BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

Second Sunday after Epiphany

January 16, 2022

The video recording of this service can be found here.
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104

Gathering Music: Rise Up Early in the Morning – John Ray & Susan Naylor Callaway

Sung by BCUC choir – Sunday Jan 24th 2016

Welcome & Announcements Rev. Kim Vidal

Good day everyone! On behalf of BCUC, I welcome and greet you on this 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. Today, we join Jesus in the gospel of John as he attends a wedding party at Cana, recalling the symbolic story of how Jesus turns water into wine. Whether you’re at home or elsewhere, we are glad that you have joined us today.

Due to the rising COVID variant cases in Ontario, we will not be offering in-person worship service until further notice. The worship service will be offered online via Youtube and by telephone. Check bcuc.org for the link, Sunday school resources and other announcements.

While the church building is not open for in-person gatherings, the work of the church carries on. Please continue to reach out by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls, prayers or via online.

And for those of you who are able to join us, there will be zoom fellowship every Sunday at 11:00 am. Check your email for the link.

Friends, let us take this moment to reflect what running out of the symbolic turning of water into wine means for us in this season of Epiphany.

Come, let us worship God in spirit and in truth.

Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolytes: Ellen & Bob Boynton

We are called together in a spirit of gladness,
for the presence of God within and among us
lifts the shadows of gloom and offers us hope.
The light of Christ shines on!

Call to Gather Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Come, feast in the abundance of God’s house!
Here, God invites us to drink from a fountain of life!
Here, we encounter the wedding feast in Cana,
when Jesus turns water into wine.
Here, God empowers us to find and share our own best gifts,
transforming our lives into newness.
Come, let us worship God who celebrates life with us!

Prayer of Approach

(Richard Einerson, and posted at http://www.richardeinerson.com/)

Empower us as we worship here and then enable us to impact the world for Jesus. Change the stagnant water of our lives to wine and touch us as you touched those people in Cana. Give us the vision to shape a new world where self-interest is tempered and corrected by love and compassion and a hunger for justice. Give to us the gift of being filled with new wine and new vision. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Hymn: Many Are the Lightbeams -Voices United #588 CGS/Bell Canto Erin:flute May 2021

2. Many are the branches of the one tree.
Our one tree is Jesus.
Many are the branches of the one tree;
We are one in Christ.

3. Many are the gifts given, love is all one.
Love’s the gift of Jesus.
Many are the gifts given, love is all one;
We are one in Christ.

4. Many ways to serve God, the Spirit is one,
Servant spirit of Jesus.
Many ways to serve God, the Spirit is one;
We are one in Christ.

5. Many are the members, the body is one,
Members all of Jesus.
Many are the members, the body is one;
We are one in Christ.

Words: Cyprian of Carthage, 252, Swedish para., Anders Frostenson, 1972. English trans. © David Lewis, 1983; Music © Olle Widestrand, 1974, arr. by Leonard Lythgoe , 1995.
Song # 01706 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Storytime Rev. Lorrie Lowes

I miss parties! Do you? So many celebrations have had to be cancelled because of this pandemic -birthday parties, graduation parties, Hallowe’en parties, Christmas parties… I know that people have found ways to celebrate anyway, but it’s just not the same somehow. Nothing beats getting a whole lot of happy people together to share the fun – and the food! Parties are an important part of our culture – and I miss them.

In our Bible story today, Jesus, his mother, and his disciples are at a party. It’s a celebration of a wedding. In Jesus’ time, a wedding reception was a huge celebration. It didn’t last just a few hours; it went on for several days! It was one of the biggest reasons to celebrate and a very important part of the culture. Just imagine it! It would take a lot of planning – and a lot of food and drink! Well, at this particular wedding, something went wrong. They ran out of wine! Now, this might not seem like a big world problem but it would have been terrible for the hosts of the party.! They would be very embarrassed. It would have ruined the party.

I wonder what might be like that for us today… maybe if you had a birthday party and there wasn’t enough cake for everybody… or maybe there weren’t enough loot bags… That might kind of ruin the party feeling. It might not be life-changing in the long run – but it would have been a catastrophe at that moment in time.

Running out of wine that day was such a catastrophe that Jesus’ mother tells him, “You’ve got to do something to fix this!” At first, he says, “Not my problem, Mom. Why should I worry about this? This isn’t the time for me to do something.”

