Jan 20, 2013 Second Sunday After Epiphany

John 2:1-11

1 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 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time 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.[a]
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 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.


“The First Of His Signs”

“Gas ahead - 5 miles”  the sign said.  I was empty and making 15 miles to a gallon.
I believed the sign and was immediately relieved.  I hadn’t seen the gas station, nor could I be sure it was open, but I believed the sign and was at peace.

A sign has to be believed, trusting that it is true.
There is no logical, fool proof, scientific reason to believe that there is a God above us or around us, except for the signs which do exist in our midst and in our history.  Signs which point to God.

We can choose to say with the atheist:  ‘I have swept the heavens with my telescope and have not found God.”
 
Or we can choose to say with the Psalmist: “The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”  Ps. 19:1

Again, “We have examined the brain of man and have not found the soul.”

Or “Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Ps. 103:1

The difference between believing the truth to which the signs point or not, lies not in the sign, but in us. In our seeing our need for God and then our seeing the God we need.
That’s the way it works for we mortals!

Jesus is a sign of God’s great love for all people!
Even you and me.  Believe it!  Trust  it!  And live in the joy it brings!

“A delightful Opportunity Of Grace”

This miracle tells us what Jesus is all about.  Gospel not law, grace not demands, love not wrath, laughter not somberness.  The God Jesus came to reveal was not a God hung up on shoulds, oughts, or musts, but a God hung up on love, grace and forgiveness.

Turning the water into wine was a delightful opportunity of grace for Jesus.  It set the stage for what he was all about and what we are to be all about - to love and laugh our way into the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven and let its grace flow through us into virtually everything.