today is based on that text too. We are encouraged to praise God as we walk through life in the world, keeping God at the center of everything, even as we take shelter under the protection of God’s care.
Paul’s words to the gifted but divisive congregation at Corinth are every bit as applicable to us today. The Spirit still activates gifts in each one of us, and when we all bring our gifts together God is glorified and amazing mission and ministry are possible.
When we worship it’s a celebration of God’s extravagant grace. When we think of baptism and touch water, and when we taste the bread and cup, we are reminded that God named us and claimed us and marked us. Through ordinary water and extraordinary Word, we are being made into someone new. We have been adopted and welcomed into the family of God, and into the community of faith and we continue to live into the reality of God’s purpose for us and for our sisters and brothers as the Body of Christ. Together at God’s table, at this celebration that has no end, we bring our gifts, our hopes, our dreams. And we bring our pain and sorrow to the feast– so that we can hear, taste, and see that God is good. We recount the great stories of the faith, and we bear witness to the fact that the winds of the Spirit still blow through our lives today. We learn to be stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Yes, something extraordinary is happening with ordinary folks like us and wherever two or more gather in the name of Jesus. This is very good news. We can invite people to come to the party where all are welcome and where all have gifts of worth and value to bring.
The ultimate party gift this week, however, is Jesus’ first sign at the wedding in Cana, The jars Jesus used for this sign were meant for ritual purification; they were empty but filled with clean water at Jesus’ request. From something ordinary, Jesus made something extraordinary. With something regular, Jesus did a new thing.
Today’s gospel lesson gives us a remarkable revelation about the extravagant nature of God. It’s time for us to sit up and take notice of just how blessed we are. This is a story about the awesome, unimaginable, incredible grace of God who takes on flesh and gives us a glimpse of God’s character.
Jesus is the guest at a wedding. The party has been going on for a while. The wine has been poured and the guests have been enjoying their host’s hospitality. Eventually the wine runs out. Now at most weddings, when the wine runs out or when the bar closes, it’s no big deal, the party just winds down, and people go home. But at this particular party, Jesus’ mother points out that there is no more wine, clearly expecting her son to do something about it. Jesus hesitates at first because it’s not his responsibility and the timing is all wrong. But his mother just carries on like Jesus hasn’t said a word. Mary instructs the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. And so, Jesus gives in.
All that Jesus had to do to satisfy his mother and the rest of the guests was to provide a little more wine. But instead, he provides at least one-hundred and fifty gallons of wine, and not just any wine but the best of vintages! Seriously, can you even imagine a party where the wine runs out and the host provides not just a little more but one-hundred and fifty gallons of the best wine?
Jesus shows us in a very dramatic way, what God is like. 150 gallons of the best wine for a group of people who have already been drinking is simply outrageous. But then isn’t that just like God? How else might the gospel writer demonstrate the wonder and the generosity of the One who is the source all that is and all that ever shall be?
Just look at the fruits of the earth. For example, the Creator did a perfectly fine job with the humble apple. It is a wonderful fruit. We can all be satisfied with an apple. But that wasn’t enough, the Creator took the idea of fruit even farther. Consider the Kiwi, or the passion fruit, or any number of the many fruits we can buy at the market here in Mexico! Or if you don’t think that the Creator is extravagantly generous, look at birds. Crows and sparrows are marvelous creatures. Their wings alone are amazing. But God went way beyond that. Hummingbirds, with their wings that call flap at hundreds of times a minute—need I say more? What about flowers? Daises are beautiful in and of themselves, but that wasn’t enough. Our Creator, the Source of All Being, flowered the earth with roses, orchids, bird of paradise, Jacaranda trees and hibiscus. Have you ever seen a banana flower!?
We only need to look around us to see the extravagantly generous nature of God.
The gifts of Jesus at the wedding feast went far beyond meeting the needs of the moment for the health or safety or nourishment of Jesus’ friends. Today’s gospel shows us that the gifts of Jesus encompass the celebration of life itself. The sheer abundance of the gifts Christ brings to humankind extend beyond what any human being can ask or think or comprehend. The nature of God, revealed in Jesus the Christ, is more than enough to cause us to rejoice every day of our lives. Just as Jesus has revealed our Creator’s grace to us, Jesus calls us to celebrate and serve one another. We have been blessed with a sheer abundance of gifts. God’s generosity to us is beyond our comprehension and cannot be confined.
Some of us are still learning how to share a cup of water with our neighbors, when we could be pulling out all the stops to celebrate life. We are called to follow Christ, and that means we are called to the kind of extravagant generosity that boggles the imagination. We are called to commit outrageous acts of kindness, inspired by the inconceivable grace of our God, and drunk with the joy of life, we are invited to use Amazing Grace as our guide, in order to achieve the will of Our Creator, who takes the time to create not just apples, but passion fruit. This, dear sisters and brothers, is good news indeed.
Our God is the source of life, So, worship God by living. Our God is the source of love, So, worship God by loving, Our God is the ground of our being, So, let us worship God by having the courage to be all that we have been created to be, gifted for the common good.
Amen.