Sunday Sermon

Believe in Christ

I’d like to share with you this scripture from the Bible John 2:1-10

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,

9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

It is interesting to note that the synoptic gospels all reiterate that Jesus said “an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign.” Yet the testimony of John is all about signs.

The story of the wedding at Cana is recorded only in the Gospel of John. It is not included in any of the synoptic gospels. John is known to be a very late testimony and its purpose written at the late date of somewhere between 90 – 110 CE, was to convince the early Christians that Jesus was actually God and was with God in the beginning of creation. And because the Gnostic movement accepted it, it was not fully accepted into the canon of scripture until the fourth or fifth century. The synoptics and Paul’s letters were already long in circulation. However, the writer of John must not have thought them adequate.

The synoptics portray Jesus as a human being although an extraordinary human being. John does this quite differently from the synoptics. He tells none of Jesus’ parables and instead in the testimony of John, Jesus is portrayed in a much different way. John gives the narrative about Jesus in an absolute theological framework.

The testimony of John contains more than a few surprises for those who read carefully. Jesus, his mother, and the disciples are in attendance at a wedding where the wine has run out. This is a serious failure in a culture that values hospitality and the incident would have resulted in shame for the host family. It is not surprising that this would be cause for alarm. What is somewhat surprising is the seeming harshness of Jesus’ address to his mother. While scholars assure us that “woman” is not a hostile or rude address, it is an unusual way for Jesus to address his mother, who is never referred to by name in the gospel of John. This downplays his family connections and highlights that Jesus performs his signs according to God’s will, not in response to anyone’s urging.

In John’s testimony, turning water into wine is the first of Jesus’ signs. In the Gospel of John, miracles are never intended to amaze or offer proof of Jesus’ teaching, but are instead consistently referred to as “signs.” A sign is way of revealing God’s glory. If so, it is another surprise that Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine was not known by more people. Neither the guests, nor the chief steward, nor the bridegroom understood what had happened. Who, then, believed the sign? Jesus’ disciples. Evidently, just being present was not enough, for only those who followed Jesus and believed witnessed the glory of God revealed in Cana that day. John generally speaks on two levels: the physical and the spiritual. This is true of the story of the wedding at Cana. The introductory phrase, “On the third day” is a clue that John is talking about more than just a wedding that ran short of wine. The wedding at Cana records an abundant gift of wine—the best there is, and plenty for everyone.

Similarly Jesus and his message of love, hope, joy and peace is the best there is, and plenty for everyone.

Central Ideas:

In terms of faith, rather than “seeing is believing,” those who believe will see. It is not Jesus’ signs that should convince us but instead, his message…that of God’s Kingdom on earth, that should be our focus.

It is possible to witness miracles and not fully comprehend what has happened. Every day is a miracle. Yet we often take our days for granted. Especially when we are young and we have much life ahead of us. We take risks we older folks would never take. We are more aware that life is short at best.

Faithful disciples are open to the sometimes-surprising revelation of God. If you’ve ever watched geese fly in formation to their destination in the south, you realize the miracle of their built in GPS system.

If you’ve driven in the country and seen the crops and trees in full regalia, you have seen God’s remarkable gift.

Jesus’ actions at the wedding at Cana reveal God’s amazing generosity to us. In this world we are the hands of God much as Jesus was the hands of God in his day. His remarkable presence was so unique that godhood was later attributed to him. We know better then to think we are gods yet we each have God’s remarkable spirit within us. We may not all recognize that and respond to it but it is still there prompting us with that still small voice.

So what surprises do we find in the scripture story?

First, Jesus tells his mother that his hour is not yet and she should not involve him. But his disciples are also attending the wedding. This would indicate that he was already into his mission of preaching about the kingdom. His mother ignores him and tells the servants to do whatever he tells them.

Second, no one except the servants seem to know what has happened. Even the bridegroom doesn’t seem to realize that this is not his wine. And Jesus doesn’t bother to enlighten him but attributes the wine to the bridegroom himself.

So, why do people of faith sometimes experience the same events differently? That’s not much of a mystery. Five people seeing the same accident will give slightly different testimonies about what they have just seen.

When has accepting someone’s invitation resulted in a surprising experience of God’s love? Who is missing at the service this morning?

How is God revealed in your life? Why do I believe in God? I find God revealed in the still small voice from within me but I also see God revealed in others.

Have you ever received an outrageously generous gift? After Bob died, I received a sympathy card from many folks. But one of the most surprising ones was from a friend of mine who lives in Tennessee? Evidently, realizing even before I did, that it would take awhile to get the social security straightened out, they sent me a check for $500, which tided me over through that transition period.

Many of you have been more then generous to me. You have repaired my garage door opener, my hot water tank, repaired my mower, and installed my water filter in my refrigerator. You have trimmed my trees and hedge, asked me over for meals, and served me in dozens of ways. You are all the hands of God. You are my personal miracle workers.

I can never be able to tell you how much that has meant to me.

Tex Sample tells this story: A friend of his was caught in a traffic jam in Kansas City on the Paseo Bridge. While he was waiting for the traffic to move, he was unaware that a major drama was playing out on that bridge. A man got out of his car and went over to the edge of the bridge and climbed over the edge of the bridge and down into the substructure of the bridge. He hung on there, trying to get up the courage to jump. A squad of police arrived and lowered one of their numbers on a rope down over the side of the bridge, just far enough away to prevent the man from jumping. As he was lowered, he began talking to the man saying “Sir, I don’t know what has happened or what’s going on in your life, but we’re here to help you. We can help you and we will help ypu.

When he got within a foot of the man, the man jumped. The policeman had timed his dessent so he could leap toward the man while dangling on that rope. He caught the man and wrapped his arms around him and then wrapped his legs around him and they hung there swinging at the end of that rope . The men up above could hear the policeman yelling at the top of his lungs. “If you go, I go. I’m going to hold on to you until hell freezes over.’

That’s the kind of God we worship. A God who shows up in the nitty gritty of our lives and enfolds us in his arms and his legs …until hell freezes over.