January 18, 2009 at Saint Mark in Norman, OK

1 Samuel 3:3-10 + Psalm 40 + 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20 + John 1:35-42

The most fundamental question in life opens the Gospel of John: “What are you looking for?” “Security.” some would say, and that’s not a wrong aim, it’s just a low aim. Anyone with a few years on them knows only too well how fragile that can be. “A career” others might say. Power, Prominence, Respect, an opportunity to do work they believe they are capable of doing. Again, not a bad aim, and it might even be high aim if it is motivated by a real desire to be of service rather than simply by personal ambition. “Peace” some might say; peace with themselves, peace with God, peace with others. Those however who are to become disciples of Jesus are not looking for any of those things. They want to know where he is “staying.”

Now they are not asking for his address. They want to know his home. This is not that silly question we often use to start up a conversation with strangers: “Where’re you from?” To begin with, they knew perfectly well where he is from. Word was out about him. It’s a small place. They all know where everyone is from, and in those days one’s speech always revealed where someone was from. Those who would become disciples of Jesus want to know something more than a passing casual conversation is going to reveal.

They want to know where he stays. They want to know what this place is that makes him so grounded, wise, and steady. They want to know what he knows which is why they call him “rabbi.” They want to know where he gets all of this, and he says to anyone willing to ask: “Come and See”.  What he shows them in John’s Gospel is a wedding feast in Cana with water and wine, a Healing at Bethesda’s pool, a Feeding of Multitudes with broken bread that gives life, a Shepherd like no other that seeks the lost and becomes himself gate, a guest who calls a dead friend back to life, and finally they see an empty tomb.

What he shows those will come to see these things is the difference between a miracle and a sign. Anyone can see a miracle. Late this past week, we all heard the news reports of a “Miracle on the Hudson” as a plane load of people stepped off a sinking plane into waiting boats. Disciples of Jesus see more than miracles. They see signs and, in those signs, they see where Jesus stays. They see the coming of the Kingdom and the Reign of God. They see in Cana the power of Christ’s presence and what happens when we do what he asks as Mary instructs on that occasion. They see at a pool of water what can happen when one is lifted into it.

They see a bread that leaves no one hungry when broken and shared:

but more than that miracle, they see a sign of Heaven’s feast in the Eucharist.

They see that Shepherd who seeks, who finds, who calls, and knows each one by name.

They in Lazarus more than a miracle.

They see a sign of the power of this man’s command.

They see more than a stone rolled away. They see a promise kept for a faithful servant.

What are we looking for in this church?

What are we looking for day in and day out in our homes, marriages, and friendships?

What do we want to see? or Who do we want to see?

As you let this Gospel settle into your hearts and minds,

do not miss two little but important details in its telling.

Jesus turns to them.

He is the one who takes the initiative.

He meets them half way.

He is looking for them as well.

And then, don’t miss that small detail reporting that it was 4:00 in the afternoon.

It’s late, late in the day, getting toward the end. Another day will soon begin.

Maybe it’s time for us to begin to wonder what God is looking for.

That you are here in this place at this hour must raise not just the question of what you are looking for, but what God is looking for in us.

I do not think God is looking for miracles nearly as much

as God might be looking for signs:

signs of our faith, of our hope, of our love.

Or perhaps, just any sign at all that we are listening and ready to come and see.

January 1, 2009 at Saint Mark in Norman, OK

Numbers 6:22-27 + Psalm 67 + Galatians 4:4-7 + Luke 2:16-21

There is no way to turn the calendar page without some sense of hesitancy and caution. We live in historic times, and it is yet to be seen how we shall emerge from these times and what life will be like ten years from now. There is little doubt that an age of hedonism and conspicuous consumption is probably at an end. The “good life” as some who could afford it have called it is on life-support called “bail-out”. The prognosis is not good for those who want no change or challenge to privilege and power. Those who have profited at the expense of others are now publicly ridiculed and challenged by those who have worked for their comforts.

I think of these things and mention them here because it is January; a month named for the god, “Janus”. He had two faces, one looking forward, the other back. Perhaps Janus describes the way we must live in the ninth year of the 21^st century. We can and ought to look back, but if we fail to look ahead, there will be little reason celebrate today – because our celebration cannot simply be about the past. It must also contain the seed or the promise of the future.

The church proposes a model of January life with this Feast in Honor of the Mother of God. She was a woman who had two faces in the best sense of that phrase. She could and did look back. She lived the tradition of her faith. Her presence in Bethlehem and her journey to Jerusalem’s Temple make that perfectly obvious. She lived with the expectation of God’s promises being fulfilled. She knew the prophets and the Torah. Her prayer reveals that deep knowledge.

At the same time, she looked to the future with a heart open enough to allow God’s will to accomplish things in unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary ways. The message of an angel encouraged her to have no fear, to trust, to believe, and to live in such a way that unexpected surprises became opportunities for God’s plan to unfold.

If Christmas is a way of life rather than a date on the calendar as I proposed to you a week ago, then we are January people who look back and see how God has cared for us and brought us to this day. We look forward as well without fear because the past tells us fear is useless and that faith is what we need. The simple truth is that without Christ or potential for a bright and joyful future is very limited. There is no better way to look forward to this new year than by looking back and deeply into the mystery of this covenant of Christ’s Body and Blood. Broken and shared for us, it is the only reason for a new year and new hope.