January 19, 2025 – Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Kahu Gary Percesepe
“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.”
What’s intriguing in this story is that some folks beheld the manifestation and believed, while others didn’t. Jesus is revealed as one with power over all the elements of nature, able to turn water into wine, that’s true. But God also manifests as One who spreads a heavenly feast for an anonymous couple in a remote part of the world, a God of exuberant and prodigal generosity. God wants to lavish God’s inexhaustible bounty upon all the nations, yet only some see the glory of God, only some come to the feast, only some are filled. Others remain empty. Some saw glory, others choose not to believe. Why?
To answer this question, allow me to tell you another story.
Tony Campolo was in Honolulu one night, and he couldn’t sleep. It was 3 in the morning. He found a greasy spoon diner and ordered a coffee and a donut. The big guy behind the counter wiped his grimy hands on his apron, then grabbed a donut and put it in front of Tony.
At 3:30 am, the door swung open. Eight or nine boisterous prostitutes walked in, just getting off work. It was a small place. The women sat on either side of Tony. Their conversation was loud and crude. Tony was about to make his getaway when he overheard the woman beside him say, “Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m going to be 39.”
The others teased her. “So what do you want, a birthday party? You want us to get you a cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”
“Come on,” the woman said. “Why you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I don’t want anything from you. Why should I have a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my whole life.”
Tony waited for the women to leave. Then he called the counter guy over and asked him, “Do they come in here every night?”
“Yeah!” he said.
“The one right next to me, does she come here every night?”
“Yeah!” he said. “That’s Agnes. Yeah, every night. Why d’ya wanta know?”
“Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you say, you and me throw a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night?”
“That’s great! I like it! That’s a great idea!” The big guy called his wife, who was cooking in the kitchen, and shouted, “Hey! C’mere! Tomorrow’s Agnes’s birthday. This guy wants us to go in with him and throw a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night!”
His wife said, “That’s wonderful! You know Agnes is one of those people who is really nice and kind, and nobody does anything nice and kind for her.”
“Look,” Tony said, “I’ll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I’ll even get a birthday cake!”
The big guy’s name was Harry. “No way,” Harry said. “I’ll make the cake.”
At 2:30 the next morning, Tony put up some crepe-paper decorations. He made a big cardboard sign that read, “Happy Birthday, Agnes!” He decorated the diner from one end to the other.
Somehow word got out on the street. By 3:15 it seemed like every prostitute in Honolulu was there. Wall-to-wall prostitutes and Tony Campolo.
At 3:30 on the nose, the door of the diner swung open. In came Agnes and her friends. Everyone screamed “Happy birthday!”
Agnes was stunned. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle. A friend had to steady her. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday.”‘ Agnes cried when she saw the birthday cake with all the candles on it.
“Blow out the candles, Agnes!” Harry said. “Come on! Blow!” But Agnes sat there, in shock. Finally, Harry blew out the candles and handed her a knife. “Cut the cake, Agnes. Let’s all have some cake.”
Agnes looked down at the cake. Without taking her eyes off it, she said softly, “Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I keep the cake a little while? I mean, is it all right if we don’t eat it right away?”
Harry shrugged and answered, “Sure! It’s O.K. If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home, if you want to.”
“Can I?” Agnes asked. She looked at Tony and said, “I live just down the street. I want to take the cake home, okay? I’ll be right back. Honest!”
She picked up her cake and carried it off like it was the Holy Grail.
Not knowing what else to do, Tony broke the silence by saying, “What do you say we pray?”
Tony prayed for Agnes. He prayed that she would be safe. He prayed that God would be good to her.
When he finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility said, “Hey man! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”
And Tony said, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning.”
If the story ended there, we could leave here feeling good about what a nice day it was in church, and how nice the sermon was.
But Harry waited a moment and then sneered as he answered, “No you don’t. There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that!”
Let that sink in. A man see’s God’s glory break out in his backwater diner, then expresses skepticism about the church’s connection to this glory. There’s no church anyplace he knows where God’s glory is manifest for sex workers.
It’s a familiar story. Jesus grew angry with religious types who harshly judged notorious sinners, telling the Pharisees that whores and tax collectors were going into the kingdom of God ahead of them! To some others he told a story about two men who went up to the Temple to pray, a tax collector and a Pharisee. Only one of them went home right with God, and it wasn’t the religious guy, it was the poor man who beat his breast and cried out for God to be merciful to him, a sinner!
The world judges the church harshly where the church finds no glory in the world, only condemnation. Many sex workers are trafficked as young girls, kidnapped, beaten, raped. Many don’t reach their 39thbirthday. Some don’t know when their birthday is. They are still God’s children, made in God’s image and likeness. God’s glory is in them. Why can’t we see it?
Would we join a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning? Is God asking Keawala’i to be that church?
More than just a place to come together, the church is a place to fall apart, where you’re welcomed and affirmed and given a seat at the table. Because the kingdom of God is a party to which we’ve all been summoned. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the church turned Jesus’ glorious wine back into ordinary water? Amene.