Text:\u00a0 John 2:1-11<\/p>\n
We all get invited to weddings. \u00a0I’ve\u00a0attended them as a guest.\u00a0 Officiated at some.\u00a0\u00a0 Got to do my daughter Katie\u2019s wedding last July.\u00a0 And of course there was my own. \u00a0I’ve\u00a0been to churches, to vineyards, backyards, Malibu beach, big halls, town squares.\u00a0 Some of those weddings were big with many guests.\u00a0 Others have been very small.\u00a0 I even did a wedding for a couple where the man was terminally ill and had only months to live.<\/p>\n
Yet in every one of those cases, it was a very happy day. \u00a0And not just for the bride and groom but also for those who came out.<\/p>\n
Of course, things do go wrong.\u00a0 I tell couples you can count on it.\u00a0 The best planned weddings have some kind of mishap.\u00a0 This ring on my hand once went on a groom\u2019s finger because the bride forgot his ring.\u00a0 Then there was the maid of honor who fainted away and thankfully was caught before she hit the hardwood floor below.\u00a0 Things go wrong.\u00a0 But most of the time you can just go with the flow and make it work out.\u00a0 The joy continues.\u00a0 Most of the time, we can think back and laugh over those things.<\/p>\n
In our Gospel lesson, we come to a wedding where something went wrong.\u00a0 But when you understand the culture, you realize it\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0something to laugh at.\u00a0 It would have gotten this couple off to a very bad start.<\/p>\n
Well Jesus was there as one of the invited guests.\u00a0\u00a0 Here a serious wedding mishap turned into a blessed opportunity for us Christians.\u00a0 To know our God all the more.\u00a0 Because you see, to know Jesus is to know God.<\/p>\n
Learn of God\u2019s Own Son
\n<\/b>As he provides
\n<\/i>I.\u00a0 A more than generous gift
\nII. A quiet miracle
\nIII. A sign for his believers<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus\u2019 mother was there, 2 <\/sup>and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.\u00a0 It was the very beginning of Jesus\u2019 public ministry.\u00a0 He had gone to be baptized by John.\u00a0 Now he was gathering his first disciples.\u00a0 He had at least five including: \u00a0Andrew, John, Peter, Philip and Nathanael.<\/p>\n But there was this wedding to go to up in Cana which Mary and Jesus were invited to. Maybe they had family up there.\u00a0 This got the disciples invited too.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t know a lot about marriage in Jesus\u2019 day.\u00a0 We do know that before the wedding would come a betrothal ceremony.\u00a0 It was a lot more serious than engagements today.\u00a0 There before their parents the couple promised to be faithful to one another.\u00a0 They were all but married except they did not live together.<\/p>\n Now tell me,\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0this sounds special?\u00a0 When the time came for the wedding, the groom and his friends would make their way in a procession to the bride\u2019s home.\u00a0\u00a0 When they got there I imagine there were speeches and happy expressions of good will for the couple.\u00a0 Then bride and groom, friends and family would go in procession to the groom\u2019s house.\u00a0 Often this would be at night and so you can picture the people walking with torches lighting up the darkness for this happy occasion.<\/p>\n When they arrived, there was probably a religious ceremony.\u00a0 And then came the marriage feast that could last as long as 7 days.\u00a0 Not seven continuous days.\u00a0 But seven evenings where they came together to celebrate.\u00a0 Marriage was meant to that happy an occasion.<\/p>\n But something happened here that could have thrown a wet blanket on their joy.\u00a0 The wine ran out.\u00a0 That was big in this culture where hospitality was so important.\u00a0 That was not the way for the groom to treat his guests.\u00a0 And it may have been even more serious.\u00a0 Both families would contribute to the wedding and offer gifts for the couples new life together.\u00a0 It was expected.\u00a0 So expected that the groom could have been sued for not providing enough wine.\u00a0 And besides wine was a symbol of joy.\u00a0 Not a very good way to start out.<\/p>\n But here was Jesus.\u00a0 And before we think of the miracle, let\u2019s think of the gift he gave this young couple.\u00a0 A more than generous gift.<\/b>\u00a0 Wine, that the feast would not end on a sour note.\u00a0 Wine, and the good stuff, that really made this couple look good in the eyes of their guests.\u00a0 Wine, a gift sorely needed that God\u2019s own Son provided.<\/p>\n Hasn’t\u00a0Jesus done the same for us?\u00a0 \u00a0I am not talking about the wine.\u00a0 But I am talking about a gift sorely needed.\u00a0 A more than generous gift that Jesus has provided for each of us.\u00a0 For who of us could say, if I were to stand before God on the basis of my life, he would give me that big nod of approval and accept me.\u00a0 We know better than that.\u00a0 Our consciences won\u2019t let us forget our sinful failures.\u00a0 God\u2019s law won\u2019t let us forget where we once stood.\u00a0 Guilty as charged.<\/p>\n But think of what Jesus has provided us. A more than generous gift<\/b>.\u00a0 A gift you and I sorely needed.\u00a0 God\u2019s forgiveness, the Son of God earned for us when he suffered and died for each of us.<\/p>\n So learn of God\u2019s own son<\/b>.\u00a0 Look what he provided.\u00a0 The right for you to know and say.\u00a0 I am a forgiven child of God.\u00a0 And I now have this hope.\u00a0 I can look death in the eye and say:<\/i>\u00a0 I will not die but live<\/i>.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more for us to learn about God\u2019s own Son.