Passages: Is. 54:1-13; 1 Tim. 1:1-11; Jn. 2:1-11
Ընթերցուածքներ՝ Եսայ. ԾԴ 1-13; Ա Տիմ. Ա 1-11; Յով. Բ 1-11
In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!
Growing up, I remember the game of scavenger hunt. Now a days, we have a different version of this game known as Escape room; But the principles is the same. The game consists of looking for clues, ultimately leading to more clues, and eventually to a treasure, to freedom, a prize. Of course, the clues progressively got harder and required not just smarts and wits but maturity to understand; we had to read between the lines, interpret deeper meaning and eventually find the truth along the way. We had to work in groups, maybe even ask for help. Last week, I spoke about looking and searching with misinformation and how this can often lead to dissatisfaction, confusion and loss. Yet, if it is something valuable, we search nonetheless. Just as in life we search, whether it is a game or as adults, my dears, faith too is somewhat like scavenger hunt. No it isn’t a game, but just like in the game, the same in life, the same in faith, along our way we find clues, teachings, guidance and direction, which need to be understood. Sometimes these “guides” or “clues” are difficult and need interpretation, or maturity to understand; sometimes we need help or to work together to understand. We search because we know at the end there is a goal, a treasure.
In today’s Gospel, St. John starts by giving us a clue into not just what Jesus can do but where Christ is leading us. We all know the story of the Wedding in Cana. There was a wedding, the wine runs out, Jesus miraculously turns the water into wine, and it was better wine than what was first enjoyed by the guests. Perhaps, we understand that this means Jesus Christ gives us good things; when we trust Him, we will be blessed and the “waters” in our life will be turned to “wine”. However, in verse 11, St. John says, “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee”. In other words, St. John is refocusing us that this isn’t just a thing Jesus does for us but that within this miracle there is our first clue, the first revelation into understanding who God is.
Jesus Christ does not merely turn water into wine, but into excellent wine. Therefore, the first revelation is that when God gives, He gives beyond our expectations. God knows our needs and wants, yet, God also wants us to come to Him like a child comes to a parent, and like Mary came to Jesus. God will give to His children in abundance; God will take the things in our life that perhaps we are struggling with, we feel we are losing or running out of and will renew, strengthen and fill beyond what we could every ask for. For which the Psalmist says, “you fill my cup, it overflows…”
Another revelation is that when God blesses us, when we are faithful, others around us are also blessed. The wine ran out but it wasn’t the bride and groom or other guests that came to Jesus. Yet, all in attendance enjoyed the new wine, were blessed to drink of what God provided. My dears, we look at the state of the world and wonder why. Yet, we are as the children of God, as Christian’s. Do we come to Christ for others? Do we participate in the evil? do we comment with negativity on social media? Do we act violently by our actions or in our thoughts, or do we come to God and pray for our enemies, those who don’t understand us nor do we understand them? Do we pray for the lost, for the atheists and agnostics, do we pray for the satanist, and fascist, the left or right, do we pray for them or pray they be replaced? Do we pray for all the broken people of this world, us included? When we come to God in faith, God also through us blesses others. For which, St. Peter writes, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
And finally, another revelation is that God transforms us. When Christ did this miracle of water into wine, He reveals to us that the things of the past, our brokenness, our emptiness, our hurt, our sins, when we give into God’s hands, they will be transformed, we will be transformed, into something greater. St. Seraphim of Sarov says, “prayer, fasting, vigils and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, certainly do not constitute the aim of our Christian life: they are but the indispensable means of attaining that aim. For the true aim of the Christian life is the acquisition (receiving) of the Holy Spirit of God.” In other words, my dear brothers and sisters, coming to Church, praying, reading the Scriptures and saying we are a Christian means very little if we think that “doing” is what God wants from us. These things are what help us mature to understand the clues in our life but which ultimately must lead to us being in Communion with God. Being a Christian, understanding those clue requires to be guided to God not just philosophically but practically, in our life daily; to walk with God in our actions, our thoughts, our hopes and behavior. In the way we treat others, and ourselves. We do these not because we do them for God but because they reveal how God work through us when we have been transformed, reborn not just of water but of spirit.
That is why I say, faith is like the game of scavenger hunt. God our Heavenly Father through the Holy Church has provided us with clues; in the person of Christ Jesus, the Word, brings us into communion, invites us to be with Him, guided by Him. Christ Jesus did not give us faith so we can ask for things to make us comfortable, but faith helps us interpret, mature, grow and be lead us to be in Communion with God. God gave us our Holy Church for us to come seeking help for the clues in our life. To understand the signs along our life that even if difficult to comprehend in the moment, if we keep searching, we will be fulfilled, attaining the Holy Spirit in our life, we will be with God which is truly valuable, true freedom and precious.
My dears, in life and in faith we are all searching. We are searching for answers to our questions, meaning and purpose to our life, guidance for our goals. Perhaps along the way some of us feel that we are running out of “wine”, running out of strength, patience, and hope. Keep praying, keep reading, come to God and trust that He will provide the guidance to understand the clues that will not just turn water into wine, not just help us overcome a moment but that through God, we will be transformed, the world around us will be transformed beyond anything we could every ask for. Through the way we live, love, pray, eat, dance, celebrate, and so forth, the love of God our Heavenly Father, the Son and Holy Spirit will be revealed to all. Keep searching, allow our hearts to remain open to the see the clues or signs God provides to us in our life, in our search for faith, in our Communion with Him, Amen!