(Significant inspiration and segments of this sermon taken from Max Lucado’s writings on this passage.)
There was a woman who goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Christmas stamps?"
The clerk says, "What denomination?"
The woman says, "Has it really come to this? Okay, give me 6 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 22 Baptists."
Well, it doesn’t matter what denomination you are or aren’t. Today we gather together as family, labels aside to experience Christmas. Which ought to be more than just gifts, and for some of Grandma Ruby’s family, they had to learn that the hard way.
You see, Grandma Ruby found buying presents for family and friends a bit much at Christmas now that she was in her 90’s, so this time she wrote out checks for all of them to put in their Christmas cards. In each card she carefully wrote, "Buy your own present" and then sent them off.
After the Christmas festivities were over, she found the checks under a pile of papers on her desk. So everyone on her gift list had received a beautiful Christmas card from her with "Buy your own present" written inside -- without a check!
Another grandma Christmas story is told of the parent who finally decreed that she was no longer going to remind her children of their thank-you note duties. As a result their grandmother never received acknowledgments of the generous checks she had given them. The next year things were different, however.
"The children came over in person to thank me," the grandparent told a friend triumphantly.
"How wonderful!" the friend exclaimed. "What do you think caused the change in behavior?"
"Oh, that’s easy," the grandmother replied. "This year I didn’t sign the checks."
People can get a bit ornery as the season drains them of their enthusiasm and joy. In fact, by the day before Christmas, after so many lights, so many carols, and so many lines, we all might need a Scrooge test. So here you go. . .
You just might be a Scrooge . . .if you turn on the lawn sprinklers on Christmas Eve to keep carolers away.
If you buy all of your Christmas gifts at a store that also sells gas. . . you might be a Scrooge. Or maybe just from Arkansas.
If your best Christmas tradition involves a fire and reindeer meat. . . you just might be a Scrooge.
If your favorite pastime is putting defective bulbs in your neighbors’ string of Christmas lights . . . you just might be a Scrooge.
Finally, if your only holiday decoration is a rotting pumpkin. . . you just might be a Scrooge.
And if you have a hard time laughing in church on Christmas Eve day. . .you might be a scrooge.
If you are following the unveiling of our banners, you can see that today’s Advent theme is joy! This is a season to express, experience, and enjoy the celebration of joy. And were Jesus here today, I don’t believe this would be strictly a solemn service of darkened lights, candles, and stiff bodies with stiff faces. I think He would be looking for a party. A celebration. A place experiencing the sights and sounds of joy.
Turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of John. In the first chapter of John we see Jesus call his first disciples. Follow with me beginning in verse 35 of John 1 (read through verse 42).
Now, look at verse 43 (read). So Jesus has this desire to go to Galilee. He is on this journey, this walk, and as He goes He is calling disciples who will take this journey with Him.
Then we come to John chapter 2 (read through verse 2). Now, think about this for a moment, why would Jesus, on his first journey, take his followers to a party? Didn’t they have work to do? Didn’t He have principles to teach? Wasn’t His time limited? How could a wedding party fit with His purpose on earth?
In fact, those questions might beg the next question, why is Jesus going to this particular wedding? The answer might be found there in the second verse (re-read).
When the bride and groom were putting the guest list together, Jesus’ name was included. And this is important to pause and understand. Jesus wasn’t invited because He was a celebrity. He wasn’t one yet. The invitation wasn’t motivated by His miracles. He hadn’t performed any yet. So why did they invite Him?
Let me suggest one possibility. Maybe they liked him. Maybe the bride and the groom enjoyed being with Jesus. I think it is noteworthy that the Almighty must not have acted high and mighty. The Holy One most not have behaved holier-than-thou. The One who knew it all wasn’t a know-it-all.
Upon Jesus shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but He still took time to walk ninety miles from Jericho to Cana to go to a wedding feast, and as a result of that type of behavior, I think people liked Him.
Now, as long as I am just throwing out possibilities and personal opinions, let me tell you another reason why I think Jesus went to the wedding. I think he went to the wedding, now hold on, hear me out, I think Jesus went to the wedding to have fun.
Think about the life He has been living lately. Forty days in the desert. No food or water. A standoff with the devil. He’s left home. It hasn’t been easy. A break would be welcome. Good meal with some good wine and some good friends. So off they go.
Verse 3 (read through verse 4). I think these verses help substantiate my leaning towards the fact that Jesus was attending the wedding to have fun. Process of elimination.
We know from these verses that His purpose wasn’t to turn the water to wine. His purpose wasn’t to show his power. His purpose wasn’t to preach. This wasn’t His time.
Doesn’t leave a whole lot of other reasons, and one of them that if He was truly a man like you and me would match reasons that we go to wedding parties is fun. It is entirely possible that Jesus simply went to the wedding because he liked the people, he liked the food, and heaven forbid he may have even wanted to swirl the bride around the dance floor a time or two.
I think Jesus simply took the time for a party. Time to stop and experience some joy.
