When you're in God's hands you are God's hands
(Isaiah 62: 1-5 • Psalm 36: 5-10 • 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 • John 2: 1-11)
I asked to include all four readings suggested from the lectionary for this second Sunday after Epiphany, but don't worry I promise that we'll all be on time for lunch. Each of the readings so beautifully depicts our connection with the holy presence of the Divine. Be it in our everyday endeavors, our community of faith or the hope of the oppressed, these passages assure us that we are more than the sum of our parts – and allow us to witness the Divine in the interconnectedness of all of creation.
Let us pray: Still our minds and quiet us. Open our hearts to the endless possibilities of the divine love that surrounds us and is here now in this place. May we draw nearer through your Word. Amen.
This has been a week of wearing many hats for me. I've spent several days wrestling with plumbing and being particularly grateful for the local hardware store. I've struggled to fix the washing machine, (for which we are still paying). I've fixed several toilets, cleaned a dozen motel rooms, finished (well almost finished) a website project, designed a couple print jobs and attended three committee meetings. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining – as I heard of the devastation in Haiti and the mounting human tragedy exacerbated by the extreme poverty of that country I was mindful of the many blessings I too often take for granted. I will confess; however, that having the privilege to be here and share with you today is the highlight of my week.
For the message brought to us through scripture today is that God's love extends throughout the cosmos – throughout creation – and through all people. The psalmist writes, "your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds . . . you save humans and animals alike . . . How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings"
The prophet Isaiah assures us that God's love extends to the plight of the downtrodden and displaced, and for those who suffer from injustice and oppression. The prophet proclaims, "You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate . . . for the Lord delights in you" and will "rejoice over you, as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride."
As I pondered this throughout the week, my mind kept turning to the people in Haiti - "Forsaken" people in a "desolate" land. The news reports are filled with people crying out for help, expressing anguish, hoping and praying for a miracle. And through this lens I began to consider how the two lessons from the New Testament illustrate a process by which the Holy Spirit is manifested in our world through the body of Christ.
The story told in the Gospel of John of the Wedding in Cana illustrates a similar division of talents as those described by Paul in his letter to the Church at Corinth. In the wedding story there are several actors, each doing their part in manifesting the miracle. Mary asks Jesus to intervene. But, Jesus rebukes her saying, "my time is not yet come." However, as any good mother would, Mary assumes that Jesus will honor her request and tells the servants to do what Jesus asks. Jesus then instructs the servants (I like to think of them as waiters) to fill six, 20-gallon vessels. This would have been no small task and would have required several people. It is a mundane task, but essential. Jesus then tells the waiters to draw some out and take it to the chief steward (I like to think of him as the sommelier – or wine taster). There is no indication that the waiters suspect anything miraculous. It is only when the sommelier, (or steward) tastes the water that the miracle is discerned and then announced to the bridegroom.
The story depicts a series of actions that together manifest the miracle: Mary's recognition of need, her willingness to ask, and, her persistence to call others to action, the obedience of the servants to carry out a seemingly ordinary task, and the discernment of the steward to recognize and proclaim what has taken place. All of the actors have a part to play and all must play their part.
This is the message conveyed by Paul in the twelfth chapter of his first letter to the church in Corinth when he writes, "there are a variety of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and a variety of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone." Paul emphasizes that the Spirit of the divine is revealed through many ways and through many different people, but "to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
But here's the catch – these gifts are part of a greater whole and it is only when they work in concert that the Spirit is fully manifested. "To one is ...given wisdom, and to another ... knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."
The gift of knowledge (let's call it education) is not the same gift as wisdom (call that experience) – but they both come from the same Spirit. The gift of healing (let's call it medicine) is not the same thing as the gift of faith, or the gift of miraculous healing (let's call that energetic healing) but they are both the same Spirit revealed. Paul continues the contrasts with prophecy (seeing beyond) and discernment (understanding what is true). And although it makes our Presbyterian blood tremble a bit at the thought, Paul even distinguishes between the speaking in tongues and the interpretation of such speech.
Paul teaches that while there are a variety of gifts they are all manifestations of the same Spirit. But more importantly, these gifts are not just complimentary, but vital to the success of the others: What good is education without experience as a guide? Can the body truly be healed without healing the soul? What's the use of seeing beyond the way things are, if one doesn't know what is true?
Later in Chapter 12 Paul describes the church as the literal body of Christ, using the many gifts of the spirit, as a body uses its different parts – the eyes, the hands, or the feet. The mission of the church is to bring these gifts of the Spirit together to work in concert as the body of Christ. As members of the body we are called to share our talents, while realizing that our gifts alone are not enough. We must embrace our interconnectedness and employ our gifts in the "manifestation of the common good". We must place our hand in God's hand.
The body of Christ is revealed in Haiti through the work of the Presbyterian Church USA and Church World Service. When you contribute your time, talent and money you are placing your hand in God's hand. The Presbyterian Church was active in mission before the earthquake and now has responded to the urgent need by pledging an additional $500,000 from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Funds are being used to help with basic humanitarian relief efforts of providing temporary shelter, food and health assistance. Funds are also being used to provide water and sanitation engineers, and equipment to construct water purification systems. Resources for building latrines are also being provided, as the sanitation situation is critical. The church is working with other ecumenical partners to send personnel with the expertise to respond to the mounting humanitarian crisis. Right now, community groups and churches of all faiths are assembling supplies: food, clothing and medical kits.
As I followed the news, I thought of the body of Christ expanding beyond the boundaries of the church to include all of those working together to respond to the tragedy, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, and atheists, all activated by the same Spirit. And I came back to the seventh verse of Psalm 36, "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings."
As the after shocks of the earthquake still rumbled, people in Port au Prince gathered outside in city parks, surrounded by collapsed buildings that still contained the trapped, injured and dying. Through the night, in the darkness of the devastated city, reporters heard singing as those who had survived comforted each other and those still trapped inside. The gifts of Spirit are even shared by those who have nothing, for the body of Christ includes them as well. Their song was lifted up, connecting those who were saved, and those who were lost, touching those in need and those who came to help, a song of sorrow and of hope, spreading out across the dark spaces of the city, captured by the media and transmitted around the world. Their song reflects the "steadfast love" of the Divine Creator where "all people may take refuge." Their song binds us together as the body of Christ, each to share their unique gifts in service to the body. Through their song I experienced the interconnectedness of the body of Christ and received their gift of the Spirit.
We enter into the body of Christ when we each share our unique, divine gifts with each other and for each other. When we place these gifts in God's hands, we become the hand of God as the body of Christ.
May it be so.
