GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
My family immigrated to America in 1986. From 1986 to 1992 (est.) my maternal grandfather would write letters because at that time in India, house phones were not available to everyone. At the very top of those letters my grandfather would always write three words: GOD IS LOVE.
God is love because by nature He is love. Not only by nature but also by action. God loves because He shares in this love with the Son and with the Holy Spirit. In other words, we see the love that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have for each other in an eternal divine relationship.
God created man and woman because he loves. He did not create because he needed us or we added to His glory in any way. He wanted to share His love by creating us in His own image. In fact, in Genesis we see the Trinity speaking to each other when creating man: “Let us create them in our image.” (Genesis 1:26) God created us to have a relationship.
In the Gospel reading today we hear of a wedding where Jesus, his mother Mary, and his disciples were present. The wine was running out so Mary approached Jesus, letting him know. Jesus replied by saying that he really has nothing to do with the fact that there was no wine. In other words, it was not his business! Even though he gave this reply Jesus eventually changed the water into wine. The interesting point here is that even though Jesus (humanly speaking) did not seem too interested in the wine situation, he performed the creative miracle because his mother had asked. I want to postulate here that Jesus did so because he valued his relationship with his mother. He knew that his relationship with his mother was a direct representation of his relationship with his Father in heaven.
Orthodox Christianity is about relationships. Take for example Confession. Many Orthodox say that they confess to God. The problem here is that realistically there is no engagement. In other words, God does not reply back to our confession. On the other hand when we confess to our spiritual Father, there is communication. This is what makes confession so difficult, that we get a reply to our confession. This relationship is what makes confession so real and dynamic, as opposed to just confessing to God. This is why the Church encourages confession, because it is that relationship that moves us closer to God.
Some Orthodox think that confessing to a priest at a conference or retreat is a true confession because they will seldom ever see that priest. What this type of confession lacks is relationship. Yes, you get forgiven! But I believe that a genuine confession with true intentions will lead a person to confession with a spiritual father. This intention to develop relationships through confession is a sign that he or she has a true relationship with God.
This idea of relationship is a reality in the Holy Communion. The word Communion means relationship, because our consuming the Body and Blood of Christ is an exchange that happens during the Divine Liturgy where we receive Him and He receives us. It is all about relationships! That is why if we come to the Communion and don’t receive the Body and Blood with due preparation, in fact we are then hurting our relationship with God. Our relationship with the Communion is a direct reflection of our relationship with God.
The backdrop to the miracle of water to wine is a marriage. Marriage is about relationships. Sometimes spouses argue about the most mundane issues. Strife occurs due to unresolved concerns. Arguments continue because one person wants to be right. Wayne Dyer, a mystic and self-help thinker, says that when given the choice of being right or being kind, choose kind. I think this is so true for marriage more than any other area of life. This is also true because in marriage relationship matters and that relationship has to be put above being right. This strikes at the heart of our ego and produces humility.
When we work in the parish as ministry leaders, as teachers, as officials, as Vicar, we should always consider that we are in the business of fostering and building relationships. In the time that we have been participants of St. Luke have we strengthened our relationship with one another or have we hurt our relationships? The answer to this question is important because it speaks directly about our relationship with God. Those who build relationships and foster love and kindness have a deep and abiding relationship with God. Conversely, those who hurt and break down relationships have a struggling (or no) relationship with God. I know this to be true in my 10 years of pastoral ministry. It matters not if a person says they have a relationship with God if he or she does not have a relationship with his or her fellow human beings. When we interact with each other in the General Body, in the Managing Committee, when we deal with disappointments and setbacks in ministry, we must always remember that relationship comes first.