Now, many of us know that once He got there, plans changed a bit. But we need a little more background. To walk from where John was baptizing to Cana would probably have taken three or so days. And while Jesus and his disciples were walking, there were some other activities already under way.
On the eve of the wedding the bride was led from her family home to that of her husband. First there was music, then a distribution of wine and oil among the people and I am told nuts among the children. Next came the bride, covered by the bridal veil and surrounded by her companions. Some of the people would carry torches or lamps or flowers.
Everyone along the way applauded the procession or joined it. When the bride arrived at the home of the bridegroom, she was led to her husband, and the bride and groom were crowned with garlands. Then they would proceed to a sundown ceremony at the synagogue. A formal legal instrument was signed, in which the groom promised to care for and keep his wife in the manner of the men of Israel. There were benedictions and the prescribed washing of hands.
Then the people would leave the synagogue and begin a long, candlelight procession through the city, winding their way through the city streets. The couple would be escorted past as many homes as possible so everyone could wish them well.
Then, after the processional, the couple didn’t go on a honeymoon. Instead, the honeymoon was brought to them. They would go home to a party.
And for several days there would be gift-giving, speechmaking, food-eating and wine-drinking.
But the food and wine were taken very seriously. The host honored the guests by keeping their plates full and their cups overflowing. It was considered an insult to the guests if the host ran out of food or wine.
This hospitality at a wedding was a sacred duty. So serious were these social customs that, if they were not observed, lawsuits could be brought by the injured parties! The rabbis of the day could have served on the Lexington City Council deciding New Year’s Eve ordinances, because their position was that “Without wine there is no joy.”
Wine was crucial. And understand this cultural difference. It was not for drunkenness, which was actually considered a disgrace, but for what it demonstrated. This presence of wine stated that this was a special day and that all the guests were special guests. So the absence of wine, then, was a social embarrassment.
This marriage feast could last for a day or several days. Apparently, this particular wedding feast at Cana has lasted longer than originally anticipated, and the supplies of wine have ran out.
You should be getting the picture and idea that wine was to a wedding back then what cake is to a wedding today. Can you imagine a wedding without cake? Well, they couldn’t imagine a wedding without wine. To offer wine was to show respect to your guests. Not to offer wine at a wedding was an insult.
So what the bride and the groom were facing here was a serious social problem. And when you think about it, it was a foul-up. A snafu. What might be referred to as a calamity on the common scale. There is no need to call 911, but there is also no way to sweep the embarrassment under the rug, either.
When you think about it, it is kind of like most of the problems we face. Seldom do we have to deal with dilemmas of national scale or world conflict. Seldom do our crises rock the Richter scale. We’re late for a meeting. We leave something at the office.
A coworker forgets a report. Mail gets lost. Traffic gets snarled. Nothing life threatening, but enough to light a fuse, and enough to rob us of our joy.
So we might want to note how Mary reacted. Verse 3 (read). She told Jesus. That’s it. That’s all she said. She didn’t go ballistic. She simply assessed the problem and gave it to Jesus.
A pastor writes about a tense deacons’ meeting he attended. Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion, someone suggested, “Why don’t we pray about it?” to which another questioned, “Has it come to that?”
Often happens to us, right? As trouble is rising, and joy is fading, we often go to the first option last, rather than the best option first. Not Mary, she went to Jesus. Christ had not publicly declared Himself to be the Son of God or the Messiah, but Mary knew His divine position since surely she had not forgotten His miraculous birth. I’m sure she remembered the words of the angel Gabriel. So she told Him about the situation, and left the rest to His wisdom and His will.
So what does Jesus do? Verse 4 (read).
Jesus knows the plan for his life, and at first, it appears he is going to stay with it. But as he hears his mother and looks into the faces of the wedding party, he reconsiders. Notice how the significance of the plan is slowly eclipsed by his concern for the people. Timing is important, but to Jesus, people are more so.
And as a result, he changes his plan to meet the needs of some friends. Isn’t that incredible? The schedule of heaven is altered so some friends won’t be embarrassed. The inaugural miracle, of all the great and mighty first miracles that could be used to launch Jesus on to the scene, this first inaugural miracle is motivated not by tragedy or famine or moral collapse, but by concern for friends who are in a bind.
And if you’re a human who has ever been embarrassed, you should like this very much. Because this miracle tells you that what matters to you matters to God. Most of us can buy that when it comes to the big stuff. When it comes to the major-league difficulties like death, disease, sin, and disaster. We know that God cares.
But what about the smaller things? What about grouchy bosses or flat tires or lost dogs? What about broken dishes, late flights, toothaches, or a crashed hard drives? Do these matter to God? He’s got a universe to run. He’s got the planets to keep balanced and presidents and kings to watch over. He’s got wars to worry with and famines to fix. Who am I to tell God about my ingrown toenail?
Ask yourself, why did Jesus change the water to wine? Was it to impress the crowd? If you read on, you will see that they didn’t even know he did it. Was it to get the wedding master’s attention? No, he gave the props to the groom and credited him with being generous. So why did Jesus do it? What motivated his first miracle?
