John 2:1-11
Synopsis:
Jesus’ mother said to the kitchen crew, Do whatever he tells you.” As the story goes, someone goofed, big time. After a few days of serious partying, they ran out of wine – talk about embarrassing. But before anyone could figure it out, Mary arm-twisted her son into doing something about it. After Jesus told the staff to fill huge jars with water, it became wine, and not just ordinary wine, but the absolute best. Upon tasting it, the party sommelier exclaimed: Wow, usually the best is first, and then the cheap stuff. But the best has been saved until now. The story highlights a central feature of our relationship to God – it’s reciprocal. We bring something to the table, and so does Jesus. Dare we say we need one another? Did God design it this way? If there had been no water, would there have been any wine? Don’t overlook the water you bring to God; it soon will be wine of the very best kind!
The story begins simply enough … a wedding celebration … and not just a one-night bash … uh uh … wedding celebrations lasted for days, with lots of food and plenty of wine … Mary is a guest at the party, as well as Jesus and the disciples.
Must have been some party.
They ran outta wine.
Thirsty guests and a slight miscalculation …
Mary says to her son, The wine is gone.
Jesus says to his Mama, Woman, what is that to me? My time has not yet come.
Do you think I care?
Good question.
Does God care?
I suspect if we were there, we would see a twinkle in his eye.
Maybe even a wink to the disciples.
Do I care about your party?
Mary knows the answer.
And Mary wants us to know, too.
Of course he cares.
He cares deeply about the party!
That’s why he’s here.
Mary turns to the servants and says confidently to them: Do whatever he says.
In the back of kitchen, six stone jars – each holding 20 to 30 gallons … for ceremonial washing, an important part of Jewish religion – the image of being clean!
And not just a sprinkle or two.
Uh uh!
Lots of water.
To scrub us down and clean us up.
To wash off the dust of the day.
The grime of life.
The dirt under the fingernails.
The grit in our hair.
One of the best parts of my day, the morning shower.
It always feels good.
Feels good to scrub down and clean up.
So here are the jars.
Sitting there.
Empty now.
Jesus says to the servants, Fill them.
I want lots of water.
Gallons of it.
The servants do as Jesus says.
Yet I can almost hear the shoptalk:
What does he want us to do?
Fill the jars?
Yeah, sure.
A lotta good that’ll do.
We’re outta wine.
And he wants us to fill water jars?
Well, he’s the boss.
We’re the servants.
We’ll do it.
And then a little detail that entertains me.
They filled them to the brim.
He wants water?
We’ll give him water.
All the water he can stand.
To the top!
Took some time and effort.
I wonder how many trips to the well.
Did they stand in a line and pass the buckets, like a fire brigade in a TV western?
Six jars to fill.
At least 120 gallons.
That’s a lot of water.
When you do it by hand, one gallon at a time.
And one gallon at a time, the jars are filled.
Whatever it is, you can do it.
One gallon at a time.
Jesus says, Now take some out and bring it to the chief steward.
No hocus pocus.
No waving of hands.
No big deal.
A simple matter of a simple partnership.
What we have, and what God does.
We have the water.
God makes the wine!
The steward had no idea they’d run out of wine.
That’s a responsibility delegated to others.
He’s the wedding planner.
The sommelier … he gives the orders, and the servants jump.
Somebody goofed.
Somebody goofed badly.
Hey, it happens, doesn’t it?
We depend upon someone to hold up their end of the bargain, and they drop the ball.
We’ve got our stuff together, but they haven’t even gone shopping yet.
We’re up at ‘em, and they’re still sleeping.
We’ve all been disappointed by others, haven’t we?
And maybe others have been disappointed by us.
Maybe we’ve dropped the ball a few times.
Maybe we forgot to go shopping.
Or set the alarm and get up on time.
I like what Jesus does here.
No announcement to the guests.
No embarrassment for the groom.
No questions asked of anyone.
There’s a need to be met.
How it happened is irrelevant to God!
Jesus goes to work.
You have water?
Bring it on.
I’ll make the wine!
