Ash Wednesday: Humility

Throughout Epiphany, and Advent, we have been considering the Way of Love disciplines of Learn, Pray, Go, Worship, Rest, Turn, Bless.

We will continue this in Lent, as we look at the Book of Ruth as a symbolic analogy of God’s love for us. The story is about the love of a young Moabite woman, Ruth, for her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth remains with Naomi despite rational and societal urgings to return to her own home and people. It is also the story of God’s love for each of us.

Before we enter the heart and life of Ruth of Moab, we pause for Ash Wednesday, which is this week. The Gospel for Ash Wednesday is Matthew 6:1-6,16-21. Jesus gives his followers advice on humility even when praying and fasting.

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The Gospel advises us to not look for acknowledgement by those around us. Instead, we should humbly offer our alms, prayers, and fasting to God. Humility, while not listed as one of the 7 disciplines of the Way of Love, is at the core of each of them. Indiana Jones, in the Last Crusade is facing the tests he must pass through to get to the true chalice. He has a guide book his father has compiled throughout his life that advises you must be penitent to pass through the first challenge. At the last moment, Indy realizes that to be penitent is to be humble and he must ‘Kneel, the penitent man kneels before God’. Diving to his knees he just escapes being decapitated. 

To be humble is to submit to God--to kneel. The Rev. Rosalind C Hughes, Rector of the Church of the Epiphany, Euclid, Ohio, notes in an Episcopal Café posting, “Submission, now as then, is whispered as a dirty word. We prefer to project strength. But submitting to God, literally to place ourselves under God’s sending authority, under God’s mission – submittere; there is nothing more dignified, nothing more humble, nothing more empowering than that.” As we come to Ash Wednesday, may we present ourselves as humble, submissive, and penitent before God so that we can live into the Way of Love practices genuinely. 

When we take seriously the admonition to Rest we will humbly set aside time for Sabbath realizing that we are not the center of the universe and life will go on without us. Taking time daily to Pray and Worship reminds us that submit all we are to the One who really is in control. As we seek to Learn we humbly open our minds to new knowledge, understanding that we don’t actually ‘know it all’. Penitence informs how we Turn in order to Go and Bless those in our lives, so that we gain ‘treasures in heaven’.

May you have a blessed Ash Wednesday, and join me in living a humble and Holy Lent. 

Epiphany: Love

For the past seven weeks, we’ve been looking at the seven Way of Love practices. We have studied the Sunday Gospel lessons for clues to living into this counter-cultural life we are called to.

We’ve explored how walking the Way of Love can ‘help us Learn how we can be part of the light of God in the world’. When we Go, we, like the disciples, ‘will be tossed and blown and sorted’ by the One who baptizes “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” We saw that ‘Jesus called unlikely disciples (fishermen) and…continues to ask us to Bless our world using the things we have on hand.’

We recognized that ‘in and through and during dedicated time with God…worship, we can begin to…acknowledge and support one another on our faith journeys.’ We considered that when we Pray, we can ‘respond differently to the challenges in our lives’.

In this series we’ve acknowledged that ‘we are given a job to do for the Kingdom-for the Way of Love.’ This sometimes requires ‘a U-turn’. Finally, when ‘we rest in the Lord, we are empowered to respond with love to the cares and concerns of the world’.

How do we apply these nice Way of Love practices? This week’s Gospel calls us to the hard task of loving and forgiving our enemies. (Luke 6:27-38) It’s where, as they say, the rubber hits the road.

Jesus said, "I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Jesus says simply, love, do good, bless, pray. In other words, ‘do to others as you would have them do to you’. When you love your enemies without expecting anything, ‘you will be children of the Most High’. The good news is we don’t have to do this alone. We have our community and we have God to help us as we seek to forgive, be non-judgmental, and understanding.  

The contemporary Christian song, by the group NeedToBreathe, entitled Forever On Your Side*, sums up the attitude we need. God assures us that “I’m forever on your side”. If we believe that, we can take the steps we need to live a changed life. The steps we need to walk along the Way of Love! We can continue on our journey of love, forgiving, and self-surrender! God promises that when we “Take my hand when you can't see the light…I will carry you every time, 'Cause I'm forever on your side”.

Listen to this love song  (Forever On Your Side) and consider what it might mean if you believed ‘my love knows no end’.  

