FREELTON STRABANE UNITED CHURCH
To Live Our Discipleship With Integrity And Grace
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Second Sunday of Epiphany
January 19 2025
Rev. Will Wheeler BA M. Div. E-mail: [email protected]
Organist : Joan Simpson
Centering
Come out of the darkness, come out of the shadow
Come out of the endless night
All you who are poor now, All you who are broken all you who are bowed by fight
Come into the light of God’s sacred intention
Come under the shelter of his hand
Here you may find riches here you may find healing
Here now you may rise and stand
Call To worship
One: God breaks through the silences of our lives and calls us by a new name.
All: With you, O God we find a fountain of life in your O God we see light.
One: God blesses us with varieties of spiritual gifts and inspires us to use them well.
All: Your goodness lasts like the mountains, O God, and your faithfulness extends to the heavens.
All God, where do we find ourselves when the Christmas angels disappear and no longer sing of peace and good will? When the shepherds go back to their flocks and the magi return to the east? Where do we find ourselves that things are back to “normal”? Where do we find ourselves now, when the Christ Child has outgrown his manger bed? Jesus calls us to join him at the river Jordan to be baptized with him and receive the Holy Spirit. May we find ourselves at the river, beside Jesus today, to all the once more the renewal of the presence of the Holy Spirit to lead us forward on this journey. Amen
Prayer. Lord, give us the eyes to see your glory when it breaks in among us. Teach us to be expectant, eager to glimpse your intrusions into our everyday lives. Lord, we long for your glory, for a sign that you are here for us. Give us eyes to see you when you come to us. Amen
One: Let us come once more to hear the story of our Faith. Our lesson is taken from 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
One: This is our Story
All Amen
One: God’s light comes into the world in the word. The word was God. Here the good news. Our Gospel is taken from John 2:1-11
This is the good news
All praise be to God amen
There is a trend in photography back to film and more specific black and white photography. Linda Holt a photographer states “Black and white photography strips away the distractions of color, leaving the viewer to focus on the essential elements of an image: composition, texture, contrast, and form. This can create a powerful image, as the absence of color can evoke a sense of timelessness, nostalgia, and introspection.” There has been a same trend in art as well. I have tried my hand at monochrome painting.
When we think of timeless and nostalgic the wedding at Cana ( falls into that classic “tell me the stories of Jesus” camp. The great transformation of water to wine.
I spent Hours of debate with my Grandmother who contended that Jesus’s lips never touched wine. So what Jesus created was “sweet wine” or juice. There is that classic old joke about a Minister being stopped for drunk driving and when asked says “I have only been drinking water”
Next to walking on water this is the next most popular miracle Ministers try to do. There is a whole course offered in first year theology.
We can take this story at face value but then this story is unique to John. John is more about the symbolic value that can be seen here over an actual miracle marking Jesus coming on the out with divine powers in public. The story might have been told in colour but what John is trying to convey is much more black and white.
The simple interpretation is for John was that Jesus marks a new way of being. A change from the old to the new.
It is no secret that I am a fan of the Jesus Seminar. In their commentary on this subject they state. “In the Cana story, the replacement of water destined for the purification rites with good wine constituted the symbolic miracle the new, good wine is Christianity which replaces the old. Ineffective rites symbolized by imperfect number six on short of seven. This of course happens on the third day, which may be an allusion to the resurrection day. “
The wonderment of the caterer is also parallel in inability to understand of Nicodemus and the puzzlement of the woman at the will in understanding what kind of water quenches thirst forever. As the Seminar states “Johannine fingerprints are all over the narrative and commonly conclude that the story is the creation of the author.
Always remember that John is writing in or around 180ce. Christianity and the early Church are growing if even still underground. For John all things ultimately point to Jesus as the Messiah.
In this season of black and white days with shades of grey I reflect on a conversation I had with colleagues last week. The Church as we know it is at that point of change. We have been there likely many years that place between how it always has been done and a modern age. I was asked (as we reflected on the past season) why do people come out for Christmas Eve and yet we won’t see them again? Like black and white photos, it is an evening of timelessness, nostalgia. “It’s what we used to do so it is a tradition”
But the truth is that it is a nostalgic tradition grounded in what “what we did as family” compared to it is a part of our faith journey. We as a church are at that point change. That point of nostalgic tradition and a faith journey. One moves forward one stays still.
