Something from Nothing

Beloved in Christ,

The God of the Jewish and Christian scriptures is a God who creates something from nothing. Not only at the origin of the cosmos, but over and over and over again through history. God is always creating something where it seemed nothing was possible. God acts over and over by choosing the person who seems least likely, and by doing the thing that any reasonable observer would think is impossible. Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Miriam, Hannah, Ruth, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul and on and on. 

Today is the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, another example of God doing what seems impossible in and through the unlikely. The gospel lesson appointed for today is the story of Jesus' first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. When the wine runs out, Mary points the hosts to Jesus and says, with that mix of deep familiarity, affection, and exasperation that only a mother or father can know, "Just do whatever he tells you." The result is God doing what seems impossible, and ordinary water becomes a sign of provision, abundance, and joy. 

Maybe the central question for us in this moment is: do we believe God can still create something from nothing? Do we believe that God can do the impossible with the unlikely? Our churches and our world face innumerable challenges. Most leaders I know, including too often myself, wear themselves out by trying to save, fix, and do it all, forgetting that it is God's power alone that made the cosmos, it is God's power alone who made unlikely Mary the Mother of God and maybe the most important person in salvation history, it is God's power alone that healed and restored Peter after his shameful failure and betrayal. 

Our God is a God who creates something from nothing, who does the impossible with the unlikely. It is true in the Bible, in history, and in our own lives and churches. In the face of all that is hard, and all that is uncertain, do we believe God will do in our day, and with as unlikely a bunch as us, what seems utterly unimaginable? 

Grace and peace,

The Right Reverend Craig Loya
X Bishop