Use the Collect for Sunday as part of your devotions this week: O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

*Forever on Your Side

I won't pretend
That we can control the night
Or what kind of road we're on
Oh where we will see the light
Right now I'm talking to you
I'm looking into your eyes
Right now I'm trying to show you
That we're gonna be alright

Oh I don't know
What's around the bend
All I know
Is that my love
It knows no end

All these pieces they fall in line
Because I'm forever on your side
Take my hand when you can't see the light
'Cause I'm forever on your side
I will carry you every time
'Cause I'm forever on your side

They'll beat you up
But don't let them keep you down
'Cause you're always tough enough
And I'll always be around…

Oh I can't promise that a day will never come
Where the ground beneath us falls out and we got no where to run
Oh but you won't be alone when the water starts to rise up
No you won't be alone my darling when the rains come

Epiphany: Rest

In our Epiphany look at the Way of Love disciplines of Go, Bless, Worship, Pray, Turn, Learn, we come to the last one: Rest. Perhaps it should really be the first one. During Advent, some of us used planner pages to take on one of the disciplines each day, and Saturday was the day designated to Rest from the week; and prepare for Worship on Sunday.

There are different kinds of rest. What do you think of when you hear ‘rest’? Taking a nap? Reading a book? Sitting and doing nothing? Being free from stress? Feeling warm and cozy? Sitting in the sunshine? Creating or baking something? Being on vacation? Singing or listening to music? For me, vistas like the one below, call me to pause and remember that God is in charge!

I like to look up word origins. Rest comes from the “Old English ræst, from a Germanic root meaning ‘league’ or ‘mile’ (referring to a distance after which one rests)”. Isn’t it interesting that you Rest after having traveled a certain distance, reached a certain spot, (or even come to a specified place in music)? We do our tasks and then we Rest. The Rest gives us strength to go on again. 

In the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Luke 6:17-26), the people flock to Jesus. They are seeking consolation and healing, a reprieve from the daily struggles. They are seeking Rest. Jesus has just been with his disciples, praying and designating the 12 apostles. (Luke 6:12-16) Then he comes and “stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.”

The Rest Jesus expounds is not a time of doing nothing. It is a time to take stock and renew. “[Jesus}…said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets."

Jesus tells his disciples, and those gathered around, that the sorrows and concerns of this life are fleeting. They can rest in the assurance that better things are coming. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul notes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

Jesus goes on with some warnings to those who think they ‘have it made’, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."

Rest is both active and passive. We reach a spot in our faith journey where we need to pause, review, and be renewed. Then we are called to move on. We may feel poor, hungry, sad, or just tired. As Jesus tells the crowds, ‘you will be filled’, ‘you will laugh’, you will ‘leap for joy’. The time of Rest refreshes our bodies and souls so we can continue along the road of life.

When we rest in the Lord, we are empowered to respond with love to the cares and concerns of the world. Throughout the Bible, we find verses that encourage us to Rest with God. The Book of Genesis tells us that God ‘rested on the seventh day’ (Genesis 2:3). When Moses receives the Ten Commandments, keeping Sabbath rest was one of them (Exodus 34:21). Jesus calls for us to ‘come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28) Isaiah promises, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ (Isaiah 30:15). Many of the Psalms refer to rest, including Psalm 46:10 which says, ‘Be still (rest), and know that I am God.’

Take a minute to define Rest. What is your favorite way to Rest?

Find a Bible verse that talks about Rest and return to it this week during your quiet time. Perhaps commit it to memory or write it on a card to keep with you.

Write the word Rest in the middle of a page. Decorate it with pictures of that symbolize Rest to you, or draw and embellish it with your own art.

Epiphany: Turn

Welcome to the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany and our sixth step on the Way of Love journey. There are only a couple of weeks left of the liturgical season of Epiphany. Then comes Ash Wednesday on March 6, and Lent.

Today’s discipline on the Way of Love might seem more suited to Lent. We are called to Turn. What does it mean to Turn? The 1972 pop song by Pete Seger Turn, Turn, Turn, based on Ecclesiastes 3 suggests that “To everything/Turn, turn, turn/There is a season/Turn, turn, turn.” The song and Ecclesiastes chapter 3 both insist, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” They would suggest that everything that goes around comes around, and around, and around.

But is that what the Way of Love means by Turn? In the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany (Luke 15:1-11) we hear of Simon Peter’s encounter with Jesus. Because of the crowd, Jesus “got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.”

This seems like the normal activity for a traveling rabbi. Teaching is, after all, his job. However, after “he had finished speaking, [Jesus] said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’"

This is not in a rabbi's job description, and Simon (Peter) argues, before agreeing. "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." Then something amazing, or even miraculous, happens. “They caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break…and [they] filled both boats, so that they began to sink.”