\u00a0 Something that went on quietly, behind the scenes in this wedding.<\/p>\n A quiet miracle<\/b><\/p>\n 3 <\/sup>When the wine was gone, Jesus\u2019 mother said to him, \u201cThey have no more wine.\u201d \u00a0No doubt, Mary felt for the young couple.\u00a0 Mary also knew that Jesus was much more than her son.\u00a0 The angel had told her he would be the promised the Messiah, the Son of God.\u00a0 So maybe she thought it was about time that others knew what she knew.\u00a0 Time for a miracle, Jesus.<\/i> Time for everyone to know you are the Son of God.<\/p>\n 4 <\/sup>\u201cDear woman, why do you involve me?\u201d Jesus replied.\u00a0 Jesus reminded Mary that even though she was his mother, it was not her place to set God\u2019s plans for his Son into motion.\u00a0 \u201cMy time has not yet come.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet\u00a0 notice, our Lord does not ignore this couple\u2019s dilemma.\u00a0 It was not time for all to see his glory, but it was time for something else, a quiet miracle.<\/b>\u00a0 7 <\/sup>Jesus said to the servants, \u201cFill the jars with water\u201d; so they filled them to the brim. 8 <\/sup>Then he told them, \u201cNow draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.\u201d They did so, 9 <\/sup>and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from,<\/p>\n Think about that.\u00a0 I can\u2019t explain the process, but it takes weeks, if not months, to make wine, time for the grape juice to ferment, time for the sugars to turn to alcohol. And you don\u2019t make it out of water.\u00a0 It\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0work that way.\u00a0 But the Son of God did.\u00a0 He changed the one into the other.\u00a0 And why not, he\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0have to work within the laws of Chemistry.\u00a0 He created all things. He can do as he pleases.\u00a0 So learn of God\u2019s own Son who provided this quiet miracle.<\/b><\/p>\n And you know, this got me thinking.\u00a0 This\u00a0isn’t\u00a0just about what Jesus did long ago.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 How many quiet miracles go on every day?\u00a0 When you visit the sick like I do, you realize something.\u00a0 How many things have to go right in our bodies for us be well.\u00a0 And most of the time we are.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing.\u00a0 Each day that quiet miracle of God\u2019s design goes on and we hardly notice.<\/p>\n But today I want you to think of some others. \u00a0Quiet miracles that do far more than rescue a wedding day. One of them also starts with water.\u00a0 Common water that we too use to wash ourselves.\u00a0 But when we use this as Jesus commands, it washes someone clean of his sin.\u00a0 In fact, the Bible says, the water of your Baptism saves you.\u00a0 For It connects us to Christ.\u00a0 It gives us a new birth as a child of God.\u00a0 So the next time you witness a baptism, realize what you are witnessing. A quiet miracle<\/b>.<\/p>\n And what about today.\u00a0 Think of what Jesus is going to do for us here.\u00a0 Learn of God\u2019s Son in another quiet miracle.\u00a0 For in this bread and wine he will come to us.\u00a0 He will come to us and give us the very same things he gave and shed to win our forgiveness on the cross.\u00a0 Here He wants you to know, to be sure that you are forgiven.\u00a0 That nothing can separate you from God\u2019s love.\u00a0 \u00a0So here you have it.\u00a0 A quiet miracle<\/b> that blesses us so.<\/p>\n But notice the word John uses to describe this miracle in our text.\u00a0 A miraculous Sign<\/b>. \u00a0\u00a0Jesus miracles were meant to do more than leave someone saying: how did he do that?<\/i>\u00a0 They were signs that told you something about Jesus.\u00a0 This miracle was no different.\u00a0 It was a sign for his believers.<\/b><\/p>\n Jesus\u2019 disciples had only begun to follow Jesus.\u00a0 Some had heard John\u2019s testimony. \u00a0Behold the Lamb of God. who takes away the sin of the world. Then about his baptism.\u00a0 The Father\u2019s voice which said, This is my beloved Son.\u00a0 Now they came to the wedding where they witnessed a first.\u00a0 11 <\/sup>This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.<\/p>\n There are places in the Bible where men like Moses and Elijah were able to call upon God to do amazing things.\u00a0 There God\u2019s glory was clearly seen – when the Red Sea parted or the river turned to blood\u00a0 or \u00a0a little boy was raised back\u00a0 to life.\u00a0 But this miracle was more than a testimony to God\u2019s glory.\u00a0 It was a sign that pointed these men to Jesus and revealed his glory as God\u2019s own Son.<\/p>\n Let it be a sign to you this morning as well. A sign that tells you once more, here is the one to believe in.\u00a0 Here is the one in whom to place your trust.\u00a0\u00a0 Here is the One on whom you can stake your eternal life.\u00a0 For these things are written that you my believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, \u00a0and that by believing you may have life in his name.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Text:\u00a0 John 2:1-11 We all get invited to weddings. \u00a0I’ve\u00a0attended them as a guest.\u00a0 Officiated at some.\u00a0\u00a0 Got to do my daughter Katie\u2019s wedding last July.\u00a0 And of course there was my own. \u00a0I’ve\u00a0been to churches, to vineyards, backyards, Malibu beach, big halls, town squares.\u00a0 Some of those weddings were big with many guests.\u00a0 Others have been very small.\u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":410,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions\/410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}