John 2:1-11.    Jesus - giver of the good wine of life             20/1/13

 2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² 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.”
¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

 What an embarrassing situation the bridegroom here in this text was faced with: part way through the celebrations and the wine runs out. Now in that culture this would have been considered quite a disgrace. The wedding and the celebrations were a very important and joyous occasion: the new household and family was being established, and the supplies of food and drink needed to be ample to last up to a week; and to run out, meant the celebrations were incomplete and he would have been considered a social outcast - people would have talked for a long time after. The poor guy was in trouble, with no way out.

 Now in many ways we could compare this wedding feast with our own Christian lives. There too, we are meant to be beginning something new: a new life, with a new relationship with God and a new way of living. It is meant to be a time of joyous celebration all round. But like the bridegroom we face embarrassment and disgrace. Many times the wine in our life runs out - the good is not there; and we fail to live and be the new people that we are. The joy is gone out of our lives: the new life reverts back to the old and we do things against the will of God: We fail to live as Christians seven days a week.

 Some of us are perhaps in the position where others out in the community are talking about our inability to live as a Christian should – and are called hypocrites. People saying that, if that is what it means to be a Christian they don't want have any part of it. Yes, at many times in our Christian life we, like the bridegroom, are in trouble - with our backs to the wall, with no way out.

 But from this reading, what a surprise it was for the bridegroom and others at the feast when the master of ceremonies comes forward with gallons of the finest wine. Now there is no longer any disgrace - no need for embarrassment, but instead there is amazement: Where did this come from? How? Why?

 On the groom’s part, there would have been great relief, thankfulness and renewed joy. In fact there would have been even greater joy because of what has just taken place. Here there was no ordinary event: water has just been changed into wine: here God was at work in their lives - helping them in their time of dire need. Here God was at work in and through this invited guest Jesus. God has just revealed his glory to them through Jesus Christ.

 Now, time and time again the same thing happens in our own lives. When we think back over the years we can often see many times where we have faced embarrassment, disappointment and even disgrace, with seemingly no way out, when somehow the situation has just turned around: things did not turn out the way that they should have. To our amazement, good has come out of a bad situation. God has been at work and shown his power and glory; whether we recognise it or not. Miracle after miracle has occurred.

 But it is often interesting to see how this so often occurs. At the wedding banquet when the crisis was on, it was Mary who took the grooms concern to Jesus. Probably the groom was either too embarrassed or too concerned perhaps, even to think about seeking help. Mary knew her son could help, so she takes the concern to Jesus and asks for his help.

Also, many times, good things happen in our lives because someone else has seen the predicament and taken the problem to Jesus in prayer. In the midst of our problems, too often we are not thinking clearly, or might even be blind to the reality of what is happening; or too proud to admit that we have got a problem. So it takes someone else to go to Jesus with the problem and seek his help. Through the prayers of others God has brought good out of a bad situation. So we need to continually be on the lookout for one another and be prepared to take any concerns to our Lord in prayer, knowing that he can do something to be of help.

 But at the same time, we need to keep in mind what Jesus has to say in this situation at the wedding. His reply suggests that Mary's concern was somewhat different to what he had in mind for the occasion. You see, Mary wanted to help the bridegroom out of an embarrassing situation: she wanted to help him solve the shortage of wine: her concern was temporal. Jesus on the other hand has something far more important in mind: his main concern is the person’s soul’s salvation.

 That what he meant when he said; 'my hour has not yet come'. It was not yet time for him to go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. It was not yet time for him to fulfil his task of saving mankind. Remember, that is always Jesus’ primary concern and purpose for being here, and being involved in any situation in life.

 So also today, Jesus’ main concern is still more for a person soul’s salvation, than simply helping us out of a temporal and embarrassing situation. Jesus went to the cross for that very purpose: there he displayed his power, glory and love for us, by dying on the cross so that we can live with God, both here and in eternity.

 It is not that he is not willing to help us out in our day to day problems. His changing of water into wine shows that he is concerned about what happens in our daily lives and that he is willing to help out in our time of need. In fact he is prepared to give a lot more than what is asked for: at the wedding banquet he doesn't just give a couple of extra flagons of wine, but he gives 100-150 gallons of the best. Time and time again, he gives us far more than we ask for, need or deserve.

 In fact, here Jesus uses this wedding feast to show that God is involved in this world. He does this miracle to show that the power and glory of God is there in and through himself. Our text here tells us that many of the people there put their trust in him. They began to have the confidence to know that he is concerned about them and their soul's salvation. Having received joy from having their temporal needs and embarrassments removed helped them to trust him when he had more important things to share with them. They found that they could trust him when he talked about his death being for their salvation.

 That is also why he produces miracles in our lives and that is why so often he gives more than we need or deserve. He does it so that we can see the power and glory of God at work in through the Lord Jesus. It does it to help us to trust Jesus and his word: so that we can have the confidence of knowing that above all he is concerned about our soul’s salvation. More important than temporal things, he wants us to have that which enables us share eternity with him in heaven. He wants us to know that he has done everything necessary for that all to be ours. He wants us to know it and never forget it. He wants to assure us again and again of what he has done for us in giving us eternal life with himself.

 So now we can get on with the feast. We can get on with our life with renewed joy knowing that God cares about our life both here and in eternity. Knowing that he has produced the impossible for us, despite our weaknesses and failings, means that our life can now have a richness, like that of a good port, in abundance: more than we could ever think possible.

 So let us live life with the festive joy of a wedding breakfast: Living every day knowing that the Lord Jesus – the invited guest – has and is doing great things for us. He has taken care of our soul's salvation and he is willing to gives us what we need when we fail along the way. Let us continue to focus our lives on Jesus Christ knowing that the power and glory of God is there in him. May the joy of Christ go with you, as you give him glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish