January 2007 Archives

Mission Possible
John 2:1-11
January 14 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Weddings -Weddings can be exciting, stressful, filled with hope and doubt, expectancy and
dread. Part of the stress comes, I think, from the desire on the part of the wedding couple to
have a "perfect wedding" -something that in all the years I've been doing weddings has never
once happened. But, as I always tell the couple, it's the things that go wrong that will make
your wedding memorable. They seldom believe me! But if everything had gone smoothly, we
would never have heard of the little backwoods village of Cana or the wedding that became the
occasion for what the gospel of John calls "the first sign" Jesus' Divine glory. Even so, we
wonder what was it about this event that made it so important and more importantly, what is it
that we might learn from the events of that day?
Well, first of all, we need to understand that weddings in ancient Israel were important
events for the whole village -especially a village as small as Cana. With a couple more than
likely betrothed from a very early age, the wedding was something that the couple's families
had been planning for many years. The wedding ceremony, itself, took place in the midst of a
wedding feast that could last up to a week, depending on the social status of the families
involved. [And we think our wedding celebrations have gotten too extravagant!] As we enter
this story, we don't know how long this particular wedding feast had been going on, all we
know is that they were about to run out of wine. Now in a culture where hospitality demanded
not just sufficiency but extravagant abundance this was nothing short of a disaster. As one
commentator put it, "This miracle came about because of mismanagement and poor planning.
The wedding planner blew it. Many would see this as a curse upon [this couple's] young life; a
sign of troubles to come."
We also don't know why Mary, Jesus and the disciples were at this particular wedding.
Some have surmised that perhaps the bride and groom were relatives of Mary and that she had
been asked to serve as caterer for the event since that was the typical way of providing food for
the celebration in first-century Palestine. If so, it makes sense that Mary would not only be
aware of the shortage and the impending disaster, but would also feel compelled to do
something about it. Jesus, we've got a problem; "They're just about out of wine."
Likewise, we don't have a clue as to what Mary expected that Jesus would do
about the situation. But, we have to assume that she expected that he would do
something. In fact, her trust was so complete that despite what sounds like a
rebuff, she persisted in her belief that Jesus would do something. So, she turns to
the servants and says, in full confidence, "Whatever he tells you, do it."
"Whatever he tells you, do it; no matter how odd or strange or illogical or
unconventional, just do it!"
Now, in my imagination I can almost hear Jesus let out a sigh, shake his head
and mutter under his breath, "I can never win with that woman!" But, whatever he
thought, he told the servants to take the six jars -each capable of holding twenty to
thirty gallons- fill them with water and then dip their pitchers into the water and
serve as if it was wine.
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Now I can well imagine that those servants had their doubts, after all who would
mistake water for wine? But somehow, Mary's words prompted their obedient
response and the fear of scarcity was transformed into the reality of extravagant
abundance.
I doubt that even Mary expected 180 gallons of wine! Water becomes wine, scarcity is
replaced by abundance, dead-end existing is transformed into joy-filled living; and it happens
whenever and whenever divine presence meets persistent obedient acting. Tomorrow the
nation pauses to honor one who dared not only to dream God's dream of a future where
"People will rise up and come to see that they are made to live together as brothers and sisters;
but one who also gave all of his mind, all of his heart all of his strength, and all of his life to
actions which he believed would make that future possible; one who persisted in prayer and
acted in the face of doubt and fear and hatred with love that could only have come from the
very heart of God.
As I was searching through the considerable volumes of material about Dr. King, I came
across an excerpt from the book Standing in the Need of Prayer written by Coretta Scott King.
Mrs. King wrote:
I remember one very difficult day when he came home bone-weary from the
stress that came with his leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the
middle of that night, he was awakened by a threatening and abusive phone call,
one of many we received throughout the movement. On this particular occasion,
however, Martin had had enough.
After the call, he got up from bed and made himself some coffee. He began to
worry about his family, and all of the burdens that came with our movement
weighed heavily on his soul. With his head in his hands, Martin bowed over the
kitchen table and prayed aloud to God: "Lord, I am taking a stand for what I
believe is right. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before
them without strength and courage, they will falter. I am at the end of my
powers. I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I
can't face it alone.
Later he told me, "At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as
I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear a voice
saying: 'Stand up for righteousness; stand up for truth; and God will be at our side
forever.'" When Martin stood up from the table, he was imbued with a new sense
of confidence, and he was ready to face anything.