We have come to a new way of being. We are challenged to see beyond what has always been.
Two neighbours were involved in a bitter dispute. On e claimed that the other’s cat had eaten his butter, and accordingly, demanded compensation. Unable to solve the problem, the two, caring the accused cat, sought out the village wise man for judgment. The wise man asked the accuser “ how much butter did the cat eat? Ten pounds was the response. The wise man placed the cat on the scale. Lo and behold it weighed exactly ten pounds “Mirabile dictum how wonderful!” he proclaimed Here we have the butter. But where is the cat?
Where is the cat? All the parts taken together do not reconstruct the creature. A fundamental humanistic credo is that we are greater than the sum of our parts.
We are a part of something greater here. We are on the cusp of something knew. Like admiring a photograph or piece of art we are called to focus on the essential elements of who we are and what it is to be a community of faith. To see the composition, texture, contrast, and form. Yes we can embrace some nostalgia, and introspection but not at the price of holding us still.
We are a part of God’s great abundance of love, his extravagant care and presence. Part of the renewal of hope, and yes light of God’s love breaking into the world.
That in breaking of God is seen in all that we do here. In the work that we undertake, in the outreach to the world, in the compassion and support that we offer each other and those we are called to walk with. All become that reflection of being a part of that greater whole.
This past week so the time for submitting report to generate the Annual report is annual report. Annual reports are a reflection of where we have been. Perhaps annual reports should just be accepted as a whole and annual meetings should be more focus on where are going to.
As we move into Epiphany (a long one this year) may we use it as a time of discernment. Who are we and where we are going. To focus on the essential elements of an image: composition, texture, contrast, and form of who we are as a community of faith.
Did Jesus turn water in to wine, who knows. Does the gospel inspire to see how what was can be transformed into something new. Yes. So May the Bordeaux of belonging extend beyond these walls, May the Chardonnay of caring overflow. May the Gewürztraminer of love flow abundantly,
May we continue to know God’s great Abundance in our lives May we remember that the best is yet to come and remember that we are not alone.
Prayers of the people
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God.
Prayers
God the way forward as the star guided the wise ones so many years ago we look to the light of your Spirit to shine in our lives to be our guide forward. Empower us to step away from what is known and not be afraid of change but see it as an opportunity to further your kingdom. You know that change is not always easy. Our hearts hold to that which we know. To change takes great courage and faith in you.
There comes into our lives changes we have never wished for or considered. We own that at times with change comes great pain. We pray for those who live with change in life circumstances, change in health, grief for the lose of a loved one, the loss of health or security. We pray for those who we will never know. We pray for those that we are called to walk with through the changes of live. We name them before you. We name before you those whom we hold in our hearts.
We Give thanks for our community of faith. For the wisdom and guidance we have received. Here surrounded by the support and love of your people we offer you our own personal prayers in the silence of our hearts. We off you the great prayer which binds us as one saying Our Father…
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
One: Praise God who from all Blessing flow
Prayer Accept our gifts, O God, because we need to give. Use our gifts to the greatest good they can accomplish here in our midst and far beyond our individual reach. We present them in thanksgiving for all you have given us and in gratitude for the privilege of sharing in your work.
Sending Forth and Blessing.
One: Go fourth into the world, Ascribe to God glory and strength; worship God not only in prayer, but also in deeds.
All: Our eyes are open to the majesty of God; we will seek by our actions to make God known.
One: The good wine is yet to be tasted for God will continue to do good works threw you. do not be afraid to share your gifts with the world so that it will come to know God through you.
Blessing
One: May God the one who brings us comfort surround you, May Christ our Joy walk with you. May the Continued presence of The Holy Spirit illuminate our path and keep us safe until we can gather again in community. Amen
VU 4
God of all places present unseen
Voice in our silence song in our mist
Send us your people knowing and sure
Called to spread the word.
amen amen amen
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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