Imagine for just a moment that you are in one of the boats. Just a few hours earlier, when the fish should have been present, there was nothing. Now in the heat of the day, when the fish normally aren’t near the surface, there are so many that the boats and nets are overwhelmed. It is no wonder “Simon Peter...fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’”

This is the type of Turn that Jesus calls us to. When we realize that we are unworthy, immediately we hear, “Do not be afraid.” We Turn, we are reassured, then we are given a job to do for the Kingdom-for the Way of Love. We make a U-turn from our old self and follow the new way. And, for most of us, we do it many times a day, day after day. As the song says "Turn, Turn, Turn". 

Peter, James, and John were told, “’from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.” Each of us is also called to ‘catch people’ in a variety of ways. We can only do that after we Turn to God.

In her book True You: Letting Go of your False Self to Uncover the Person God Created, Michelle DeRusha is quoted in Life for Leaders as saying, “How can I know where I’m going or what I should do if I don’t know who I am? And how do I know who I am if I don’t know who God is? The reason I’m not clear on what to do (my calling) is because I don’t truly know who I am—my authentic self—and the reason I don’t know who I am is because I don’t truly know God in a deep and intimate way. In fact, I don’t know if I know God at all. I don’t know ‘the hope he has called me to’ [Eph. 1:18] because I don’t know him.”  

Until we Turn, look at ourselves, and esp. at our relationship with God, we cannot truly follow. There is indeed, as Ecclesiastes says, “A time for every purpose under heaven”. We each have a part of that purpose to live out. 

The Rev. George A. Studdart-Kennedy, a WWI chaplain, wrote the poem Well, in which soldier dreams of having died and meeting God. After being confronted with images of his life, the soldier realizes:

“It seemed to me as though 'Is face, Were millions rolled in one.
…'Twere all men's face yet no man's face, And a face no man can see,
And it seemed to say in silent speech, 'Ye did 'em all to me.
…'For all their souls were mine…'
And then at last 'E said one word,…'Well?'
And I said in a funny voice, 'Please can I go to 'Ell?'
And 'E stood there and looked at me,…And then 'E answered 'No
'You can't…'You know that you 'ave earned it, lad, 'So you must follow me.
'Follow me on by the paths o' pain, 'Seeking what you 'ave seen,
'Until at last you can build the "Is," 'Wi' the bricks o' the "Might 'ave been."'

The soldier recognizes his failure, and then is called to ‘build the ‘IS’”. We are also called to Turn and build the ‘Is’, the ‘Now’, the Kingdom of God!

God allows U-turns. Do you need to make one?

Have you felt God’s tell you to ‘do not be afraid’ and allow you to Turn and start again?

Is there a purpose you think you need to Turn to do?

Epiphany: Pray

In this Epiphany series we are looking at the disciplines of the Episcopal Church’s Way of Love, as part of the Jesus Movement. This is “an intentional commitment to a set of practices. It's a commitment to follow Jesus: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest.” In Advent, we followed the Advent curriculum, modified into weekly planner pages. Since January 6, we’ve looked at the practices of ‘Go’, ‘Learn’, ‘Bless’. Last week we considered how Jesus joined in the Worship of his community when he returned to Nazareth.

Today, we continue in that same chapter (Luke 4:21-30), as Jesus elaborates on his announcement that Isaiah 61 had ‘been fulfilled in your hearing’. At first, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” Then, he acknowledges that it is difficult to be accepted by those who think they know you. He says, “’Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.’”

Then he goes on to remind the people of Nazareth of prophetic responses to two Gentiles who Pray and are blessed by God. He states, “there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah…yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.” (1 Kings 17:8-24) Jesus notes that the leper cleansed by Elisha was ‘Naaman the Syrian.’ (2 Kings 5:1-19)

Is it that this young man that they all know as ‘Joseph’s son’ is claiming to be like Elijah and Elisha, revered prophets from Israel’s past? Or is it that he says that God cares for Gentiles just as much as the chosen Hebrew ‘children of God’? For whatever reason, “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.”

Nazareth is built up the side of a hill, as seen in this Byzantine mosaic from the Chora Church in Constantinople. The attempt to ‘hurl him off the cliff’ is not an empty threat. However, he ‘he passed through the midst of them and went on his way’. In the hubbub of the mob scene, Jesus simply walks away. No fighting back, or engaging in further arguments, Jesus simply leaves.

