January 17, 2022 – “Minding Your P’s & Q’s” (Matthew 26:36-45)

^“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” Matthew 26:36-45

“Minding Your P’s & Q’s”

This is a phrase we hear a lot when adults are speaking to children, albeit a bit of an outdated phrase. It is a term that has come to signify that you are taking care, watching what you are doing, working hard to get it right. The origins on this idiom are actually rather simple. This one dates back to a time when local taverns, pubs and bars served drinks by the quart and by the pint. Bar maids had to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. They had to pay special attention to which patrons were drinking pints and which were drinking quarts — thus the term came to be known, “minding your p’s and q’s.”

Jesus often warned his disciples to “keep awake” – “be alert” – and to be watchful. Why? Well, even in the time of Jesus, it was easy for life to get in the way of maintaining a strong relationship with G-d. When we are facing daily struggles and trying to scratch out a living, we can lose our focus – especially lose our focus on what truly matters. Jesus was warning his disciples to keep awake for the coming of G-d’s kingdom in their midst – and for the coming of G-d. Both were incarnated through Jesus – he is G-d and his birth inaugurated the coming of the Kingdom of G-d.

My friends, keep awake – for we know neither the time nor the date of Christ’s return. Yet, we continue to live into the promise that he is coming – and actually comes to each one of us every day.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, help me to stay awake and notice your presence this day. Allow me time to be quiet and to hear your still, small voice. Amen.

Pastor Dave

January 16, 2022 – John 2:1-11 – Epiphany 2C

“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.”

What do we know about time? If there is some national event scheduled, like the State of the Union speech, or the Super Bowl, it would be scheduled for perhaps 6:00 pm. Now, the problem with holding something national at 6:00 pm is that six o’clock is not six o’clock across the country. Our 6:00 pm is California’s 3:00 pm. And you know this. We know that if there is something happening on the other side of the country, we need to know if the time is Pacific Standard Time, or Eastern Standard Time. Now, time, the issue of time, is more than just clock time. Time can be the counting of days, months or even years. We count the passing of seasons, the cycles of the moon; in other words, we can say that the time that passes, the time we conceive of that passes us by is really the “counting of the ways in which things change.”

Aristotle was the first to record the idea that time was the measurement, the counting of change—noting how things change. He also believed that if nothing changed, then time stood still. If everything remained the same, then there was no passing of time—can you imagine? Of course we all have been in those situations where we have felt as if time stood still. It was that same feeling we had as children when we were sitting in class waiting for the clock to finally hit 3:00 pm—the end of the day. Or as adults, perhaps time stands still as we await a long-needed vacation. So, the time we experience in our lives really is relative. It is episodic. And, as we all also know, timing is everything.

Time is so important in the Gospel lesson we have this morning. Jesus and his mother are at the Wedding in Cana. And it begins with a reference to time…the text says that they are at the wedding, and three days have passed by. You see weddings in the time of Jesus could last one or two weeks. As such, there was a need to have a plethora of resources—food, entertainment, and of course, wine. So, for the wine to run out on the third day, well, this was a catastrophe. It was a crisis, and a potential blemish on the whole affair—and a huge embarrassment to the host family. The next mention of time comes in the interaction between Jesus and his mother, Mary. Mary says to Jesus, “They have no wine.” Jesus, sounding annoyed, says “Woman, what concern is that to you and me—my hour has not yet come.” Here we encounter another use of time, or concept of time—the hour for Jesus to reveal his glory—the time of Jesus has not yet come.

Now, perhaps Mary had a better concept of Jesus’ time, because she is not fazed by Jesus’ brush—off comment. She simply says to the servants, “Do what he tells you to do.” My friends, when we do what Jesus tells us to do, we open ourselves up to an abundance of Grace—an abundance of Mercy—an abundance of unconditional Love and Acceptance. The challenge you and I have is to remain open to the voice of G-d who always tells us what we should do—and that voice speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. And once we hear that voice, once we receive our instructions, we need to act—respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

And my friends, it is critical now for us to act, because we are not winning the battle against time.

Pastor Dave