But Mary doesn’t believe that her son won’t do something to help. She has confidence in him and she is sure that he will step up. She tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. And Jesus does come to the rescue after all. He tells the servants to fill some jugs with water, and when they do, it has turned into wine. The party is saved!

It sounds a bit like a magic trick, doesn’t it? But, I think there is something more that we are supposed to learn from this story – something more than seeing Jesus as a magician.

Just like us, living through a pandemic, I think the people of Jesus’ time were tired. They were poor, they were being governed by a cruel emperor. Their spirits were low – and, even something as happy as a wedding was about to be ruined. The party would end with everyone feeling even worse than before.

We are tired. We want this Covid virus to disappear. We want to be able to hug our friends and go to school or church. We want to have a real party. We want someone like Jesus to do the magic or perform a miracle to make the world safe and happy again.

In this story, Jesus didn’t fix the world. He didn’t make the people rich. He didn’t fight the emperor. He took something as ordinary as water and used it to lift the people’s spirits – to make them happy, and less worried. He didn’t fix the world that day, he helped make this group of people happy and comfortable for a little while longer.

Mary told the servants to do what Jesus told them to do. I think that’s an important line for us to remember about this story. When the servants did what Jesus said, the wedding celebration was saved.

What if we do what Jesus told us to do? What if we showed love to our neighbour and shared our gifts and took care of our own little part of the world? Do you think it could make that small part of the world a little happier? What if everybody did some small thing to make the people around them happier?

This was Jesus’ first miracle – something small and just important to the people at that wedding. As he goes on in his ministry, he heals the sick and feeds the thousands. He takes care of the people he meets, even when they aren’t his friends or family. This little miracle of turning ordinary water into wine was just the beginning of what can happen once we start trying to make a difference for the people right in front of us, in the place where we are right now.

What little miracle can you do today to make your small part of the world a better place? I wonder what miracles you will go on to do in your life…

Let’s finish with a prayer:

God of miracles,

Thank you for all the little miracles that happen around us every day, and for the people who make them happen – front-line workers, delivery people, friends who call or send us letters, teachers who keep us connected to our friends and our learning, families who love us and keep us safe in these strange times.

Help us see that even things that seem ordinary can make a huge difference for the people around us. Help us see that we can be miracle workers in our own small way.

Amen.

Hymn: You Are Holy - More Voices #45 TeGrotenhuis family Jan 2021

1.You are holy… you show us the way. (4X)

Refrain:
You show us, you show us, you show us the way. (4X)

2.You are freedom…

3.You are justice…

Words and Music: © traditional song, South Africa
Song reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Prayer for Illumination Reader: Dan Lanoue

God of abundant joy and overflowing grace, open us to your Word.
Open us to trust in your spirit’s presence and to follow Jesus’ leading to amazing renewal. Amen.

The Gospel Reading: John 2: 1-11 (NRSV) The Wedding at Cana

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it.

9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom

10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

May God’s wisdom dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Music Interlude: Trumpet Tune – Purcell organ: Abe - May 2021

Sermon: “When the Wine Runs Out” Rev. Kim Vidal

Prayer: God of abundant joy and overflowing love, open our hearts to reflect on your words and empower us to follow Jesus’ leading. Amen

Wedding mishaps! They happen from time to time! Here are some wedding mishaps that I have experienced in my years of ministry!

The bride was late for almost 30 minutes, during which time, the groom got nauseous and turned pale. The reason for the delay, the bride’s car had a flat tire coming to church.
The groom and best man got to the church on time, but they forgot to bring the ring.
A wedding ceremony was performed outdoors – under a canopy tent in the middle of a farm. As the bride and groom were exchanging their vows, the sky turned dark and heavy rains came pouring down and got us all wet. We have to run to the groom’s house with mud all over our shoes and clothes!

In today’s Gospel story, we meet Jesus and his mother, whom John did not name, but we all know it was Mary, at a wedding party in Cana and a mishap took place. In those days, weddings are celebrated through a 7-day feast at the groom’s house. Imagine that! John did not tell us who the host was or the two people getting married. We do not have a clue – but one can assume that it might be a "family affair" or a wedding in the village where Mary, Jesus and his disciples were invited. Mary is the one who notices that the wine has run out and tells Jesus to do something about it. You can almost feel the frustration and panic in her voice: “They have no wine!” Mary knew that the party is heading towards disaster because the wine is almost gone before the party is over. In those days, they regarded running out of wine as a social failure. It was shameful to run out of wine, especially at a wedding; and it could cause family pain and humiliation in the community - a crisis for the host family who is responsible for hospitality. Even the best laid planned and most favourable of human situations can sometimes turn sideways. I hear fear and panic in Mary's voice. “They have no wine!” With those words, Mary speaks a truth about our human condition that at some point we all experience. There comes a time in our lives when the wine runs out. When emptiness and barrenness kick in. The joyful party is over and our life is back to square one with no vitality whatsoever. Nothing seems to be sparkling within us and our world becomes bland and mundane. Like Mary, sometimes we hear concerns too, that we carry deep within ourselves familiar to many of us: “We are in a shortfall. We don’t have enough. Not safe enough. Not patient enough. Not loving enough. Not good enough.” But Jesus responds, as he always does, with a positive, radical abundance.

