She had gone to the wedding of friends. He had also been invited and went with some disciples. It was a nice wedding. There was a reception afterwards, a good party by any standards, everyone congratulating the bride and groom. People who hadn't seen each other for a while catching up on new news. Food enough to satisfy a hungry stomach and wine so delicately sweet that all remarked it was the finest ever tasted.

And then…then there was THE problem. The wine ran out -ran out before everyone even had one cup. Not that all the guests knew this of course. They didn't. Only one knew… and that one guest was Mary - Mary, who well knew what it was like when things didn't go exactly as planned - Mary, who knew how to deal with the unexpected - Mary, who had special knowledge of one of the other guests.

She called him to her then -- this other guest, her son--she called to him and said, "Jesus, there seems to be a problem here. They've run out of wine, do something."

He was a little exasperated. He had only been baptized a few days before and that had been a bit too public for his liking. He had spent the last two days convincing Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel to join in his ministry. He was tired and wanted to enjoy the wedding. He just wanted to be "one of the guests."

So he said, "Mama, I'm not ready to do anything yet. My time has not yet come." She knew him better than he knew himself, because she went right ahead and spoke to the servants. "Do whatever he tells you," she whispered. And so Jesus stopped, entered into their need, blessed abundantly and the water that was there became fine wine.

There is more that could be said about this gathering, this wedding feast of joy and love among family and friends but like Jesus, we need to stop and enter into the needs of others, into the needs of the country of Haiti which is crying out in desperation…not for fine wine but for water, for life itself.

In Jesus’ day if someone became ill or tragedy stuck their home, others would point a finger and say ‘they must have done something bad to be punished like this. Or their parents did something wrong and they are being punished.” Jesus’ answer to that kind of response was to stop whatever he was doing in order to bring about healing…right then and there on the spot.

Some religious leaders who apparently don’t know better – who suffer from diarrhea of the mouth– have said that Haiti is being punished for their sins. One went as far as to say that the people of Haiti had made a pact with the devil.

What kind of God would cause children to be buried under tons of rocks or members of the United Nations peace keeping forces to be killed or missionaries to disappear much less cause the general populations to be almost 80 % wiped out, or severely wounded and left homeless?

When the Poor People’s Campaign march took place in Washington in 1968 people camped out in tents in Resurrection City. It rained for days. People were living in misery. Someone said, “See God doesn’t want the people here so God has caused it to rain to make them go away. But another person countered, “The rain has forced us to see the conditions in which people live day in and day out. We can’t pretend that suffering doesn’t exist.” Thanks to television and cell phones, we are being forced to witness the extreme suffering of the people of Haiti.

William Sloan Coffin, former pastor of Riverside Church in New York, whose own son died an untimely death years ago in a car crash into the waters of Boston said this: “It was not the will of God that it was a stormy night in Boston, or that the windshield wipers were not working, or that my son had a few brews too many, or that the guard rail was missing. I am sure that as the icy waters closed over my son’s head, the first heart to break was God’s.

God’s heart is the first to break when tragedy strikes. Some people have asked, “Where is God in this situation?” God is present in Haiti – in the suffering cries of the people. God is present in Haiti, digging like crazy to rescue people. God is present to bring life whenever and wherever possible.

When the president first announced that we were sending help he used language that echoed today’s passage from Isaiah. He said to the people of Haiti, “I know you have suffered for years and now probably feel abandoned and forsaken. But remember, America is with you. We will not leave you alone. We are sending help to you. Your name will no longer be desolate or forsaken. We care. The world cares.”

We are all called to stop to turn our attention toward ways in which we can bring life and abundance to our sisters and brothers who are suffering.

When I first saw the scenes on TV of the destruction and heard the cries of the people it brought to mind those first images we saw of New Orleans after Katrina. I remember, because my daughter lived there, feeling an intense urgency to get in my car and drive there…to do something, anything, to help. I was ready. But the reality was, the place was not ready for volunteers like me to come help. The people who are trained responders needed to come in first, to rescue, to identify, to bring medical care and relief. Later, after some systems had been put into place, people like me were encouraged to come gut, clean and rebuild. It may be that down the line that call will come out from Haiti. But for right now what is needed the most is money and our prayers.

I also want to suggest that cards with words of encouragement and support will be appreciated by those who make it to a hospital but have no family or friends who will come to visit. We will find a way to get those words to the people who need to read them, to be reminded that a real person cares about them. You may address those cards as “Dear Beloved.”And you can write more than one note. I realize that even if everyone in this room wrote a note that is only about 48 notes – but to those who receive them – it may be a lifeline.

The direction of God, the direction of Christ is always toward life. God never said after creating humankind: “This is bad.” Christ never said, “I came for a few people.” God created us and said, “This is good.” Christ said, “I came to save the world. I came that you might have life and live it abundantly.” Let us give thanks for and celebrate the gift of life that God has given us and as human beings and Americans let us give profound thanks that we are alive, have shelter, food, health care, a caring community, and a government system that is secure.

You may be thinking that you really don’t have a connection to Haiti. Just before the service this morning I was told that we had asked the diocesan Altar Guild for some purificators (the napkin used to wipe the chalice). We will be receiving some hand-embroidered purificators from the nuns at St. Margaret’s convent in Haiti…a convent which was destroyed in the earthquake. So you see we are all connected to each other.

It’s very easy to get caught up in life. We can be busy, busy, busy, doing things, running here and there, fulfilling tasks and avoiding or using excuses to keep from hearing or listening to God's call. We may say that we’re not ready but remember that even Jesus stopped and acted when he thought he wasn’t ready.

Today, at this very moment in our lives sisters and brothers, we are called to stop, to pray and to act. God has a common mission for all of us and that mission is to be givers of life, bringers of hope….to be givers of life and bringers of hope.