What if? Lately I have been reading a collection of essays by noted historians considering how history and our world would have turned out if certain moments in history had gone differently. What if George Washington had not made his miraculous escape from the British on Long Island in the early morning fog of August 29, 1776? What if Alexander the Great had been slain in battle instead of being saved at the last instant by a loyal bodyguard? What if a confederate aide in 1862 hadn't accidentally lost General Robert E. Lee's plans to invade the north? What if the storm raging in the North Atlantic on June 5, 1944 had continued unabated and the D-day invasion never taken place?
We are all familiar with the movies and stories that recognize certain moments in life as pivotal to the course of events that follow. There lies within each of our lives those moments that are the intersections of "what if." Moments when choices were made or not made that limited or opened our lives to events that bring us to this time and place. There is a mystery and wonder to time and history when viewed from the vantage point of the "what ifs" of life. Certainly there are joys and sorrows that might have turned out different if only.
Our gospel lesson for today is from the first chapters of the Gospel of John, the beginning of Jesus' ministry--the first miracle or as John calls them--signs--that Jesus performs revealing himself as the Messiah. But there is in this familiar story of the wedding at Cana, a tantalizing moment--a "what if" that might have made the whole thing turn out so differently.
"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee." What most of us hear in this lesson is the story of a miracle that changes water into wine--Jesus coming to the rescue of a difficult predicament--a potentially awkward social situation corrected. But what if...
When the wine gives out we are told that Jesus' mother comes to him and says, "They have no wine."Jesus replies, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?" If ever there was a proof in scripture of Jesus' humanity, this is it. Our lives are filled with the demands of others on our time and schedules. Time and again we find ourselves having to simply say "Not right now. I just don't have time--check with me next week--next month--next year." We would like to help but right now is not a good time. So we distance ourselves from those around us--remind ourselves that the problem is really not ours to solve. What were Jesus' words again?" What concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come." They fit us at every stage of life from young to old. There is a need--a situation--and we respond: That's really not my concern. I don't have children yet--maybe in the future there will be time to deal with issues of youth or education but not right now. My family is young--mere babies--I simply don't find this the right time to help with an issue concerning seniors. Do you have any idea how demanding my schedule is with teen-agers--their lives becomes your life--there is simply no time for other concerns. My kids are in college--I did my time with the younger children--surely there must be someone more able and interested. This is the first time we have actually had time for ourselves--your problem has been around a long time. Are you sure there is no one else you could ask?
What if Jesus had stuck to his first response.
He was just a guest--he was passing through--certainly no wine
is an awkward situation but it was not his problem. The gospel
writer identifies the turning of water into wine as the first
great sign of Christ's glory. But what if the too human Jesus
had stuck with his original feeling? It is not my problem--this
is not my time. What if there had been no water turned into wine
that day. And what if the next day when the leper was beside the
road Jesus had also said, "This is not my problem--where
are the doctors and medical specialists--Medicare and Medicaid--health
insurance and social agencies?" And the next day and the
next--what if all his life Jesus had said, "This is not my
problem" and waited for the right time? The history of the
world--the story of our lives--is different because Jesus did
not stay with his initial feeling--the wholeness of humanity is
redeemed in that no problem is ever independent of any other person
or problem. We might like to live our quiet little lives apart
from the other problems of the world but nothing is ever so divided
or removed. Every "what if" moment in life connects
to so many others around the world. It has made all the difference
in our lives. That Jesus got past his initial feeling.
Back in the mid-1950's there was a doctoral candidate working
on his PhD at Boston University. He finished his course work and
had everything done for his doctorate except his dissertation.
Being the son of a pastor and from the south--married and with
a family on the way--he needed a way to earn a living while he
finished his PhD work. So he looked for a church in the South
that would accept him as their pastor. A little church in Montgomery,
Alabama called the Dexter Baptist Church seemed the perfect place
for the young preacher to lay low and do what he must to keep
the church going while he wrote his dissertation.