As I recall the deplorable history of segregation and racial prejudice in this
nation prior to the persistent obedient acting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and so many
others who were touched by his dream and empowered by the love that radiated from his
heart, it seems to me that the transformation that occurred through the Civil Rights Movement
is nothing less than the transformation of water into wine.
But the wine is almost gone. As we witnessed in the plight of the poor in New Orleans
following Hurricane Katrina, there is the still today the reality of an almost third world existence
right within our own land because of economic and social attitudes about race, poverty, and
social justice in America. New fears have emerged and new prejudices have developed as we all
have struggled to come to terms with life in a post September 11th world. So it is that the
theme for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is Remember, Celebrate, Act. There is still much to
be done. Perhaps that is always the case. So as we remember and celebrate let us hear some
of Dr. King's words.
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"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day
for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and
freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men [and women] have
torn down, other-centered men [and women] can build up. [1964 -Nobel Peace Prize
Acceptance Speech]
All life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,
tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all
indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are
what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I
ought to be - this is the interrelated structure of reality.... [1965 Commencement
Speech Oberlin College]
What we are facing today is the fact that through our scientific and technological
genius we've made of this world a neighborhood. And now through our moral and
ethical commitment we must make of it a brotherhood. We must all learn to live
together as brothers [and sisters]- or we will all perish together as fools. This is the
great issue facing us today. No individual can live alone; no nation can live alone. We
are tied together. [1965 Commencement Speech Oberlin College]
"Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater
determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to
make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better
nation. [I've Been to the Mountaintop- April 3, 1968]
Yes, the wine is almost gone. And Mary persistently, faithfully reminds us -"Whatever he
tells you, do it." And the God of Impossible Possibilities whispers "Your mission, if you decide to
accept it, is....." Will we listen? We will fill those jars with the water of our lives -each
doing whatever we can, whenever we can, wherever we can to make this
community of faith, our homes, the places where we work and go to school, the
community where we live, our nation, our world a more compassionate, just, and
loving place- and trust that as we do Divine Love will take that water and transform
us and our world into the abundant wine of a joyful world community where all are
welcome, all are loved, all are respected, and all dwell as sisters and brothers
together in peace?
With God's help, let us answer "yes!" Amen.

Starlight, Dreams and Vision
Matthew 2:1-12
January 7, 2007 - Epiphany Sunday
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
A number of years ago the owner of a hotel in San Francisco came to the conclusion that the
hotel's single elevator just couldn't handle the traffic. As the hotel staff talked with an architect
they realized that putting in a new elevator would require cutting a hole in every floor, creating
such a mess that it would be necessary to close the hotel during construction. "Well, we'll just
have to close it," the hotel engineer said. "We can't survive without an additional elevator"
A janitor, who happened to be working nearby, overheard the conversation and broke into the
deliberations, saying: "Do you know what I would do?"
"What?" asked the architect, with more than a touch of arrogant disdain.
"Well, sir," the janitor began, "I'd put the elevator on the outside of the building."
The engineer and the architect looked at each other and smiled. For the first time in the
history of architecture, an elevator was built on the outside of a building.
That janitor saw with new eyes, trusted what he saw and risked offering his idea, even in the
face of disdain and disbelief. The engineer and the architect listened to this outsider, grasped his
outlandish vision and dared to try something new. Some might say it was a moment of epiphany -
the dawning of a fresh idea, a flash of insight that led to of a new way of doing things, finding the
missing piece of the puzzle that opens the door to a new reality.
Epiphany -prior to the split between what became the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman
Catholic streams of Christianity- Epiphany was one of the two major festivals of the church -
second only to Easter in its significance. It was a time of celebrating the "shining forth" or
revelation of God to humanity in the coming of Jesus and our human response in the adoration of
the magi. Over the years, in western Christianity, however, Christmas has become THE
celebration, far outshining Epiphany's light. It's no wonder, after all who doesn't welcome the
coming of a baby and the promise of salvation? But, Epiphany calls us to acknowledge the
uncomfortable truth that God still comes to us in dreams and visions, inviting us to see with new
eyes and hear with new ears. Epiphany demands that we consider the possibility that the stillspeaking
God just may be calling us to the crazy irrationality of setting out on a journey -whose
destination is yet unknown- guided only by starlight and armed only with love.
This week as I was preparing these reflections, I was led to watch again the 1989 move about
an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner. Perhaps you've seen it. It's called
Field of Dreams. Now the part of the story I remembered -the part that most people think of
when they think of this movie- happens in the first 10-15 minutes of the film. Ray is walking
through his corn field and he hears a voice saying "If you build it, he will come." When it's clear
that no one else can hear what he hears, Ray of course thinks he just might be going crazy. But
the voice persists until one day Ray looks out at his cornfield, sees a vision of a baseball diamond
and somehow knows that he is supposed to build this diamond, for a long dead Chicago White Sox
player named Shoeless Joe Jackson. Then, despite the fact that everyone except his wife thinks
he's lost his mind, Ray plows under a huge section of his cornfield and creates a baseball field.
