Jack Hardaway
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There is a great southern slang twist on a French word.
BOOCOO.
As in, “We have boocoos of slaw”, or “Boocoos of soup.”
“Beaucoup” is the French word, as in “merci beaucoup”, thank you very much.
It means, “a whole bunch.”
In the slang version that emphasis becomes exaggerated, a surprising, extravagant and humorous amount.
It is a good word to catch the feeling of the gospel story today. Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana, the miracle of not just turning water into wine, but into “boocoos” of wine. Almost 200 gallons of really good wine. BOOCOOS OF WINE!
The party was winding down, the world was winding down, running on fumes, and then something crazy, a crazy abundance, super duper booccoos of too muchness at an unexpected time and place. What was dying becomes very, very alive, surprisingly and humorously alive.
Jesus shows up and he is simply too much, he wakes up our sleepy deadness, with wide awake-ness. “Vivifying” is how the early believers described Jesus and the glory he brings that is boocoo bright.
I teach a class several times a year where we study the baptismal covenant and the catechism. Part of the that is studying what it means to believe in the holy catholic church, that turn of phrase found in both the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed.
We usually brush past the word saying it means universal, which misses the depth of meaning.
We believe in the one holy catholic church. That means that there are a whole bunch of people that I disagree with, that make no sense to me, that are strange and annoying. We are stuck together with people that the only thing we have in common is God. In that surprising place God’s glory abounds with boocoos of the best wine, bringing life to our inbred deadness.
I frequently have people talk with me about something disagreeable in the wider church, a priest, a church, a teacher, a school, a convention, a diocese does or says something upsetting and strange, and usually it is very far away from here, someone they have never met and probably never will.
The immediate issue is whether they can stay in a Church where somebody somewhere does something upsetting. And I’m like, “Now you know what it means to believe in the holy catholic church! Now is when faith grows deep.” It is the unlikely place where water gets turned into boocoos of wine. Believing in a Catholic Church has become increasingly challenging as we feel more deeply and painfully the need for God’s Grace to make it true.
It is about much more than mere diversity and tolerance. It is about encountering the holy and being pushed off balance by it and finding the overwhelming life and humor in the situation.
God is revealed and known in the stuff of life. That is the leap of faith where we begin. And that revealing, that manifestation, that epiphany abounds in the places we don’t expect.
As we finish up the second year of covid-tide, it has been a surreal and unexpected time, where we have all reassessed our lives, and commitments. Like a really long Lent. We are ragged and bedraggled and surprised by where liveliness abounds in the midst of endless disruptions.
Grace Church is doing surprisingly well. We were in a really good place when Covid-tide began, with a tremendous amount of positive momentum, with a lively spiritual, fellowship, and outreach life that was like a dynamo that just kept generating more ministry, more faith, and more fellowship.
I could not have guessed how Grace would grow, and be challenged over these past two years.
Growth in membership, giving and the youth group would not have been what I would have expected, but that is what has happened. Water into wine.
Now Sunday attendance, Sunday school, fellowship activities and the number of volunteers have declined dramatically, as can be expected, though these are all very slowly improving.
At the heart of Grace Church there really is a belief and trust in God’s Grace superabundantly made known in Jesus. A Grace that really is grace for everyone all the time. It is a Catholic Grace, boocoos of Grace. Thank you for living the Faith so fully.
In 2022 the adventure continues and the only thing that we can say for sure is that God will be surprisingly known in the stuff of life. Merci beaucoup.
