Epiphany 2 – C

January 14, 2007

The Rev. Dorian McGlannan

 

It was December of 1999. The millennium was fast approaching. The only place in the city of Nanjing in mainland China that reflected the fact that Christmas was fast approaching was the Lakeland Hotel where we were staying, a hotel that caters to Western business people as well as the not infrequent groups of longing parents who have come to be united with their newest family members. We were supposed to receive our children in the evening but there was a delay so we were told that the children would not arrive until the morning. Exhausted and full of anticipation, we parents greeted the new day. The time had finally arrived. The children and their foster parents walked into the hotel. There was a bit of confusion as the infants were matched with their parents - eight infants and eight sets of parents. But there was no confusion for us as our daughter Lee-Joan then 24 months was placed in our arms. And there was no confusion for another couple in our group whose 4 year old daughter walked to her new parents: Janet and Steve.

 

The world of adoption is as varied as the people who adopt. For some people, adoption is a way to build a family when the parents are single or infertility is present. Some people adopt because they want gender balance in their families. With a house full of boys, adoption is a sure way to add a girl to the family. For others adoption is a calling that does not make sense in terms of the values of the world. We have become good friends with Janet and Steve, the parents who adopted this 4-year old on that particular trip to China. They were intentional about adopting a child who might not be easily adopted because of her age. Most people want to be matched with infants. Janet and Steve are different. They are about our age. Janet used to be an elementary school teacher but was forced into medical retirement because of Lime’s disease, an illness that still plagues her today. They have two grown biological children from their early days of marriage. On this particular trip, they were adopting their second daughter from China. Since we traveled with them 1999, they have added one more daughter from China and four, yes you heard me, four children raging in age from 6 to 10 from Russia. They finally had to buy one of those 12 person vans to be able to accommodate all of their family. They are not wealthy in terms of money, in fact their house is but a small permanent trailer – there is a bedroom for boys and a bedroom for girls - but they live lives of incredible abundance. They pray and listen to God with a fervor that is rare in this day and age. The children they have brought into their lives are not problem-free but they are now loved in ways they have never experienced. Through the love of Janet and Steve as well as their extended church family, the children are thriving. Janet and Steve live lives of abundance.

 

Today’s gospel reading is one that is a bit puzzling. Jesus’ first miracle, according to John, is turning water into wine. In engaging this text, we might ask: Why on earth would Jesus’ first miracle be that of turning water into wine? Why not a spectacular healing miracle? Why not a miracle of ending poverty? Why not a miracle of ending war? We could certainly use such a miracle today! Why is Jesus’ using his powers to ensure that people who are already drunk can have even more to drink?! The miracle at the wedding at Cana makes no sense to us unless we see it and in fact experience it as a story of abundance.

 

We are in the season of Epiphany, the time of year when the church celebrates the wonder of God being with us in the person of Jesus Christ. As soon as Jesus was born, the world began to change. Life began to overflow with an abundance of love, healing and grace. The story of the first miracle at Cana of Galilee is a story that opens our hearts to the possibility of living lives of abundance regardless of our circumstances. 

 

What does it mean to live a life of abundance? Perhaps it is to recognize that God offers us possibilities all of the time and that saying yes can enrich and liberate us. Our lives are not mapped out in some pre-ordered way with God pushing buttons when it is just the right time for us to get a new job or graduate from school. Our lives are full of interaction with God; it is an ongoing dance. Living lives of abundance frees us to make decisions that do not necessarily make sense in terms of the values of the world. Every step that we take, every moment that we breath is full of God opportunities. If we are listening, we can respond. Living in abundance allows us to set fear aside and live with faith.

 

The story of the first miracle of turning water into wine poses hard questions for us because it challenges conventional assumptions about order and control, about what is possible, about where God is found and how God is known. The force of this miracle is felt precisely from the fact that it is so extraordinary. The grace this miracle offers is outside the confines of conventional expectations and places us at odds with how we think the world is ordered. Our task is not to try to make sense of this miracle but to simply free ourselves to just experience it. Right from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the author of the gospel of John is letting us know of the unprecedented grace that God offers us in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

In these weeks following Christmas, I have had lots of conversations with parishioners about the holidays. What I have heard about more than anything is people’s experience serving the Christmas meal at Crossroads. It hasn’t been about what they got for Christmas or even spending time with family. It has been stories of the Christmas meal at Crossroads, about how they didn’t have anywhere enough turkeys a few days before and then suddenly there were 70 turkeys that they had more food and more volunteers than they ever thought they would have. It is a story of abundance.

 

The miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee has some notable points. One is the ease with which the miracle happens. There are no prayers, no fanfare. Jesus simply tells the stewards to fill the jars with water. When they taste the water, it is no longer water – it is now wine. This enables us to see miracles as a part of everyday life and not to wait and hope for some sort of spectacular event. This miracle story allows us to open our eyes and take note of the miracles of everyday life, the miracle of being able to say yes when the world would tell us to say no, the miracle of endless love which Jesus offers us, the miracle of a peaceful heart even in the midst of strife. These are experiences of abundance because love is something which is endless.  In this story, Jesus is letting us know of the abundance of God’s love and that when we live with a sense of abundance, our lives will be forever blessed.  

 

The extravagance of Jesus’ act, the superabundance of wine, suggests the unlimited gifts Jesus makes available. Jesus’ ministry begins with an extraordinary gift of grace, a first glimpse of greater things to come. This story invites us to the see what the disciples see, that in the abundance and graciousness of Jesus’ gift, we are able to catch a glimpse of the identity and character of our loving God. With that we are able to proclaim that we have received grace upon grace.