2nd Sunday after the Epiphany
John 2:1-11
"Signs!"
2:1* ¶ On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2* Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.
3* When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
4* And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
5* His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6* Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
7* Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8* He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it.
9* When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom
10* and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
11* This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
There is a protest song from the 60’s by the Five Man Electrical Band entitled "Signs", which I think is a good introduction to our gospel lesson this morning.
Listen to part of the lyrics:
And the sign said,
"Long-haired freaky people
Need not apply."
So I tucked my hair up under my hat
And I went in to ask him why.
He said, "You look like a fine upstandin’ young man.
I think you’ll do."
So I took off my hat and said, "Imagine that.
huh, me workin’ for you."
Whoa, sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Blockin’ out the scen’ry.
Breakin’ my mind.
Do this. Don’t do that.
Can’t you read the sign
And the sign said, "Everybody welcome.
Come in. Kneel down and pray."
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn’t have a penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper
And I made up my own little sign.
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin’ ’bout me.
I’m alive and doin’ fine."
Whoo! Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Blockin’ out the scenery.
Breakin’ my mind.
Do this. Don’t do that.
Can’t you read the sign?
Whoo! sign, sign everywhere a sign. There are signs all around us. Traffic signs, stop signs, advertising signs, welcoming signs, keep out signs, all kinds of signs.
In our gospel lesson this morning, it says:"This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him."
And what was this sign? Changing water into wine! What a first sign!
A sign uses elements of our world to point to God’s presence, God’s glory among us. A sign, water to wine, a sign, bread and wine, Jesus’ body and blood, a sign, water, cleansing, new birth, a sign. God’s signs of his presence are all around us. As God’s children, God has been signing us, showing us His presence, showing us his presence among us in many different ways.
All around us are signs of God’s glory. The sky, the water, the earth itself, people, you and me. We are all signs of God’s presence in this world.
And in our gospel lesson, there is an unique sign of God’s glory through his son Jesus Christ.
Jesus and the disciples had gone to a wedding. In Jesus day, a wedding was a major festival which could last several days. Usually, the best food and wine were served first so that many people could enjoy the very best of the celebration. Then something happened. The wine ran out. Either the groom or the groom’s parents had not planned on such a crowd, or not enough wine was delivered. What ever the case, the wine ran out. You need to remember that in Jesus day, wine was like water to us. The water was not good, but when it was used to distill wine, it became healthy again.
The wine ran out. Mary, being a friend of the family found out and depending upon her eldest son as she usually did since Joseph died, goes to him with the problem. His response on the surface may seem abrupt, and rude, but it really isn’t because the English doesn’t translate the Greek or Aramaic very well. I don’t know what Mary thought Jesus could do? Maybe find some more wine, maybe try to substitute something else. But she turned to Jesus for help, Jesus answers "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." A strange answer, but on further examination, not so strange. The word woman is translated better, lady, or dear woman, a sign of respect and honor. The rest can be better translated, "Don’t worry; you don’t quite understand what is going on; leave things to me, and I will settle them in my own way."
So Jesus takes the problem in hand.
The text says: Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8* He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it.
9* When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom
10* and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
John says this was the first of his signs. You might wonder why this sign? Why did Jesus do this? Surely, running out of wine was not that big of a deal?
Jesus, I think, thought this was a good way of showing people that he cared. Cared enough to supply more wine for a celebration. Jesus was a friend, a neighbor, someone who was invited to a wedding, so he cared enough to help.
I think it was a good way for Jesus to show his disciples his compassion. This was the first sign, but as we see in the gospels, not the last. His signs went from changing water to wine, to healing people. His signs went from changing water to wine, to calming a sea, to raising someone from the dead. His signs went from changing water to wine, to curing a sick girl on her death bed. His signs went from changing water into wine to rising from the dead.
Whoo! Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
As John wrote, this was the first of many signs Jesus used to help the disciples, the people to believe in his mission, his purpose on earth. Just as Jesus changes water into wine, he came to change people, to make them pure and holy, acceptable to God. And those signs of God’s presence which changes and redeems us are still with us, water, bread, wine, the word, people, a handshake, a greeting of love, a smile, a forgiving embrace all are signs of God’s presence with us as he continues to show us signs of his love.
Whoo! Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
A pastor tells the following, "The Church of the Saviour in Washington understood the power of God’s signs among them. A girl named Meg came to the church one Sunday morning. She listened intently to the sermon, sang with joy the hymns and began to feel a happiness and purpose to her life which had not been there. Something inside led her to that church that morning. After the service, the people greeted her, welcomed her. She learned they were interested in her as a person. They learned she was living of life of alcoholism and prostitution and her marriage to a war - veteran was falling apart so much so that her husband tried to commits suicide. The people, some who had been in the same situation began to care and work with Meg. Some helped her with her drinking problem. Some listened to Meg and her husband, as they worked out their marriage difficulties. Others helped Meg get a job and others helped her husband become rehabilitated from his war injury. In time, Meg’s life and her husband’s were changed, transformed, redeemed and rescued from the brokenness of this world. Meg said later, ’At first I thought these people were crazy. Then I didn’t care what they were. I suddenly wanted what they had.’"
These people came to be signs of God’s love in Meg’s world. These people had a direction, a purpose in their lives. They knew what God wanted them to do, love one another, and Meg caught that spirit and wanted to have some for her life. God’s signs among us do give our lives some direction and purpose.
Whoo! Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
As Jesus is the sign of God’s love in this world, he asks us to do likewise. There are signs all around us of people reaching out to another with the sign of God’s love. Jesus changed water into wine.
He also changed people. He changes us from people who sinners into people who are redeemed! He changes us from people who are self centered to people who care about those around us.
A closing story, a closing sign of that love:
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods when his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the outside world.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man said. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head:
Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything ?
It didn’t seem fair. As the thought fermented the man felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought now controlled his life.
Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence, deathly silence.
The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away -- no work, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.
It faced a blank wall.1
The man next to the window used his gift of imagination to help relieve the boredom of his roommate.
Whoo! Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale January 8, 2007
1 author unknown found at found at http://www.ozsermonillustrations.com/ ozsermon illustrations
