Epiphany 2 C ... Cracks that let the light in...

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Melissa Campbell-Langdell+
All Saints, Oxnard
Year C — Epiphany 2
(Isaiah 62:1–5; Ps. 36:5–10; 1 Cor. 12:1–11; John 2:1–11)

In the recent adaptation of “Les Mis,” Anne Hathaway plays Fantine, who sings a haunting song, “I Dreamed a Dream.”   Part of it goes like this:
“I dreamed a dream in times gone by
when hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
then I was young and unafraid
…
I had a dream my life would be
so different from this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
now life has killed
the dream I dreamed.”[1]
Thinking of today’s reading from Isaiah, one can almost imagine that if Israel were a woman, as she is being referred to here, she might be singing this song. 
What went wrong?  Where are my dreams now?  She has lost hope in God’s saving goodness.
And God even says, yes, I left you high and dry for a moment (Isaiah 54:7).[2] But guess what? 

“You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married (Isaiah 62:4).”

You, Israel, may feel forsaken, you may feel desolate, but you are cherished of God, just like a partner cherishes his or her mate, I love you.  I delight in you.
Perhaps what makes weddings and blessings of loving relationships so uplifting is that we are reminded of that love between God and his people. 
There is probably not a one of us here who has not experienced that moment of desolation—
perhaps it was not absolute, perhaps it was just a moment of panic.  But each of us has felt abandoned by others and perhaps even by God at some time or another, I’ll wager.  And we are reminded today that even in those moments, the corner is about to turn, the joy is about to turn on again, because it’s true, God’s love is steadfast.  God is hiding you under God’s big sheltering wings even as you reach out in prayer.
And loving relationships at their best are where we best get to see God’s redeeming love.
Barbara and Mike and I did some unusual pre-marital preparation.  Instead of coming round the church and sitting in my office, I went by their house for several Thursdays over the course of the past year. 
I got to pet their dog, Bella, bless their house and meet some people that are important to them as well as sit in their nice yard and see where Mike tinkers. 
I learned that they have worked for almost twenty-eight years to build a beautiful, loving relationship.  And I learned that each one of them has had times of sadness and feeling forsaken.  Even just the other week we tragically lost Ted, Barbara’s brother-in-law.  Sadness and suffering, as the Buddhists remind us, are a fact of human existence.  However, Barbara and Mike also show how true partnership can help us bear one another’s burdens.
The gospel reading today, is set at a Wedding in Cana, which I thought was just too good when I saw it happened to be the text for the day we had picked for Barbara and Mike’s blessing.  Here, Jesus is at a wedding and his very first signed, prompted by his mother you will notice, is not anything immediately practical but it is all about celebration. 
They are running out of wine, and he takes a symbol of the old tradition, the ritual washing jars, suggests they be filled with water, and then, blessing them, they become wine.  A beautiful sacramental symbol. 
The old may seem an empty tradition, but in Jesus it is all made new and not just new, but it brings celebration and joy,[3] what David Steele calls “Cana-Grace,” into life.[4]  And a verse here jumps out at me: “You have saved the good wine until now.”  How true!  How very true that is for Barbara and Mike and for many of us.  I was reading the other day that somehow going through trauma and dealing with it well can actually make you an emotionally stronger person.[5]  And somehow the relationships built later in life and after some knocks often seem to be that Good Wine that it seems God has saved until now.  God really has saved the good stuff until now, which makes it all the richer.  All the better to savor and enjoy life, amidst the sorrows.
But I would add to this that we shouldn’t just get caught up in Jesus saving the day.  As one commentator says of this passage, “Weddings are accidents waiting to happen.”[6]  
And it’s true.  At the first wedding I performed, the maid of honor and best man forgot to sort out the rings.  So it comes time for the blessing and exchange of rings, and oops!  First, I am handed both of the bride’s rings, engagement and wedding band.  And then when I say, “where’s the groom’s?” off goes the best man, at a sprint.  And they fetch it and the show goes on.  Was it a moment of momentary panic?  Yes?  Did it work out in the end?  Absolutely.  In fact, now they have a special story to tell. 
So truly we shouldn’t be thrown off if something unexpected happens today or in life, be it running out of beverages or something even more serious, because those moments that don’t go how you expect, they are the places wherein God can act.  They are the moments of opportunity for the Spirit.  Wherein Jesus can change that water that seems so dull into wine, and wherein the Spirit can surprise you with new life.   Surprise you with joy.  Remember Leonard Cohen’s wise words… “Forget your perfect offering.  There is a crack, a crack in everything.  That’s how the light gets in.”[7]
So then, let us forget all perfect offerings and just thank God for love.  Thank God for God’s love as we see it manifest in Barbara and Mike’s life together and rejoice in God for God’s love that loves us so much, even when we feel desolate or forsaken.  Remember that God delights in you.  Feel that love that steadfast love.  And use the gifts God has given you to share it.  Barbara and Mike, may your life together be blessed to share that love with the world, and may each of us be blessed with such an abundant, overflowing, 120-180 gallons’ worth of the love of God,[8] running over without measure, may we be blessed so much that our sorrow is turned to dancing and we forget all perfect offerings and offer up the messy and embracing love of God to everyone we meet!  Amen.

[1] http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/les-miserables-lyrics/i-dreamed-a-dream-lyrics.html
[2] Pointed out by Kathleen M. O’Connor, “Exegetical Perspective: Isaiah 62:1-5,” FOTW Year C., Vol. 1.
[3] Linda McKinnish Bridges, “Exegetical Perspective: John 2:1-11,” FOTW Year C, Vol. 1.
[4] Robert M. Brearley, “Pastoral Perspective: John 2:1-11,” FOTW Year C Vol. 1.
[5] Sarah Elizabeth Richards, “Feeling Good When the Going Gets Tough,” O the Oprah Magazine, June 2012.
[6] Ibid Brearley.
[7] Leonard Cohen, “Anthem.”
[8] Ernest Hess, “Exegetical Perspective: John 2:1-11,” FOTW Year C, Vol. 1. 

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