For this young man his greatest dream, hope and vision was the
he would some day be a scholar--a teacher--perhaps someday an
administrator--a dean or even president of a university. His ultimate
goal was the quiet life of scholarship.
Not long after the young pastor came to Montgomery--an African-American seamstress was seated towards the front of one of the public transportation buses in Montgomery. A white man came along and asked her to move to the back of the bus so he could have her seat. Rosa Parks wouldn't move so she was arrested.
This was the beginning to the Montgomery bus boycott when the African-American community refused to use public transportation until that public transportation was available equally to all citizens. The boycott needed a spokesperson but all the long time leaders of the black community were already busy--committed--involved--over extended--and careful. While he really wanted to be working on his PhD the young preacher at Dexter Baptist Church decided he could not pass this moment by--So the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. decided to help some black folk get some seats on the bus.
In that moment the ordinary life of a common southern preacher became a voice not just for integration of public transportation in Montgomery but reached through time to the voting rights act and became a transforming vision for future generations of Americans for people of all color.
What if...
The miracle is found in the decision--the embracing of a seemingly
ordinary moment as common as water--and by grace discovering that
which might otherwise have been missed.
The Vietnam war was coming to a close for America. But for the peoples of Southeast Asia the nightmare grew only darker and more frightening--the reports of the killing fields of Cambodia had only begun to be hinted at in the U.S. media. Lutheran Refugee and Immigration Services was appealing to American congregations to help. By resettling refugees from a culture and world far removed from Chicago's north shore. But a few Holy Spirit members decided to help--from the resources of the community and through the sacrifices of time and personal energy the first family was given place--in all 34 refugees from Cambodia were resettled. There were struggles--joys and celebrations in those days--there was also miracles--the reuniting of brothers and sisters thought dead but found alive--for the refugees there were the simple poor beginnings that ultimately triumphed in the purchase of homes--owning of businesses and the sending of children to colleges and universities. When a reunion of the Cambodian families and their offspring was held last year--130 gathered--the ordinary and too common lives of refugees now contributing to the richness of American society--a miracle of grace from those who showed concern and responded in deed.
What if...
What if the call of the Gospel is to a life that is concerned
about more than just self? Water is so common yet when touched
by the presence of Christ it becomes so much more. Together with
God's word water transforms us into children of God and makes
us one with Christ. The watery floods of ancient times threatened
to overwhelm all humanity yet Christ strode forth on the waves
and in the simple words, "Peace, be still" brought calm.
Ours is the invitation to hear those calming words and to proclaim
them to the world. When it seems like too much--that there is
no way through--then it is that the waters are divided and with
God before us we walk through on dry land. The images of water
fill the pages of scripture and inform the faith we live--when
we are tempted by the very words Jesus spoke--to dismiss the moment
as none of our concern--as one that we have no time for--then
we are reminded that the water was not left unchanged.
What happens in people's lives when they begin to say "yes" instead of "it is not my time."
We have just completed our stewardship appeal--and according to the church office we have received a record number of time and talent forms--people who said "yes"--people willing to commit themselves--people willing to open themselves to the transforming power of God's grace. People willing to discover that the ordinary water of daily life is now rich with the promise of the power of grace and love.
Centuries ago in a little village at the north end of the Sea of Galilee--in the village of Cana--a man named Jesus was confronted with the needs of a neighbor. His initial reaction was that this was none of his concern--the time was not right. But then in this ordinary moment a miracle occurred.
Four decades ago in our own land--a young preacher named Martin decided to get involved in matters that were really very little of his concern--he took a risk and said "yes".
What if right now--in this very moment--here
at this table of grace--in the words of this sermon--in the music
of the hymns and choir--the quiet of the prayers--the voices of
the Sunday school children--even the moments of fellowship over
coffee...
What if...
What if within our hearts and minds in this very moment we can
hear God calling--calling us to use our gifts--our resources
--our ordinariness--to become the rich wine of grace that would
fill the world.
What if...
Amen.