Perhaps it was that he was grounding in prayer that enabled Jesus to face such conflict without the need to become part of it. Perhaps it was that he had just faced down Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) through the power of prayer.

When we Pray, we too can respond differently to the challenges in our lives. We don’t feel the need to control the outcome or make it come out 'our way'. When we ‘take it to the Lord in prayer’, as the song Whata Friend we Have in Jesus advises, we can face the 'trials and temptations...trouble anywhere." The song proclaims, "We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer."

We don't have to pretend to be 'perfect'. As Lisa Leonard notes on Ann Voskamp’s blog from earlier this week, “Perfection is a lie. It demands more and more, never offering a moment’s rest. Perfect is never satisfied." She admits, "I kept reaching further and further, thinking I was almost there, but perfection was always just out of reach. No matter how hard I tried, I could not be perfect. I can’t always be happy. I am not perfect; I am just me. I’m learning I have to let go of perfection to have joy. I am learning I have to show up and speak up and be honest—no matter how messy.” 

I have a friend whose favorite saying when things get crazy is, "Show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and don't get attached to the results." That's what happens when we Pray and turn problems over to God. We can be honest, and not think we have to control the end result. 

When we Pray God sees the real person. God knows we are not perfect. We don’t have to, and can’t, pretend with God. We can, as Leonard, and my friend both encourage: show up, be truthful and honest—'no matter how messy’, and let God take care of the result. 

When we are connected to God in prayer, we know we are loved no matter what happens, or what we do. In fact, we don’t even have to ‘do’ anything except ‘take it to the Lord in prayer’. The song reminds us “O what peace we often forfeit,/ O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry/ Everything to God in prayer.”

Jesus was connected to God in prayer. It gave him strength and peace and confidence. When we Pray and connect to God, we discover, ‘Jesus knows our every weakness…In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,/ Thou wilt find a solace there.’

Jesus told the people of Nazareth that God responds to all prayer requests no matter who they come from. That made him very unpopular, but it tells us that God does hear our prayers! Later in the same Gospel (Luke 18:1), Jesus “told his disciples a parable [about the insistent widow and reluctant judge] to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” We can find courage in that story and in Jesus’ own life of prayer.

Are there things you need to Pray about, or let God take care of?

Can you let go of perfection and control in order to ‘take it to the Lord in prayer’?

How can you be more honest with God in your prayer life?

Epiphany: Worship

This week in our Epiphany series we come to the discipline of Worship. Over the pat 3 weeks, we’ve looked at the Way of Love practices of Learn, Go, and Bless. Worship is another core component of any life of faith. It can take many forms, too. 

Worship is a time of drawing near to God, whether it is in a grand Cathedral, or a tiny prayer gathering. The communal act of worship joins us with others and with God who promises “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)

We know Jesus took time to Worship. In the lesson this Sunday from the Gospel of Luke (4:14-21) we learn that Jesus “returned to Galilee…When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”

Jesus went to the synagogue in the town where he grew up to worship. It was just a regular Sabbath service, nothing special. As is the right of any adult Jewish man, he was invited to read the scripture. He had likely done this many times before. He ’unrolled the scroll” and read Isaiah 61. As customary, following the reading, he could give an interpretation or sermon on the lesson. Jesus amazed everyone by stating, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’

It's a pretty radical claim for the carpenter's son! In next week’s lesson (and on this blog), you’ll discover that the men in the synagogue didn’t like this statement. They renounced him and attempted to literally throw him out of town.

When we claim our God-given gifts we may not find them welcomed by the home town crowd. There can be too much familiarity to see the new person we have become. The addict who is now clean, the paroled criminal, the mother turned entrepreneur, the hometown kid who makes it big--each of these has an uphill battle when they return home. People have a hard time seeing past ‘little Suzie with the pigtails’ to the sports star or successful business owner she has become. The people of Nazareth had the same problem when Jesus claimed to be fulfilment of one of the scriptures pointing to Messiah.

It can be difficult to claim, or even recognize, who we are in God. Worship is one way to help figure that out. In a community at worship, we can find encouragement and discernment. The worship of a group helps put life in perspective as we come before God with awe and wonder. Worship helps us put God back in the center. Worship moves me to the proper position of child of God, not CEO of the universe.

At the end of our time of worship, ideally, we find ourselves feeling more capable. As the D365 meditation on January 22 says, we are to: “Go, a disciple, called and sent. Go, a disciple, equipped for justice. Go, a disciple blessed in the strong name of God: one holy and undivided Trinity. Amen.” 

