Second Sunday after Epiphany Year C 2019
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“Oh, let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King and recognize there are ties between us all men and women, living on the earth, ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood, that we are bound together with a desire to see the world become a place in which our children can grow free and strong, we are bound together by the stands before us, and the road that lies ahead, we are bound then we are bound.”
These are, of course, the words from James Taylor’s song “Shed a little light” written in the early 1990s. Yet this Martin Luther King Weekend the message holds true- 28 years after the song was written and 51 years after Dr. King’s assassination, we are still bound together you and I.
In Montgomery, AL, you can stand behind the pulpit that the 29 year old King stood behind as a first time pastor and then you can walk down the street from Dexter Ave Baptist Church and see the bus station where Ms Rosa Parks got on the bus and sat down. And in this journey you pass near the Confederate White House, the commons where Africans were sold at auction into slavery and many other ghosts of time gone by. All of this history bound up together- intertwined, divisive and yet interlaced- our youth will see if for themselves in a few weeks when they pilgrimage together along these living stones- tracing the trail of the civil rights movement and seeing first hand how we, as a community, are all bound up together- brother and sister with the desire to see the world become a place in which our children can grow free and strong. And you don’t even have to leave town to see similar landmarks and ghosts and milestones in our own community, our own civil rights trail is etched in the pavement of Jefferson St. Just a couple of blocks from here - we are all bound together.
Scripture reminds us that we all come from God, we all have the same source- created out of the love and in the image of God- in that perfect garden so long ago. And since the fall, since then we have been striving to get back to right relationship with God and our neighbor, that perfect, peace-filled relationship. Some days we get closer than other days.
Paul reminds us that we are one body together- each with different gifts- all from the same source but each gift individually given out- he lists them: the gift of wise council, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues- we are not given all of the gifts- but to each a different gift and with these gifts we are to remember that it’s not up to us to want someone else’s gift, no, coveting someone else’s gift doesn’t do the world any good. Our role is to claim our own gift from the Holy Spirit and build up the community with who we are and who we are becoming. God’s spirit working within us and through us.
If we are bound together, we can’t help but be a voice for the weak, care about those who are in need, live in a community seeing each other fully and in turn work to bringing about the wellness of each beloved child of God. Eazy peazy, right?
Are you overwhelmed by this thought? Thinking “not me, I am too old and no longer have the energy to do that sort of work, or I am too young- no one will listen to me, or I don’t like to march in the street in protest, or I don’t like to speak in public, people are too critical- or I speak too much in public, no listens anyway”-
“Surely you are not talking to me, that’s NOT my spiritual gift” well, you are in good company! Nearly everyone in scripture, when called by God, asks for clarification, assurance and certification that the creator of all things was truly calling the right person, and hasn’t mistaken them for who god might really have meant to call. Moses, Mary, Thomas, Paul- each of them asked “Are you sure God?” And God said to each, “it’s my desire to see the world become a better place in which children can grow up free and strong and YOU have a vital role in this dream! We are all bound up in this together.”
Jesus is bound up in the community of Cana today- while not his hometown, it wasn’t far from home- at this celebration the ultimate atrocity occurs- the wedding is about to run out of wine- Mary knows Jesus can do something- she sees it as his role and while he indeed solves the problem and averts the disaster- he does so on his own terms- not for attention but the preservation of the dignity of the family and those who saw what happened- KNEW- bound by knowledge.
When our St John’s pilgrimage traveled to Cana – we stopped to see the church which celebrates the first miracle of Jesus and we took a moment at one of the altars to say our prayers and also bless the civil marriage of one of our couples- our group of 17 was joined and bound together as witnesses of this blessing and marriage, along with a group of 20 Asian pilgrims who were visiting at the church at the same time. While we didn’t share each other’s language, the language of love and blessing was universal and we did share a common bond and desire to support and build up this couple. And in turn recognize and remind them that they too had gifts and talents, given by the Holy Spirit to build up the community.
The truth is wherever we are, we have been given unique gifts to build up the community- and each action we commit matters- while we may not be as eloquent as Martin Luther King, Jr. we do have a message to say, a path to walk down. Dr King said “Be a bush if you can’t be a tree, if you can’t be a highway, just be a trail, if you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”[i] Because God believes and has invited you to do so. Yes, we will fail, mess up, and go the wrong direction. BUT that doesn’t mean that we can’t begin again and continue to strive towards God and in turn, shed a little light of hope and joy. For we are all bound together.
[i] Speech before a group of students at Barratt Junior HS in Philadelphia October 26, 1967