Jesus has an odd response to Mary: “Woman, what is your business in putting your nose into this? My time has not yet come”. For some of us listening to Jesus’ way of addressing Mary as Woman might sound disrespectful. When we call our mothers, we use endearing words like Mom, Mommy, Mamang, Eomma or Mama. Sometimes when we are annoyed at our mothers, we sometimes call them “Mother” or worse, their first and last name. Was Jesus really disrespectful or was it a translation issue? Most NT scholars agree that the word for woman used in this context in the original Greek is in the vocative case. Woman in the first century world is used as a title of respect or endearment, which is similar to “Madam” or “Lady,” than the word “woman” as we presently use it.

I interpret Jesus’ response to Mary like this: “Lady Mary, my call to show some signs has not yet began– please let me enjoy this party first. Don’t spoil the fun! It is neither my business nor yours to meddle in the host’s affair.” Jesus’ response also reminds us that Jesus is more than the son of Mary - that Jesus had a ministry entrusted to him by God to attend to and it will come in God’s perfect time. But Mary did not back down – she completely ignored Jesus’ response. It was not recorded in John but I can fully hear Mary’s voice of authority as she addressed the servants: “Do whatever he tells you! Pronto!” If I was to write a script of this conversation, I could picture Jesus as being left standing where he was, scratching his head but with a smile on his face for he knows how feisty his mother could be. And feisty mothers must never be crossed or else you’ll suffer the consequence of your actions. :)

Jesus concedes to Mary’s demand, according to John, and performed his first known miracle by turning six jars of water that are used for the ritual of purification into the finest of fine wines - better than the choice wine they had served before. Water for purification at the wedding celebration or any Jewish gathering was both a practical and a symbolic reminder of the purity system that is very much part of the Jewish tradition. The best wine is now served to keep the party last for seven days or more. The servants were amazed, the chief steward was dumbfounded and his disciples gave two-thumbs up for their leader.

For modern hearers and readers like us, we find this gospel story, this miracle, a mysterious one. Why? Because most of us still interpret this story in its literal sense. That Jesus with his magic wand literally turned the water into wine. I even read a joke on facebook when someone posted: “Hey, I’m having a party this weekend, can you tell me how Jesus turned water into wine? I need at least 60 bottles of wine!” What if we move away from its literal interpretation to something symbolic, allegorical or metaphorical? What if the gospel writer John saw something about Jesus that would make the party celebratory and life-giving? To make the party going? That the party itself is about life and the human condition? That sometimes our wine of hope, of peace, of justice or of joy depletes from time to time causing us to fear the unknown and leaving us with a sense of emptiness, isolation or breakdown? What if John had every intention of portraying Jesus as God’s sign of abundance for all and uses this story to symbolize John’s intent? What if John is calling us to focus on Jesus himself as the bringer of abundance and not on the miracle that is being laid out in the story?

Interpreting the story this way gives us a lot of possibilities. It could mean that Jesus turning the water of purification into the finest wine signifies the defeat of the old religious system, of the old self, of the old world of oppression, of exclusion, of poverty, of hopelessness, of emptiness, of injustice, of lack. Now, instead of jars of water, symbolic of an oppressive, unwelcoming system, the jars of water become the jars of new wine. The good wine represents the in-breaking of God’s abundance - of a new order, of a new way of living together in community, a new way in revealing God’s grace and love to places and people in need of healing, inclusion and a hearty welcome. John to my knowledge is presenting Jesus as our new wine. This wine is an epiphany, the revelation of God's presence in the person of Jesus. The wedding guests tasted the difference; through Jesus, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. The wedding feast is symbolic of life in community. Scarcity and lack and the old order failed and the gift of abundance and inclusion paved its way to a joyous feast. How is that for a happy ending of the story?

