January 16, 2022 Text: John 2:1-11
Dear Friends in Christ,
When you plan a wedding you make decisions. At Toni and I’s wedding we decided to just purchase one keg of beer and when it was drained…well, it was drained. Because we were the third of three weddings at the large LCMS church in Ft. Wayne where we exchanged vows, we had to do all of our pictures after the wedding. This meant a lot of time for people to imbibe before we even got there. Since I had just graduated from the seminary 2 weeks before it was one of my fraternity buddies or seminary pals who came up to me and wondered if I could turn their water and soda into a another keg of beer. We didn’t. They understood. My friends have always remarked what a wonderful time they had that weekend.
Today Jesus is about to begin His public ministry. At a wedding of all places. A small crisis is about to ensue. What will happen? Where will the guests turn? A good reminder for us who have been through a lot at our church this past month.
“COMMIT IT TO JESUS”
Let’s set the scene, “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out…” (vs. 1-3a) Wedding celebrations went on for seven days and running out of wine was a major faux pas. It was an embarrassment for the family and the bridegroom’s family was liable to a lawsuit. Something a little more serious than today.
Who notices? Mary. “The mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what do this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ He mother said to the servants, ‘ Do whatever he tells you.’” (vs. 3b-5)
Jesus’ response sounds a little disrespectful to our ears. Actually it was just formal. Jesus has a different interest and purpose than his mother. Jesus’ “hour” is the cross, His suffering and death, but also His resurrection and glorification. This was His future but “not yet.”
Mary had faith in her Son. She didn’t know what he would do, but she knew he would do the right thing. She committed the situation to Jesus and she knew He would take care of it. He took care of it beyond her imagination. Jesus changed 180 gallons of water into wine. This was excellent wine. Jesus gave the couple a gift of extreme value. If there was any wine left they could sell it and have a good financial cushion to begin their married life.
Do we ever feel like Mary? This month we have dealt with many things out of our control. A barely hanging on furnace. A new furnace caught up in the global slowdown of goods and services. A 100% hike in natural gas prices and furnaces running and running as we try to dry out a building that suffered a water deluge. We had things fail that should have helped the situation. Lord, how much more. Are you there?
The first sign. Last Sunday’s Old Testament lesson from Isaiah. If you weren’t on the worship service from our living room these were the words you missed, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” Come again Lord. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” We can commit our problems to Jesus, knowing that He will take care of them.
How do we know that? The cross of Jesus is His promise and guarantee that He will hear and answer our prayers. He has borne our sin. He has washed away our punishment. The water and the damage and the gas prices and the furnace and our individual situations are all wrapped in his body and sacrificed in our place. He rose again to remind us of new life and our temporary suffering that will end now and our suffering that will end permanently when we see Jesus face to face in the glory of heaven. We are His beloved children.
The setbacks will come but “this too shall pass.” Jesus told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
We have worries and concerns. Most beyond our control. Mary knew that as well and committed the situation to Jesus. He took care of it. His grace and love and divine power showed what He could do.
The last line of our text says, “His disciples believed in him.” Toward the end of John’s gospel are these words; “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn. 20:31) Life in his name . . . when we commit to the Lord.
Amen.