Jesus takes what we have.
And turns it into wine.
A partnership of love.
The wedding steward tastes the sample and is blown away by it.
He goes to the groom and says, Wow, what a surprise. You’ve kept the best wine until now. You’re quite a guy. Most folks serve the best up front, so everyone is impressed. And when is everyone is a little sloshed, and no one cares, out comes the cheap stuff. But you, my dear friend, lavish us with the best of the best, even if we’re too wasted to know the difference.
The sommelier is totally surprised.
Had no idea the groom has such a wine cellar.
But it’s not the groom.
It’s not the servants.
It’s not the sommelier.
It’s not Mary or the disciples.
It’s God!
God saves the party!
God with us.
Emmanuel.
Our LORD and our Savior!
Working for us.
In concert with us.
Taking what we bring and turning it into wine.
The story here is the beginning of the story.
That God cares about the party!
God cares about you and me.
Our stuff.
Our lives.
Whatever and wherever.
The story hinges on two simple things:
First of all: Mary’s word to the servants: Do what he says.
That’s the first part of anything good.
Pay attention to God.
Don’t just be on your merry way when all is good.
And when things go south, don’t think you’re alone.
Do what he says.
Get in touch with God.
Pay attention to God!
And this isn’t hard.
It’s not hard to pay attention to God.
Go to church.
Pray.
Read your bible.
Get involved.
It’s pretty simple … so simple, we might miss it.
But it’s simple enough, simple enough for any of us.
The second simple thing:
Fill the jars.
It takes a little work.
But it’s not impossible.
Because God begins with what we have.
God is pleased with who we are.
God always begins with WHO we are, and what we HAVE!
Our talents.
Our abilities.
Our personality.
Our character.
What we like to do.
But here’s where the rub comes.
We’re often forced into someone else’s mold.
A parent expects us to be what we’re not – you know the proverbial stories:
The boy loves poetry, but Dad wants running back.
The girl loves math, but Mom wants a little mommy.
The media shouts at us every day: be this, do this, think this, wear this … and we try like mad to be what we’re not.
And preachers, too …
The whole enterprise of religion.
Fabulous conversion stories
Impossible stories of faith have done immeasurable harm to millions, holding up impossible examples – be like this, pray like this, witness like this, and so we try, and try, and try again, and it and it doesn’t work. We either go to church glumly, or we just quit trying!
We’re miserable and tired and grumpy when we try to be what we’re not!
Show me a person critical of others, and I’ll show you someone unhappy with themselves!
Show me a bigot, or a racist, and I’ll show you someone who doubts their own worth.
Show me an angry, judgmental human being, and I’ll show you someone who goes to bed at night afraid to look at themselves in the mirror.
When we’re down on others, it’s only because we’re down on ourselves!
This is why the gospel is gospel.
Good news!
Good news for the prisoners who’ve locked themselves in, or have been locked in by other prisoners.
Good news for those who see themselves as poor and ill-equipped.
Good news for the blind who cannot see their own worth and importance.
Good news for those crippled with self-doubt and anxiety.
God always begins with WHO we are and WHAT we have.
And that’s what God wants to turn into wine.
Who are you today?
Have you been trying hard to be someone else?
To meet someone else’s expectations?
To fill someone else’s bill?
Have you bought the junk message of our world – do this, wear this, act like this … and then you’ll be happy?
Are you being true to yourself?
The Gospel message:
Our water is terrific water.
Sure, it’s not wine.
But it’s exactly what God needs to make wine!
There is no wine without God.
Without our water, there is no wine!
We need what God offers.
We offer what God wants!
The Bible tells us: The first sign.
The first of many signs, of course.
Jesus is our intersection between heaven and earth.
Jesus takes our water and turns it into God’s wine.
Jesus takes fisherman and turns them into disciples.
Jesus takes our best and blesses it with God’s best!
The Bible says, he revealed his glory.
The intent and purpose of God.
To make life good for us.
Fill in the blanks and ease our mind.
Settle our spirits and free our love.
Bring a little more wine to the party.
Keep the party going.
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment