No picture, mostly cause Satyr hasn’t told me how to do that yet. But this week we’ve got–stuff. And things. And a sermon.
John 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Psalm 36:5-10; Isaiah 62:1-5
Let me take you on a little journey today. You’re in Israel, Cana specifically, a small town near the Sea of Galilee. And you’ve just been invited to a wedding. This isn’t the kind of wedding you’re used to, with a reception lasting no more than a few hours. This one lasts a few days, maybe even a week! Of course, having been invited, not only would you insult the host to refuse, but you’d miss out on a week’s worth of free food, wine, and whatever else you’d want. And so you get ready to go to the feast.
When you get there, you see a few servants frantically arguing among themselves. All you can hear is “Don’t look at me!? I’m not gonna tell him. YOU tell him!” Something is obviously very wrong, even though you can’t quite place what. Apparently someone else overheard too, a woman, who went over to talk to the servants. You discretely get a little closer, wonder what is going on, only to hear “Ma’am, we’re terribly sorry, but I think we’ve just ran out of wine.”
You’re not sure what to think at this point. That can’t be right. They couldn’t have ran out of wine. This is huge. The host will be humiliated. Something has to be done. You start to get nervous for the groom and his family – this can’t be happening. Yet this woman seems completely unperturbed. She says to the servants, “Don’t tell anyone what’s going on. I’ll be right back.”
She walks over to another man, and you stay close by, incredibly curious. “Son, we have a little problem. They’re out of wine.” You wonder what’s going on – this guy doesn’t look like he can buy any more wine. How is he going to fix this? He says to his mother, “Why are you telling me this? It isn’t my time yet.” His mother then leads him to where the servants are and tells them, “Just do whatever he says.”
At this point you’re really confused. How is this random guy going to do anything? But he says to the servants, “See those jugs over there? Fill them up with water, all the way full. And when you’ve done that, draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” Uh oh, you think. This is not going to be good. Once the master finds out the wine is gone, he is going to be furious. What is this guy thinking?
The servants, looking more than a little nervous, do as he says. When they get to the master with the pitcher, they begin to pour it out and the servants get a shocked look on their face. It’s wine! The master doesn’t notice the servant’s surprise, but he is shocked for another reason – this is good wine!
Then you look back over to the man and his mother, and for the first time notice he has some others around him. They all are looking at him, not with surprise, but with awe. This man is something different – he’s special. And not just because he turned water into wine. No, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The miracle at the wedding in Cana is considered by many to be Jesus’ first. But in John’s gospel, it’s not the miracle that’s important. Through the “miraculous sign”, Jesus reveals his glory, the glory of the Father. That last verse of our Gospel sets the tone for all the rest of Jesus’ signs: “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” And really, that’s what the season of Epiphany is all about – the revelation of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.
But that’s not the only way the glory is Jesus is revealed to us. Our reading from 1 Corinthians is about spiritual gifts, and Paul says this about them: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” Spiritual gifts are signs of the glory of God working in us.
Now there’s a lot of Christians out there who believe that God no longer works in that way. They believe that spiritual gifts are no longer around, that they stopped with the apostles. I’m not one of those people, but if any of you are there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s no different than disagreeing over immersion baptism or sprinkling with water. But for me, I believe that God has given me the gifts to be a pastor, not so that I get any glory, but so that God may be glorified through me.
That’s what the Christian life is all about. God has blessed us to that we can bless others, and all the while point them to God. We’re called to live our lives in ways that make God look good – it ways that show those around us that God is worth infinitely more than we can imagine. It isn’t about how we look in the eyes of others. It’s not about us looking honorable or upright. It’s about glorifying God, so that others can see Jesus Christ and put their faith in Him.