Last year, I pondered whether I should adopt another dog to be a playmate for Dursey. So, I prepared a spreadsheet and measured the costs and thought about the extra time needed for walking and training. And, well, we all know, there are a lot of responsibilities with pets.

And there was another issue. Dursey is a vizsla--his breed is known for its boundless energy, trainability, and loyalty. They are Velcro dogs because they sit where you sit, sleep where you sleep, eat when you eat, and expect to go with you everywhere you go. The dog sits on the bathmat while I shower. 

It is a closely-knit relationship. A partnership.

I wondered how Dursey would feel if there was another dog vying for attention. All year long, I thought about the pros and cons but did not take an action. 

On Jan. 2, a neighbor sent pictures of a vizsla mix who needed a home. The dog was 2-years-old and had never had a forever home. Scrappy, as they named him, had lived in animal shelters all of his life.

So, on a whim, we set up a speed date for Scrappy and Dursey. A one-hour test. How would they do?

They played together, non-stop. At the end of the hour, I asked the rescue group if they’d bring Scrappy back on Sunday afternoon for a 2-day trial. Monday evening, we adopted Scrappy.

The wedding story in Cana is well-known. Mary will nudge her son to perform his first sign—a miracle that will manifest Jesus’ relationship to God and his own identity as the Son of God. She said, “They have no wine.” And he responded: ‘not my problem’ but, then he added, “My hour has not yet come.” 

Once the cat is out of the bag, there’s no going back. Once people see who Jesus is everything will change. In that moment, Jesus hesitated.

Mary persisted. She said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Week 1 with two dogs in my life was a roller coaster. There were manifestations of Scrappy’s prior life—a fear there won’t be enough food, a fear of riding in the car, a desire to run away with my dinner guests and neighbors in hot pursuit. Twice.  We didn’t have shared language. Basic commands like sit, down, off and leave it were not part of his vocabulary.

There were disagreements between the dogs.

At the end of the week, we went to a dog park. I sat on a bench watching the dogs to see how they would interact with other dogs. A group of dogs were picking on Scrappy. One large labrador got on his back and was crushing him to the ground. Dursey took action -- he wrapped his front paws around the lab and pulled him off Scrappy. And then positioned himself between the bigger dogs and Scrappy. 

In the span of a week, they became a pack. Dursey welcomed this unexpected newcomer into his life. All the way. He trusted that there was enough love to freely share his life.

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” There were six jars—some held 20 gallons of water and others held 30 gallons of water. So, somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of water were brought to Jesus. Every gallon is equivalent to 5 bottles of wine. That means Jesus provided between 600 and 900 bottles of wine for a wedding banquet that’s almost over. It is wildly extravagant.

He told the servants, “Draw some out, and take it to the chief wine steward.” The steward tasted it and was amazed. This was the very best wine served at the banquet, not at the beginning of the banquet when people are still discerning about the quality of wine, but at the end when consumption has dulled our senses and we can no longer distinguish between good and bad, between needs and wants. Even then, God’s offers a new wine. A cup from God’s very life.

Jesus’ first sign hallmarks the overflowing, abundant love of God. God’s love is not just adequate to finish the banquet or just adequate to sate our human desire. It is more than we can imagine in every conceivable way. 

There was one other thing that kept me from adopting a second dog --.something that did not fit on my spreadsheet -- and something I hadn’t really owned until I was thinking about this sermon.

I love the relationship Dursey and I share. We are hiking partners. We communicate through words, whistles, sign language even a smile or scowl. I was afraid that our relationship would change. 

It took a couple of weeks for us to make the adjustments needed for Scrappy. And it is different for Dursey and me. Yet our lives are fuller than before. We have been changed in a good way.

Today, we’ll gather for our annual parish meeting. We’ll celebrate the abundant generosity and love showered upon St. Christopher’s and the ways that we have shared that love with our neighbor.

We are growing in so many ways.

Throughout 2024, we focused on our stickiness quotient—our desire and ability to welcome people into our congregation and help them connect their passion with the ministries of our church.

I saw that in action last week. A group of leaders presented an idea for 2025. They had a game plan for new leadership of existing committees, and a game plan to develop successor leadership for those committees -- new people, with new ideas, and energy. These folks were not walking away from the committee work. They love it. They are welcoming new leadership and allowing new vision to emerge.

It is that kind of forethought and leadership that helps us thrive. 



Every time we open our arms and welcome people into the life of St. Christpher’s, we are changed. We taste the extravagance of God’s love. And our lives are fuller than we could have imagined.