Gifts, Jesus and Mother Mary

The Readings

1 Corinthians 12:1-11


Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.


The Gospel
John 2:1-11


On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The Sermon

Gifts, I do not commonly focus on the Epistle reading but this Sunday is an exception. Paul is informing us that the source of any gifts we have come from God. They are God given. He outlines some of those gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, tongues, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirit. He reminds us that these gifts should be used for the common good.

As I am writing this and thinking about you all in the congregation I see a collection of people with a variety of gifts. I also see many of you dedicating those gifts for the benefit of others. Some of you have an incredible sense of empathy. Others have an ability to find order in otherwise confusing circumstances. Others have a prayerful nature and others can find the good in all that is around them. Hopefully, all of us have an ability to love and the ability to express that love.

As I said before, our gifts are God given and God expects us to use those gifts for the right purposes.

In this reading from John, Jesus is at a wedding party with his apostles and his mother. It is the third day of the wedding. It was not uncommon for wedding celebrations to last a week or more and it was expected that the wedding planner would have everything in place for that long of a celebration. To run out of wine by the third day would have been a major embarrassment for the families. Mary, problem solver that she is, knows she can help. She takes Jesus aside and simply says to him, “they are running out of wine.” The message is clear. She wants her gifted son to fix the problem.

This is such a human story and I can almost feel Jesus' exasperation with his mom when he says, “my hour has not yet come.' Mary is not going to acquiesce. She probably just gave him, 'the look'. Mothers have great power over their children when they give them 'the look'. She might have also said, 'Jesus, you are thirty years old. If your time is not now, then when?'

We know the rest of the story. I think this first recorded miracle of Jesus is not so much about turning water into wine as it is about Jesus and his relationship with Mary. Who knows, maybe that is why when some people pray for a miracle in their lives, they direct their prayers to Mary.

Mary clearly had the gift of persuasion when it came to her son Jesus. Jesus had the gift that only someone who is human and divine can have. He was a miracle worker who more often used that gift to cure the sick, feed the hungry, calm the sea, and raise the dead. He was a model for using your gifts to glorify God. Jesus wants us to use our humble talents to glorify God as well.

Think about your own gifts this week and reflect on how they can be used to God's purpose. 

Amen