In the next three consecutive Sundays starting Jan 23rd, we are again launching our annual stewardship campaign. Within the financial target lie our commitment to faithfully serve the community, to achieve our vision for the church of Jesus Christ in this time and place, and our desire to be present in the world as God’s agents of love and transformation. It sounds like a lot, and it is; but our financial giving is only but one reflection of our hopes and beliefs in the creation of the community of the faithful. We are also encouraged to pledge our time, our talents, our presence and our resources to our vision of hope. No amount given is too outrageous, for surely our vision for a better community is made possible by our faith in God who lavishly gives and blesses us in return.

Dear friends, the Wedding at Cana holds before us some serious questions and wonderings. Where has the wine of our life run out? What relationships have run dry? What parts of us remain empty and hopeless? The Wedding at Cana embodies the nature of God’s radical abundance through whom all things are possible. The power of this story is God’s power of love in action through Jesus Christ. The abundance of the flowing, fine wine is the fullness of wisdom and grace which Jesus offers to all of us. The ordinary becomes extraordinary; the water becomes the wine of healing; this wine binds people together in new and exciting ways. It is about the birth of a new community. Biblical scholar Paul Meyer says it beautifully, "The Cana story is not primarily about a humble Galilean village wedding, but about the Bringer of divine gifts, Jesus Christ himself.” (Gaventa, 1995).

Let this be the story of our congregation in 2022. And then our questions will change--from the concern of "will we have enough wine to sustain us?" to a new radical one: "How shall we live this new wine offered by Jesus? how shall we live a life of radical abundance, where there is more than enough wine of welcome and grace for all to partake? Friends, please be reminded that the miracle of transformation always begins when the wine runs out.

Let me close with a prayer written by Bruce Sanguin, in his book, If Darwin Prayed:

“… And from Jesus’ heart there flows an unexpected abundance. It spills over into our own, and by the grace of Spirit, through our own extravagant offerings of love, we become living hints in a hurting world that at this wedding of hope and possibility, the dancing has just begun.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Lorrie Lowes

(Written by Ted Dodd for DUCC and DOTAC)

Incarnate One,
the wine has given out,
and the jars are empty.
We live in a time of
persistent pivoting and stretched health care,
amassing troops and blockaded aid,
environmental gloom and heavy rains,
“Me Too” and murder trials.
Please, dear Jesus, do not say to us
that your hour has not come,
that all of this is of no concern to you.
We do not need divine reluctance.
The world and your people are
weary and worn-out,
tired and tempted,
sad and sorrowful.
We do not presume that you are
a Galilean magician,
a miracle ATM,
or an ancient present-bearing Santa,
but please, dear Jesus,
fill us to the brim,
turn water into wine.
We need
to remember the extravagant abundance of creation,
to celebrate the outstanding blessing of life,
to rejoice with gratitude for the gifts you offer us.
We hope that your astonishing divine generosity will turn,
war into peace,
inequality into respect,
cruelty into compassion,
despair into justice.
Give us a sign.
Reveal your glory.
Help us to keep the party going.
Let’s have the feast be joy.
May the banquet be welcome and hospitality.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom come, thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kin-dom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever, Amen.

Invitation to Offer Rev. Kim Vidal

There are many signs we claim for our faith but ultimately it is our active love that reveals who we are, just like Jesus who revealed his abundant love for us in the Wedding at Cana. I now invite you to offer your gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of your gratitude to God’s blessings. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the mailbox by the kitchen door of the church or mail them to BCUC. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.

Offertory Prayer

Source of Love, for the talents and gifts abundantly given to us, we bring you our offering. May we use them to spread your love and hope for the world. Amen.

Sending Forth Rev. Kim Vidal

(Beth Johnson, Gathering, ACE 2021-2022, Year C. Used with permission.)

Just as Jesus’ presence at the wedding banquet changed water into wine,
so too, Jesus’ presence in our lives can change something ordinary
into something joy-filled and celebratory.
Let us go forth in faith-filled, joyous celebration. Amen.

Hymn: Will You Come and Follow Me? – Voices United #567 TeGrotenhuis family

1.Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

2.Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

3.Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

4.Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

5.Christ, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I'll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

Departing Music: (Over Announcements)

Entrance of the Queen of Sheba – Handel (full version) organ/piano/strings:Abe - May 2021

Join us for Zoom Fellowship at 11:00 am

Sunday Worship Service - January 16, 2022