Eventually Shoeless Joe comes, followed shortly by other players whose careers had ended in a
scandal. But, like I said, all that happens in the first 10-15 minutes of the film. The heart of the
film is a journey that takes Ray to New York and then to Minnesota and finally home to the heart
of who he is. Now the thing I think is fascinating about this movie is the fact that each step of the
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journey is guided only by a few cryptic words which Ray must somehow figure out and trust
enough to follow with no clear understanding of why he's doing what he's doing. But when he
does, his ultimate destination brings him healing and more life than he could have ever imagined
or dreamed was possible.
Trust -trust that the star would lead them to the new king. Trust that it was a journey they
were called to make. Trust in their dreams and visions. Trust in the gifts they had to give. Trust
that the voice was somehow calling him to his highest good. Trust in his discernment of the next
step on the journey. Trust that even his mistakes were somehow part of the whole picture. Trust
another word for faith!
These stories -the journey of the magi and the transformation of a simple farmer in Iowa- are
somehow our stories as well. Individually and as a community of faith I believe that we are guided
by starlight, dreams and visions into the fullness of God's dream for us and for our world, if we will
but listen and see, trust and follow. Each of us must, of course, pay attention to the wisdom of our
own hearts. But the magi did not travel alone and Ray's wife, his daughter and an author named
Terrance Mann, became a community of trusting companions on his journey. So, too, we, in this
community of faith, are called to companion one another as we open our hearts, minds and spirits
to the dreams God has for us. We need to pay attention to new voices and strange ideas. We
need to let our eyes see new possibilities and step beyond what is easy or comfortable or familiar.
We need to trust that the voices calling us to envision a whole new way of being church together
are calling each of us into the fullness of God's dream for our lives. We need to trust that what we
are called to be about will lead us to more life than we could ever possibly dream of or imagine.
When the magi reached Bethlehem, they saw the face of Divine Love, opened their hearts,
gave the gift of their lives and went home by another way -renewed, transformed and ready to
embrace a future only God could see. When we travel by starlight, with eyes and hearts open to
divine dreams and visions, when we dare to give who we are and what we have, we too will go
home by another way -renewed, transformed and ready to embrace a future only God can see.
It's time -perhaps its past time- for us to begin a process of discernment. What is God calling
us to be and do as a community of faith? What are the unique gifts we have to offer the wider
community and the world? We already do a lot. We have a fantastic music ministry, a growing and
vital youth ministry, a first class preschool and SALT groups to nurture our growth. We have
Healing Ministries -Reiki, our Stephen Ministers and our Prayer ministry. We reach out beyond
ourselves through our Foods Resource Bank and our ministry with Daybreak Shelter. Yes, we do a
lot! But if we simply sit back and say "Wow, look at all we've done!" like the magi in Jerusalem, we
will, I believe, have lost sight of the star.
If money were no object -and it truly is not; if we had all the human resources that we need -
and we do who is God calling us to become? What is God inviting us to do? Could it be that we are
to build a Center for Faith, Healing and the Arts, where we youth and adults can explore music,
painting, drama, pottery, dance and the like as spiritual practices? A place where we can offer
Reiki and Counseling -not only for the members of our community, but for those who will never
enter the doors of this sanctuary? Are we called to build a Youth and Family Center, where kids
can come on Friday nights for fun and fellowship, where there is room for a growing number of
youth and lots of activities on our Wednesday night programs? A place where families can come
together for fun activities that strengthen their bonds of love as they grow in faith? Are we called
to add a second worship service that meets the needs of those who cannot come on Sunday
morning? Are we called to widen our welcome and become a place where all people are truly
welcomed -100%- free to express the fullness of their dreams as they find healing for the wounds
of their lives? Are we called to.....? I don't know. These are some of the dreams and visions God
has planted in my heart. What is the still-speaking God saying to you?
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In the next few months we will be starting a process of discernment and discussion. I hope
that each and every one of you will be part of that process in some way -prayer, action,
conversation, sharing. Each of us is part of the whole, each with gifts to give to the process.
It's Epiphany! A time when we are invited to open our lives to divine dreams and visions, and
begin a star-guided journey into a future only God can see. Will you come? Amen.