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1/19/2025 0 Comments Jan. 19, 2025: Celebrating Unions![]() Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 62: 1-5 The Gospel: John 2: 1-11 Both our Isaiah and John scriptures today focus on wedding celebrations - the beauty of people coming together. In the case of Isaiah it is a metaphor with the exiled Jewish people as the bride being restored to God the groom. The people go from being called forsaken or forgotten to “My Delight is in her”. They are restored not only to God but to their land as well; the spouse is God, the builder of this new community. Oddly enough, we have no idea whose wedding Jesus, his mother, and all the disciples are at in Cana. There are guesses, but no real evidence. Cana is just eight miles north of Nazareth so it was not a huge journey but we can infer that since Jesus and his disciples were invited, the wedding is of a relative, follower or at least a close friend of Jesus’. At first it might seem frivolous that this first miracle of Jesus’ is at a wedding, and that it involves making wine rather than curing someone or saving someone’s life, but let’s think about what it does say:
Take a moment, if you will, and close your eyes. I want you to picture the happiest, most beautiful wedding you have ever been to or watched whether it was your own or someone else’s… Picture the couple dressed in their finery…see the smiles that almost make them glow… look at the family and friends around them beaming as they gaze upon them…see them dancing and being toasted. Feel the joy… feel the love. This is what God wants for us. God wants us to be united, to be hopeful and to celebrate that. There is much more power and joy in unions than in divisions. Sheryl Olitzky learned this after a visit to Poland in 2010 when she saw what hatred had done to her Jewish community during the Holocaust. She came back to New Jersey determined to do something to combat hatred in the world. According to an article from the Center for Action and Contemplation, “She contacted an imam she knew who introduced her to Atiya Aftab, and the two women invited an additional five Jewish and five Muslim women to meet monthly. They are now a national organization with local chapters all over the country. While they talk about ending hatred one Muslim and one Jewish woman at a time, they actually recognize the power of community in affecting change. “ She says,” We influence family, friends and the general public about our strength in coming together to build bridges and fight hate, negative stereotyping and prejudice. We are changing the world, one Muslim and one Jewish woman at a time!” Their organization is called the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom. Salaam is the term for a Muslim greeting of respect involving bowing the body with hands or fingers touching the forehead. Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace that is used as a greeting by Jewish people. They are reaching across their differences with a welcome which invites the opportunity for understanding and healing. They are creating a supportive union. “The local Kansas City chapter’s social action was to step in and provide meals at a local cancer treatment center during Christmas so that the Christian volunteers could spend the holiday with their families, creating another relational bridge in the process. [SOSS board member Amber Khan] also said there was something really powerful in the fact that in order to deal with anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, the women needed to confront the “isms” they had internalized about each other in order to be in true relationship with each other, and that has been some of the most powerful work she has witnessed. ” We pray that the spirit of Salaam Shalom will descend upon the Israelis and Palestinians and that the ceasefire that began today reunites families, brings help and hope and begins to plant the foundation for a bridge of lasting peace. Tomorrow we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr day and, with him, all who fought and fight for the end of oppression and seek justice and equity for all, just as Jesus did. That first miracle at the Wedding of Cana celebrated a union because God created us as interdependent beings; we need relationships in our lives. We need unions. In seeking common ground, we find ways to invite, connect and support one another as fellow creations of God. While a marriage is a union of partners who will support each other and their families through their lives, we need lots of other kinds of unions to sustain life on earth as our creator intended. As the Isaiah scripture showed us, we first need a union with God - a God who welcomes us back even after we make mistakes, even after we feel lost. And God does not just say begrudgingly, “Ok, you have served your penance, I guess I will let you back in” but instead welcomes God’s people back exuberantly as a bride or groom joyfully unites with their new spouse. Unions and community matter. Today I will baptize Scotlyn Anderson bringing her into our community of faith: uniting her with our church community here in the United Church of Ludlow but also with the greater community of faith that is all Christians and all who believe in God. By baptizing her, I will be giving her the mark of her acceptance into the care of Christ’s church, the fellowship of the community of faith and the gift of God’s forgiveness to help her grow in her own path of discipleship. We will all be welcoming her into this community of love and support and we will celebrate that. Our faith is constructive. Rather than wallowing in fear at the challenges in the world, we work to bring about positive change. Rather than standing by when people are in need, we take action to help. Rather than focusing on what we don’t have, we focus on what we do have. Our God celebrates with us when we reach out the hand of welcome, when we build bridges rather than walls, when we invite rather than ignore, when we accept despite our differences, when we confess our failures and seek reconciliation. We do all of this when we follow the model of Jesus Christ who loved, welcomed, healed, helped and celebrated with all abundantly. Pastor Michelle Fountain
