Isaiah 62: 1 – 5 / Psalm 36: 5 – 10 / I Corinthians 12: 1 – 11 / John 2: 1 - 11
This is the homily written to be given at Bendersville Evangelical Lutheran Parish (ELCA), Bendersville, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, January 19, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker.
“NEW LIFE”
(Homily
texts: Isaiah 62: 1 – 5, I Corinthians 12: 1 – 11 & John 2: 1 – 11)
Are
you ready for spring to arrive, and for winter to be gone?
It
seems like, at this point in January, that we won’t see warmer temperatures,
buds on the trees and on the plants, and things coming back to life again.
Spring seems a long way off, and we might think that there’s little chance that
it will ever come.
But,
as surely as the sun rises in the east, warmer temperatures will come (but
perhaps not on our schedule, but on God’s), there will be buds and then leaves
on the trees and the plants, and new life will emerge. All these things are
possible because God’s creative hand is involved. Indeed, one way we can see
that God’s presence and God’s activity are at work is in the creation of new
life. The creation account in the book of Genesis confirms that the ability to
create things and to create life are one of the markers of God’s power.
Hold
onto this thought for a moment, as we turn our attention to the lectionary
readings that are appointed for this Sunday.
All
three of our readings point to God’s creative work.
In
our reading from Isaiah, we read of God’s intent to bring His chosen people
back from exile in Babylon.[1] He will grant them new life, and a renewed name that the Lord God will give. No
longer, Isaiah says, will God’s people be called “Forsaken”, and their land
will no more be known as “Desolate”. Surely, the experience of being exiled to
a foreign land must’ve felt like perpetual winter for God’s chosen ones. But
the prophet assures God’s people that God will create a way to enjoy renewed
life and the promise of God’s favor.
God’s
creative power is seen in St. Paul’s description of the various abilities and
talents that God allots to individuals. The early Church in Corinth must’ve
been one of the more challenging churches that Paul had established. Judging
from the topics that Paul covers in his first letter to these early believers, the
church there must’ve been divided into factions. Furthermore, they seemed to be
engaging in a game of what we might call “spiritual one-upsmanship”, one person
claiming to be more spiritual than others, often because of their gift of being
able to speak in tongues. But Paul has to remind them that God is the author of
all gifts. It is the work of God’s Holy Spirit which distributes and which
brings to life the various gifts that each person possesses. It is worth noting
that Paul goes on to enumerate some of those gifts. Perhaps he wanted to be
sure the Corinthians didn’t miss his point.
Our
third reading, from John’s Gospel account, informs us of our Lord Jesus
Christ’s creative power, that power that God alone possesses, in the changing
of water into wine at a wedding feast in a town called Cana in the region of
Galilee. If we think about the importance of marriage in the culture of the
day, we can easily imagine that it was one of the very few occasions for
celebration, given the harshness of the Roman occupation, and the challenges
that filled everyday life. Marriage carried with it the possibility of new
life, that is, children. So, it was central to the lives and the futures of
God’s people.
Now,
let’s return to the theme with which we began, our consideration of the promise
of new life, even if – at the moment – we may think we are in a wilderness, a
winter place which is devoid of life.
A
lifeless place is a place each of us can find ourselves in at one point or
another. It is a place without hope, one without a discernable future, a place
where God doesn’t seem to be present or active.
Oftentimes,
I chat with people who describe their life experience in wintry, wilderness-like
terms. They tell me that it seems like the cold of winter, and not the warmth
of Spring or Summer. They tell me that God seems absent, and that there’s
little indication of God’s life-giving, life-changing activity. A wilderness
place, they say.
But
the wilderness is a place where people often find God. Three examples from Holy
Scripture will help us to see this reality.
Consider
God’s people, who wandered in the wilderness on their way out of bondage in
Egypt into the land that God had promised them. They wandered for about forty
years in such a desolate place. And during their wanderings, they were often
dependent on God’s goodness alone in order to survive: Water from the rock,
manna and quail from heaven, just two of the things that God provided them in
that desolate place.
Or,
consider the prophet Elijah, who escapes into the wilderness to avoid King
Ahab’s wrath.[2] There, he laments his
circumstances, his lack of a future. As he falls into sleep, an angel wakes him
up and tells him to eat the cake that is sitting by his head, for he is to go
to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. There, God reveals some of His glory to
Elijah.
St.
John the Baptist goes into the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism for the
repentance of sin. (We’ve been hearing a lot about John the Baptist during
Advent, and in last week’s account of Jesus’ baptism.) The wilderness is the
place where people meet God. John’s baptism marks a new chapter in life for
those who had come to confess their wrongdoings and to begin a new and
reconciled life. It’s worth noting, since we’ve mentioned John the Baptist and
our Lord’s own baptism, that immediately after that event, Jesus goes into the
wilderness for a period of forty days.
As
surely as Spring will follow Winter, we can be assured that whenever we find
ourselves in a wintry, wilderness place, a place where God’s creative power and
presence doesn’t seem to be, there it is that we will, quite likely, find Him. In
such a place, we will be dependent on God’s care and God’s unseen work,
bringing new life in the midst of the chill of winter and the lifelessness that
seems to have no end.
AMEN.
[1] Some biblical scholars believe that this
portion of Isaiah was written during the time in which God’s people were
returning from exile in Babylon, an event which began in the year 538 BC For
this reason, scholars entitle this portion of the book “Second Isaiah”. Other
scholars, however, believe that this portion dates from a period after God’s
people had returned from exile, entitling this portion “Third Isaiah”.
[2] See I Kings 19: 1 – 14.