His friends were embarrassed, and what bothered them bothered him. If it hurts the child, it hurts the father. I John 3:1 says, “The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children.”
Isn’t that a cool phrase! “We really are his children.” It’s almost as if that was being written, and John knew some of us would shake our heads and say, “Naw, not me. Mother Teresa, maybe. Billy Graham, all right. But not me.”
So John added that phrase, “And we really are his children.” So if it is important to you, it’s important to God.
Imagine if I noticed an infected sore on Allie’s hand. Imagine I asked her what’s wrong, and she said that she has a splinter. So I ask her when it happened. She says last week! So I ask her why she didn’t tell me, and she says, “I didn’t want to bother you. I knew you had all those things to do running the church and all, I didn’t want to get in your way.”
Get in my way? Get in my way! I’m her dad. She’s my daughter. My job is to help. I hurt when she hurts. So go ahead. Tell God what hurts. Talk to him. Tell him those places in your world that are robbing your joy, embarrassing you, making you want to hide at the party. He won’t turn you away. He won’t think it’s silly.
Hebrews says, “For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace” (4:15–16).
Does God care about the little things in our lives? You better believe it. If it matters to you, it matters to him.
Verse 5 (read). What a mom. Can you picture this? I mean, come on. Take this story out of the heavenlies, and all the sacredness that we read such texts with that totally dehumanize them, and understand that what we have here is a fully human mom talking to a fully human son.
“Son, they are out of wine.” “Mom, why are you telling me? This isn’t my time yet?”
“Servants, do whatever he says.”
We don’t have the words here, but if Jesus was fully human, somewhere in that mind of his had to be the thought, “Mom? Didn’t you just hear what I said? Come on, I’m 30 years old now. Don’t I have any say in this?” And yet, Jesus knew that his friends were embarrassed. Joy was being stolen. A party was about to come to a crashing halt. So He stepped into action.
Verse 6 (read through verse 11).
Did you see the sequence of events? First the jars were filled with water. Then Jesus instructed the servants to take the water to the master.
What if the servants had refused? What if they had said, “No way”? Or, to bring the point closer to home, what if we refuse? What if we identify the problem, take it to Jesus, and then refuse to do what he says?
That’s possible. After all, God can ask us to take some pretty gutsy steps. Money is tight, but he still asks us to give. We’ve been offended, but he asks us to forgive our offender. We can’t see God’s face, but he still asks us to pray.
Not commands for the faint of faith. But then again, he wouldn’t ask you to do it if he thought you couldn’t. So go ahead.
So why this text, on this day? Why the story of a wedding for the celebration of Christmas?
Two reasons. To grasp the first, I need you to picture the horrific with me. (Image of returning home from the service and all the presents being gone. . .robbbed.)
Well, for many people, a much greater crime has already happened. Their joy has been robbed. In fact, you can visit many a church now a days, and find merely a hint of joy, enthusiasm, excitement, or energy. We are weighed down with our lives, and we allow the concerns of this world to rob us of the abundant life.
At Christmas, that looks like too many cards to fill out. Too many gifts to buy that we can’t really afford. To many last minute reciprocations for people we didn’t know were going to get us something. And instead of the season being filled with love, hope, peace, and joy. . .we can’t wait for New Years to be over and life to return to normal.
But normal life is just a magnification of that Christmas without joy. So into that picture, I think it is imperative that we see another picture of Jesus. A fun picture. A likeable picture. A life of the party picture.
We’ve got down the solemn Jesus rebuking the Pharisees. We have a pretty good image of Jesus overturning the tables in the temple. We can draw in our minds the horror of Jesus on the cross. But how often when you picture Jesus do you picture a 30 year old man, loving life, having a great time with this friends, full of joy? If you look in this passage, I think you can find that.
The second reason is that I think we have here a formula, a model of how to recapture that joy in our lives. It is modeled by Mary who didn’t see the sky falling on this wedding. It is modeled by the servants who willingly obeyed a ludicrous instruction. And it is modeled by Jesus who made his first miracle one that was simply to help some friends avoid a major social embarrassment.
The formula. . .identify the problem. That identification will half solve it. What is robbing your life of joy? What is keeping your from experiencing the abundant life?
Then, present it to Jesus. Remember, it’s better to give than to receive. Maybe the best gift you can give yourself this Christmas is to give Jesus your problems, your challenges, your joy robbers.
He’s happy to help. He doesn’t just intervene in cases of terminal cancer, or global implosion, and world crisis. He is your loving, Heavenly Father, and He even cares about that little small splinter in the palm of your hand.
And finally, do what he says. No matter how crazy it might sound. This is not a book of the safe and the rational. It is a book of people that build arks when there is no rain, take their children to the altar without a sacrifice, soak wood with water before calling down fire, pass off jugs filled with water as wine, and even celebrate Christmas when there are plenty of reasons to experience anything other than joy.
Everything else is in place. The stable is ready. The gift lies in the manger. Will you come to the party?
