Sermon - Isaiah 62.1-5

Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

“I will not keep silent. I will not stop talking, proclaiming or preaching…. I will not pause. I will not rest, for the sake of the precious city God loved and left, and I will keep this up until every nation and king can see that Jerusalem has been declared innocent and lifted up to a place of glory and honor.” (Working Preacher, Anathea Portier-Young)

These are the words of the prophet Isaiah as he boldly acts as intercessor for Jerusalem. Following the exile, the Babylonians may have been defeated, but when the Jewish people returned to their land, they found it decimated. It looked rather like a desert. The restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem met countless obstacles and delays. The people had been full of hope, but now they are battling deteriorating morale caused by broken dreams and crumbling faith. Their very identity had been battered by loss and they could no longer understand that God delighted in them. They felt God had turned away in indifference.

So, the prophet Isaiah laments and boldly protests, interceding on their behalf. Seeking justice for his people, Isaiah will not remain silent as he holds God accountable. Now, the notion of “holding God accountable” probably tends to make many of us squeamish. But, the prophets did this. Elie Wiesel, in “The Trial of God,” accuses God of being absent from the horrific genocide of the Holocaust. And, the biblical writings we have been given suggest that what the Jewish people had experienced was something like the Holocaust. In the depth of their despair, a place where they deeply feel the absence of God, the prophet speaks. He names their despair and holds God accountable. Then, the prophet promises newness, transformation and even new names signaling joyful union for Jerusalem and all the land around her. He proclaims the dream of God for his people and promises there will be change and transformation. The prophet proclaims the abundant life God desires for the people and says God will rejoice over you!

In today’s gospel reading, John gives us a story that presents significant need and emptiness in the midst of what is to be a grand party. Jesus and the disciples are attending a wedding. And, on the third day of the festivities, over in the corner of the room a nervous silence sets in. There is the alarming discovery that the wine has run out. Wine was a vital component of any wedding in that day, the sign of the harvest and the sign of God’s abundance for God’s people. But, the wine has run out and the party is far from over!! There are still four days of partying left to go!! We can imagine the tension in the air. For the groom’s family, this is not just an embarrassing situation, this is a major social faux pas.

Well, Jesus’ mother sizes up the situation and swings into action. And, like the prophet Isaiah, she will not remain silent. She tells her son about it. The implicit command is: “Fix it!” Mary is a prophet who will not take no for an answer. In fact, she says to the servants, “Do whatever my son tells you.” Mary speaks and acts as intercessor for the wedding party and all the guests. In Mary’s persistence, she provides the leadership for the miraculous sign that takes place in this story by observing the problem, naming it, and taking action to help. Then, when his mother tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says, Jesus performs one of the most understated, yet mighty acts in John’s gospel.

There were six large jars for water to be used for washing according to various Jewish purification rites, each jar holding 20-30 gallons of water. Jesus tells the servants to fill them to the brim and then he tells them to draw some out and take it to the man in charge of the feast. When the steward tastes the wine, it turns out to be the best wine at the party. Not only is it the best, but there is an abundance of wine, an amount equal to an additional thousand bottles of wine!

People, in Jesus, Immanuel – God with us, God made flesh, there is abundance. On the third day, a reference by the way to the resurrection, Jesus provides abundance. And, in this first miracle in the gospel of John, Jesus provides more wine, joy, and blessings than the people could possibly have imagined or deserved.

As we gather today for worship, I am very aware of the reality of deep need and despair in our world, even within our own country. Many in the world go hungry. Many in our own community go hungry. And, as we gather together on this day, we cannot ignore what is happening in our present culture, the growing need people are experiencing from this government shutdown, and the growing need and pain of refugees seeking asylum. We need a tangible miracle of God’s abundance. In light of today’s gospel reading, we cannot help but come face to face with the creative word of a living God and we do not take no as an answer. Today’s reading invites us to trust so much in God’s generosity and abundance that we, like the prophets of old and like Jesus’ mother, nudge God with our observation and our protest: they have no wine! Like Mary, and in the face of insurmountable need by so many people around this world, we too cry out and lift our voices in intercession for the hurting and powerless as we say to God, “Fix it; heal this land and bring comfort to the people!” In the words of scripture, we find words that address the timelessness of human need and human tragedy. And, we also discover that we, like Mary, can become God’s servants as God uses us to help fill the needs of the hurting. Quite frankly, when we pray such a prayer, we are also called to action, which is something we are doing as we take noisy offerings to help those who are furloughed, to help any who are now without necessary government assistance, and to help our refugee project.

On this weekend, we celebrate the life of another prophet who would not remain silent, Martin Luther King, Jr. He would not remain silent in the depth of people’s despair. And, his speaking out brought about change. Speaking out and seeking justice is a form of prayer. As we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and remember the many prophets who have gone before him, we too, as people of faith, are called to cry out to God as we seek justice and change and renewal in our lives and this land. That form of prayer also causes us to respond and act in ways that help bring about the newness of God’s promises and dream for all people. Like Isaiah, like Mary and like Martin Luther King, Jr., we cannot remain silent in the face of injustice. As we remember and celebrate King’s life and work, one of the best ways we can honor him is by remembering what he proclaimed as he called the church to work for justice. In fact, he said, “A Church that has lost its voice for justice is a Church that has lost its relevance in the world.”

On the third day, when the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother, like Isaiah and like Martin Luther King, Jr., would not keep quiet. Jesus addresses the problem and he turns scarcity into abundance. In Jesus, the one who provides enough for all people, we see a God who is deeply responsive to human need. In Jesus, we experience a God who is so responsive to human suffering that he entered the very depth of our need to suffer with us, even to the point of being nailed to a cross. And then, on the third day, hope was born, and the new wine flowed freely! Hope is deeply embedded in the Resurrection. May we, like the prophets, continue to cry out and work for justice, and live into the hope of God’s dream for all people!