Repository of Sermons / Calendar of Events / Activities

Second Sunday after the Epiphany
January 14, 2007 Sermon by The Rev. Bill Van Oss, Rector
Readings       

A number of years ago, I was a guest at a wedding. My best friend from college was getting married at a large church in a suburb of St. Paul. It was a beautiful ceremony. My friend is a musician and had composed some of the music, but the highlight of the service was the flower girl – as they often are. She was a niece of the bride and she was about 4 or 5.

She was dressed in beautiful, white, flowing dress. She had shiny black shoes and real flowers woven into her perfectly made up hair. During the procession, she clearly had the impression that every eye in the church was on her, and her impression was correct.

Once she made it to her place in the front with the bridesmaids, the little girl had an impossible time standing or sitting still. She was so excited. She kept moving about and hopping around and smoothing the dress and moving her arms, touching her hair.

We came to the psalm, after the first reading. My friend had composed a beautiful version of Psalm 96 – the one we just said/sang today. The piano and soloists led us in singing the psalm, and the little girl could no longer contain herself. As we sang: “Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence, Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!” the little girl sprang to her feet and ascended the steps to where the altar was, and she began to dance. She twirled and danced and leaped for joy up there, in front of everyone; she was completely oblivious and yet perfectly attuned to all of the eyes looking at her,

And I saw smiles grow wider on scores of faces, because delight breeds delight. People elbowed each other to look up from their music and smiles and nodding grew, as people looked at the little girl dancing with delight in front of God and everyone.

And I imagined God looking down upon her, at that very moment. I saw the face of God above looking at that beautiful little girl so filled with unrestrained joy. I saw God smiling down on her filled with delight. I saw the little girl again, in my mind’s eye, last week as I reflected on today’s reading from Isaiah, who says, “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is In Her.”

“My delight is in her.” Isaiah expresses God’s delight in God’s people. God’s joy, comparable to a bridegroom rejoicing over the bride, “So shall your God rejoice over you,” Isaiah says.

We believe in a God filled with joy, a Creator who delights in little girls in beautiful dresses dancing in the sanctuary – and who delights in us, even though we are not perfect.

The people Israel, that Isaiah was speaking of, certainly were not perfect. God would establish a covenant with them and they would keep it for a while, ant they would break it – over and over they broke it. But God always remained faithful, the faithful spouse, God is, in spite of the people’s infidelity, God continued to delight in God’s people, continued to love the people, and the same is true for us – for you and me.

God delights in us. Our God is a God of joy who wants us to be people of joy.

Jesus, Himself, was not afraid to rejoice and celebrate – as a guest at a wedding feast, an event which probably lasted a whole week. Jesus saw to it that there was plenty of wine for the celebration. Wine is a symbol of God’s favor, God’s blessing, and God bestowed favor in abundance on that celebration. God delights is us, God’s creatures.

In spite of our imperfections – and our imperfections are many – for we make war, and we stereotype and discriminate, and we turn a blind eye to poverty and human suffering – we, too, break the covenant with God and each other. And, still, God says of us: “My delight is in her.” God delights in us, and God wants us to be people of joy.

May we, like the little girl in the white dress, allow God’s delight to move us, to make us dance and sing and rejoice, for we are God beloved creatures, called to be people of joy.

Believing that God delights in us can make all the difference.

      
 Click here for earlier sermons