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1/12/2025 0 Comments Jan. 12, 2025: Living Water![]() Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 43: 1-7 The Gospel: Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22 As I begin, I invite you to gaze upon the baptismal font and the blue tulle representing the living water of Christ. Genesis 1 tells us that this world was water and “a wind from God swept over the face of the waters”(2). God began the acts of creation first by separating the waters “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters”(6). So God made the dome of the sky - a reflection of the blue waters but separate from it. And God reached into the waters and pulled up dry land - separating the waters of the seas. God birthed vegetation of all kinds and then called to the seas again, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures” (20) God said. In the beginning, there was water - beautiful, shimmering, cleansing, refreshing, life-gving water. God brought forth life from the water. We humans swim in the living waters of our mothers’ wombs before we emerge to breathe the air of this world. When humanity needed a new start, God led Noah and his family to build an ark with a pair all living beings to float upon the water. The water held, supported and nourished them until once again dry land appeared: a new beginning. Moses is rescued from the Pharaoh’s order to kill all male Hebrew children by being placed in a basket and floated on the waters of the Nile. The same Hebrew word Tevah, meaning container, is used for Noah’s ark and Moses’ basket. Moses later will part the waters of the Red Sea to save the Isrealites as God told him, “Tell the Isrealites to go forward. But you lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry land” (Exodus 14: 15-16). As Psalm 29 reminds us, “The voice of the Lord is powerful”, God strengthens God’s people. After escaping enslavement in Egypt and wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, God told Joshua to have priests from each of the 12 tribes of Israel carry the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan River “and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap…Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho” (Joshua 3:15-16) to begin a new life. Water not only cleanses and refreshes, water leads to freedom and salvation. God reassures us as we hear in Isaiah, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned…Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you…Do not fear for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west I will gather you” (Isaiah 43: 1-5). With the foundation of water as creation of the earth and of our very bodies, of water as refreshing and cleansing, of water as hope, redemption and resurrection into a life of freedom, is it any wonder that John established a practice of baptism as a way to represent repentance, cleansing people of their sins, and welcoming them into the family of God? Baptism was not practiced in Judaism, but baptism was practiced, unofficially, by some Jews as a way to show repentance in the century before and after Jesus’ birth. In an article titled, “Why did John the Baptist Baptize?” by Pat McCloskey, it states that, “ At Qumran on the west side of the Dead Sea, the Jews known as Essenes practiced a baptism of repentance during Jesus’ lifetime. Some scholars think this group may have influenced John’s ministry.” As we see in our Luke scripture today, Jesus affirms the practice of Baptism by being baptized by John. Imagine how overwhelming this was for John who had stated to those who came to him, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”(Matthew 3:11). And we saw that Holy Spirit during Jesus’ baptism confirming John’s words. After his baptism, Jesus is praying to God the creator when “the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.” This was not heard just by John and Jesus. There was a crowd of people there including others who had just been baptized. They all heard God declaring Jesus as God’s son. Baptism is a new beginning; this baptism was the beginning of Christ’s ministry on earth. Baptism is also a welcoming into the community of faith: the body of Christ. Around the world and right here in Ludlow - we are all different whether that be in ethnicity, race, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexuality, economics, ability or political persuasion yet we are all part of the Body of Christ. Here we are family; here we are community; here we are called; here we are forgiven; here we are precious; here we are reseemed; here we are loved. As our United Church of Christ Book of Worship says, “Baptism is the sacrament (or religious ritual) through which we are united to Jesus Christ and given part in Christ’s ministry of reconciliation. Baptism is a visible sign of an invisible event: the reconciliation of people to God”. Throughout history people have doubted or walked away from God. Baptism is a welcoming back, a sign of humility to put trust in God over self: a welcome into a community of faith. That might seem strange since, for many of us, we were baptized as children and were too young to make that choice or to be humble and trusting in God. But babies and small children put their trust in their parents. Their parents, by choosing to baptize their children, show that they are humbly entrusting their children to God. But as adults, each time when we choose to talk to God, pray or come to church, we are acknowledging a power outside ourselves. When we say our prayer of confession, we are humbling ourselves in a way that harkens back to the promises of Baptism. When we are given the assurance of God’s love and forgiveness, hopefully we can feel the cleansing powers of the water of baptism and the Holy Spirit at work in our lives urging us to begin anew, to receive God’s love and to become love in action by following the life of Jesus Christ who welcomed all people, forgave all who asked, helped all who came to him, and led with love. As we look on the beauty of this representation of shimmering water, let us recall the feeling of diving into water on a hot summer’s day: the water instantly cooling and refreshing us, holding us up as we glide through it. Or recall a time when you were so thirsty, maybe in the middle of a big hike or a hot day, where you downed a huge bottle of water and instantly felt restored. Remember the feeling of that hot shower at the end of a long day working outside in the garden, building something, working out or cleaning- that feeling of being clean, energized and whole again. These are all reminders of the restorative and energizing nature of baptism and faith in general. Through baptism and through faith we acknowledge that it is not all about us and it is not all up to us. We humbly give some of our stresses and worries to God. We humbly admit that we do not know it all and we cannot do it all. We seek the refreshing renewal that comes from cleansing, energizing, living water and we float on the gentle waves of God’s love and forgiveness. When we emerge from the water, we are welcomed into a community of faith that will sustain us through life’s storms and join us in celebrating life’s milestones. Look upon, touch and drink the living water and be renewed. Amen. Pastor Michelle Fountain |