Creator welcomed Pastor Michelle as she presided over worship today. Most of the congregation wore their name tags and enjoyed conversations with the new Interim Pastor and her husband Robert (who attended this morning as well) both before the service and in the Adult Forum after the service.
Creator Praise opened with an energetic Come, Now Is The Time to Worship. Matt provided his best musical leadership on the piano and, once again, there were five strong singers leading at the mics up front.
After announcements, Council President Trish Voss led the congregation in the statements of commitment contained in the Liturgy and Welcome for the Beginning of the Interim Journey. The words of the Kyrie reinforced that beginning of that journey: Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way. Kyrie eleison, every day.
After the Prayer of the Day Pastor Michelle took as her subject for Children's Time the Second Lesson 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. She talked to the children about the individual gifts that they had and started them off by example identifying her gift as caring. Speaking, silence and marriage all came up in the Lessons and the Gospel for the Day, John 2:1-11 The Wedding at Cana.
Pastor Michelle started her sermon with the current political climate of the nation. She mentioned how easy it was for politicians to peddle fear and how that affects our view of the world. She observed that looking through "fear colored glasses", particularly if they taint our vision of those around us, can leave us feeling empty. She talked about the consequences of that empty feeling when all we are able to think is "I can't" and yet God can work with us even when we are feeling helpless. God says, "Be still. Do not be afraid. Alone you can't, but I can."
When the sermon moved to the Gospel reading Pastor Michelle did a humorous and effective role-play between Jesus and his Mother (from the perspective of the Mother). Basically it was from the Mother's perspective. She points out there is no wine. Jesus asks "What has that got to do with me?" and the Mother holds back from saying anything, giving "the mother's look", confident that Jesus will do something to help the host with the hospitality crisis.Personally, having the Wedding at Cana as the Gospel lesson just coming off last week's retirement celebration gave the passage additional meaning and resonances. First was a rather whimsical coincidence. John tells that nothing is spoken to the main beneficiary at the party about water changed to wine. To keep Pastor Dayle surprised the congregation needed to keep silent about the party details. There is something powerful and unique about this kind of silence and probably why "surprise" parties are popular.
Jesus used the image of the wedding banquet to describe the Kingdom of God in some of his parables. My mind was on that last week and here was another clear reminder to underscore that importance of partying for those who are drawn to worship.
The non-chronological placement of Cana in John also drew my attention today. Just before is the calling of disciples (Pastor Michelle pointed out today disciple translates as learner) and the Cleansing of the Temple which chronologically happens at the end of Jesus' ministry unless there were two times when in his ministry where Jesus cleared the temple.
The connections in these Bible verses are evident. There is ritual cleansing referred to in the Cana passage and a cleansing of the temple. Again Pastor Michelle, when talking about how much water changed to wine, made a wry reference to cleansing by converting the abundance measurement for us to "bathtubs full of wine". Both John passages also contain words that foreshadow Jesus' death that almost feel forced into the passages. My hour has not yet come in the Cana story and Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up in reference to the temple of his body in the Cleansing of the Temple. The other "wedding" parables also contain death references For example, in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet the king orders his army to kill those who killed his servants who invited them to attend the wedding of the king's son. I will use the example of silence not to elaborate further on ideas as to why this is.
Singing Now the Silence during communion drew attention back again to the silence emphasized in the Lessons and the Gospel. The Cleansing of the Temple also brought to mind the power of silence and how Jesus was silent in front of Pilate.
As the congregation ended communion with Bind Us Together, it felt very much like the prayer and recognition embodied in the words that we are all one body. That God is the glorious new wine connected to Cana and how ritual purification, after the miracle, would never be the same at this wedding because all the water had become wine. God changed the ritual wholesale.
The service ended with We Are Marching in the Light of God. When it came to the verse We are dancing in the light of God, Pastor Michelle danced. Her dance and the song expressed the joy and delight of the congregation moving forward on Creator's newly launched Interim Journey.
Photos by Ron Houser
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