The same meditation begins with a quote from the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. He states, “Vocation is, you could say, what’s left when all the games have stopped. It’s that elusive residue that we are here to discover, and to help one another discover. (Rowan Williams in A Ray of Darkness: Sermons and Reflections (1995))

It is in and through and during worship--in and through and during dedicated time with God, that we can help one another discern vocation. In worship, we can begin to look past our differences and how ‘little Suzie’ might have changed to acknowledge and support one another on our faith journeys.

Jesus used the context of a worship service to announce his vocation, his calling. The people were amazed. As we grow in God, people may be amazed at the changes in us.

Do you find yourself strengthened as you worship?

How do you respond to Rowan Williams' definition of vocation?

Can you help someone discern their vocation, or can your worship community help you discern your own?  

Prayer of course is part of worship, and we will look at the Way of Love call to pray next week. 

Epiphany: Bless

So far in our Epiphany series about the disciplines of the Way of Love, we have found that Learning is more than just discovering an answer. Our instructions on how we Go out into the world are part of our baptismal call as beloved members of God’s family.

This week we consider the idea of what it means to Bless. Interestingly the word Bless comes from the Old English words blēdsian, blētsian. The root of these is blōd: ‘blood’. How can the word ‘bless’ be related to ‘blood’? Miriam Webster suggests that it comes from the use of blood in consecration as referenced in Leviticus 8. “So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.” Of course, the use of blood in sacrifice and worship is found throughout ancient history, including at the Cross.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he reminds that church that their Blessings is found in, “the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both [Jews and Gentiles] into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” (Ephesians 2:13-14)

Current usage of the word Bless has lost that original connection with blood and sacrifice. We now say that we Bless someone by asking for God to ‘look favorably on’ them, or to praise God, or to give thanks. The word may also be used in a more lighthearted way when we say, “Bless her little heart” or “bless my soul”. We might comment that someone was a Blessing or that we were able to Bless someone by giving money or helping out.

The Gospel for this Sunday in the Revised Common Lectionary tells of a blessing that came to a young couple. We hear that “there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.” Then social catastrophe: “the wine gave out.” This was a great embarrassment. and “the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’

Despite her son’s response, “His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." (This mosaic at the National Shrine of St. John Paul II by Fr. Marko Rupnik shows all the players at The wedding at Cana).

We learn that “there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it.”

The servants must have been a little concerned as they watched the steward taste the wine. After all they knew that it was only water in the jars. They must have breathed a sigh of amazement and relief when “the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:1-11)

I wonder whether I would have been as quick to obey the request of a wedding guest. The first request wasn’t so out of the ordinary, the second one was very strange. These servants did what they were told.

We too may feel that we are asked to do something that is unusual for and by God. We are often tempted to think we must have all the proper things before we try something new in a ministry, or in life. In the Life for Leaders blog post on January 14, Roy Goble asks, “Have you ever achieved 100 percent of what you attempted as a leader? Your failure to do that doesn’t mean you should attempt less however—it means you should attempt more!” He notes, “Most leadership begins as inspiration…If you’re not aiming too high—both at work and as a disciple—you might be missing out.”

Goble points to the story of David and Goliath to make his point. David used the simple slingshot and rock to kill the giant. His faith-filled action Blessed the army of Israel with victory.

Using the simple ingredient of water, Jesus blessed the newly married couple at Cana. The gathering was blessed with the ‘best wine’. Jordan Ware notes in the January 17 d365 meditation, “This text says that it wasn’t just any water that he turned into wine, but water used for Jewish cleansing rituals before offering prayers and sacrifices. The wine that was offered, then, was not just for celebration, but for preparing the people to worship God. God’s abundance prepares our hearts for worship, and makes us ready to offer sacrifices, confident that through this abundance, we will never go thirsty.” We could also say, “God’s abundance prepares our hearts for worship, and makes us ready to BLESS, confident that through God’s Blessing, we will never go thirsty.” 

In his ministry, Jesus called unlikely disciples (fishermen) and used everyday things to Bless those in need. God continues to ask us to Bless our world using the things we have on hand. God invites us to use our talents, our time, our hearts to Bless each other and to break “down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.”

What ordinary thing in your life does God want to use to Bless those around you?

Has God asked you to do something that seems, on the surface, to not make sense?

What water jars are you being asked to fill so that the new wine can Bless others?