Sermon 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 & John 2:1-11
Vicar Laura Ferree, Luther Memorial Lutheran Church- Seattle, WA
A week ago I was in Carefree, AZ to take a class about deacons throughout history. I didn’t really know much about deacons before taking this class or what they did in the Lutheran church and I’m going to bet that you don’t either so let me take a moment to explain. If you want to become an ordained pastor in the ELCA you enter candidacy on the word and sacrament roster track because you will be preaching the word and administering the sacraments. If you want to become a deacon, you enter candidacy on the word and service roster track which means you will preach the word and do service in the world. One classmate beautifully summed up what deacons do by saying “deacons are the bridge from the church to the world and the world to the church.” So, our deacons can be teachers, non-profit directors, food bank directors, public advocacy lobbyist, church staff, and the list can go on and on. The main reason folks feel called to be a deacon is because they want to serve the church and the world. They want to take Christ and the Gospel to those places many would not. They want to get their hands and feet dirty to extend the gospel. I share all of this because there is a value disparity that the church places between word and sacrament over word and service folks. So, basically the church values their pastors more than they value their deacons.
Because of this reality we discussed the 1 Corinthians text from this morning a lot during our week of class. “There are a variety of gifts, but always the same Spirit. There is a variety of ministries, but we serve the same One.” (vs. 4-5) Scripture clearly tells us that we all have many gifts, an abundance you might say and that we can all carry out a variety of ministries. So, as we discussed this text during class, I always scratched my head at the value disparity the church places between pastors and deacons when we all have an abundance of gifts and ministries. “It is one and the same Spirit who produces all these gifts and distributes them as she wills.” (vs. 11) All of our gifts come from the one Spirit so why is the church valuing some gifts over others? This may be a problem that will continually cause me to scratch my head.
But, what I want you to hear me say is that we all have an abundance of gifts. Each one of us sitting in this room has a gift that can serve God. It does not matter if we are pastors, deacons, or lay members because we all received our gifts from the same Spirit. Just in this room we have an abundance of gifts! The gift of teaching Sunday school. The gift of preparing and rehabbing the community garden. The gift of making quilts. The gift of playing with children. The gift of building things from old pews. The gift of changing paraments on the altar. The gift of packing lunches. The gift of singing in the choir. The gift of lectoring. The gift of changing light bulbs in exit signs. The gift of building community. I could go on and on about the gifts present in this place that make this ministry happen and I know I have missed so many. There is an abundance in this place. The beauty of all of these gifts is that each one is unique and necessary to continue the ministry of Luther Memorial. All of these unique gifts work in unison to serve God’s mission. You all show this world God’s grace through the abundance of your gifts.
Jesus also showed the world God’s grace by discovering the abundance of his gifts in our gospel story. Jesus is at a wedding party and the ultimate crisis happens, they run out of wine! There isn’t a simple solution to this crisis. They can’t just run down the road to the seven eleven or Fred Meyer and grab some more wine. When they are out, they are for real out! Jesus’ mom notices this crisis and she finds her Messiah son and says, “hey do something about this!” Jesus tells his mom, “Um I can’t my time hasn’t come yet to be able to do miracles.” And then Mary gave Jesus that look that we all have gotten from our parents, the “you better do this right now or else” look. Ya, you all know what I’m talking about! When your momma says do something you do it, so Jesus takes jugs of water and turns them into wine.
This may not seem like a huge deal, but this culture is based on honor and shame. All of those involved in planning this wedding would have shame on their name forever had they truly run out of wine at this party because you always ensure there is plenty of wine to last. And we aren’t talking about a reception that lasts for a few hours, these wedding parties lasted days or even weeks. Now, as someone planning my own wedding, I can barely figure out how much wine to have for a couple hour reception I can’t imagine figuring out how much wine you might need for many days! But the beauty in this story is that we get to experience the grace of God. The abundance of Jesus’ gifts in this moment showed this wedding party ultimate grace. They no longer have to fear lifelong shame and their party can continue. But if you notice in the gospel that there isn’t a big deal about where the wine came from, no one knows Jesus made the wine other than the servants. I think this is pretty telling about the God we have who ushers in grace through those who go unnoticed and the least of these. Jesus doesn’t make a huge spectacle out of making this wine and he doesn’t attempt to receive praise for doing so he simply ushering in grace through the least likely servants at this wedding party to spare others from shame. That is what our God is about, God is not about the praise and the honor but rather ensuring that grace is present at the times when we need it most. There is an abundance of wine and an abundance of grace. Sounds like a pretty great party to me!
I pray that you all notice your abundance of gifts as well, maybe a little sooner than Jesus so that your parents don’t give you the look! We all have our own unique gifts and an abundance of them. The abundance of gifts in this place ensures that we can continually show God’s grace to this world. A world so in need of a message of grace.
The 1 Corinthians text is rather specific that we each hold a variety of different gifts so we should not get caught up in measuring up against each other. I know it is so easy and so human to judge or rate ourselves based on those around us but if you get nothing else out of this sermon today, I want you to hear that your gifts-just as they are- are an abundance of grace to this world and this ministry. I also think we can take a note from Jesus about our gifts being used to show this world grace rather than receive praise or attention. We are here to usher in the reality of God’s kin-dom from the many gifts we have been given. We are called to humbly offer those gifts to this world not in order to receive praise but so that all might experience God’s grace even if that means getting more wine for a wedding party!
You are loved not because of the gifts you behold or the praise you can receive from those gifts but because of the abundant grace of the One who gave you those gifts. So, use those abundant gifts to let others know they are loved. Use those abundant gifts to get your hands and feet dirty for the gospel. Use those abundant gifts so that all might have life. There is abundant grace. There are abundant gifts. There is abundant love. And let the church say, Amen.