TITLE: MISS MARY SAID….
SCRIPTURE: ST. JOHN 2:1-11
I am excited this morning, this First Day of the Year and First Sunday of the New Year 2017. Not sure where the Holy Spirit will take us this year as we preach from this Pulpit, however; I believe we have a message this morning, this first sermon of the year and it will shape and focus our direction throughout the year. I believe this message this morning will be reflective therefore, we will be able to reach back to it all year long.
Go with me to a very familiar text found in the Gospel According to ST. JOHN 2:1-11 (Read) – I lift as a thought on this New Year – Ms. Mary Said. I know we have heard this text preached throughout the years, I want to ask you to stay with me this morning as I believe we will examine beneath the covers of this text and discover some real truths that will give us the framework to have a successful walk with Christ throughout the year and throughout our lives.
Come with me and let’s go visit the scene that begins to unfold before us at this wedding in Cana of Galilee. The text tells us it is the third day - which means the first day of the wedding celebration.
• The Music has started
• The Dancing has begun
• Guests are spread out on the floors enjoying the food and evidently really enjoying the beverages
• And then….Something has gone horribly wrong
• Either too many family members and guests showed up or else someone really overestimated the contents of their wine rack
Something went wrong at this wedding Jesus attended. They ran out of wine, which would have been a big thing in that culture.
• Weddings were community events that lasted several days and involved countless details
• There was always at least a year between the betrothal and wedding
• This allowed plenty of time to plan the days big event
• The party was a sign of faith in God, and the connection of God between God’s people
• People came together in celebration
• People celebrate Love, Community and God
I believe we need to get back to this in our culture today. There is no longer a dating process – we go straight for the dessert. Don’t hardly know the person we marry and wonder why we separate within first two years. Too much dessert can make you diabetic. In our text the betroval process lasted for a year, this was the time the couple spend really getting to know each other and planning – EMOTIONALLY – SPIRITUALLY - FINANCIALLY – to spend their lives together. The couple relied on God to work on them. Not so today, we rely on –
• Dating Dot.com
• Farmers Dating Dot.com
• Match Dot.com
• eHarmony Dot.com
We need to get back to GOD DOT.COM and we will begin to see more of a celebration when couples get married, returning to Christ being the center of each relationship. We seem to be surprised today and clap when we hear of that couple around us that is celebrating 20 – 30 – 35 – 40 – 50 years of marriage. What are we clapping for? It should be normal for married couples to be married to one another all the days of their lives.
• Oftentimes in Daily Ardmoreite Divorce list is longer than Anniversary list
• Signs on side of road offering divorces for $250
• Before you know it we will have Drive By Divorces
• Drive by swipe your Credit Card hour later you are divorced
In this Wedding Party, in this small, poor village they run out of wine. Why did they run out? Perhaps it was just one of those things where they didn’t plan well enough or maybe someone was guzzling too much. Maybe that Uncle showed up carrying his own plastic red solo cup. More likely, the couple was poor and they just didn’t have enough.
• Unfortunately, to run out of wine was considered a sign of disrespect
• It was a sign of not trusting that you would be taken care of
• You could be ostracized from the community
• Imagine starting off that way, Embarrassed and Broke
That is why I can’t understand watching young people get married and don’t have anything to survive, most of the time don’t even have jobs. Living with parents talking about getting married and moving in with parents. Join the Armed Force and provide – Move into Married Dorms at College or University and get a degree – but don’t start out a marriage and have nothing - that does not make any sense!
• Spend a year saving once you are engaged
• Spend a year planning once you are engaged
• Spend a year mapping out a plan to provide once you are engaged
• Instead of spending the year making babies
Mary looks around and she knows this will cause the happy couple considerable embrrassment. She knows it will be the thing that haunts them at every family gathering for the foreseeable future –
• She knows it will become a running punch line at every wedding
• It will be the thing that will never go away
• It breaks her heart for this young, newly married couple
• What a way to start a life together, with shame hanging over their heads
• She just cannot stand the idea of it
Let me remind you why this probably bothers Mary so much. It is because SHE KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT RUMOR MILLS AND YOUNG BRIDES.
• Some there at the wedding are still pointing a finger at her saying yes, that’s her, the one that had a kid out of Wedlock
• Funny that her husband Joseph is no longer around
• That’s her, the one that wants us to think she was not fooling around before she was married
• Talking about some Holy Ghost got her pregnant – now that’s just a shame to blame God for that
• Jesus is now 30 years old and the people are still talking and pointing
• Mary has to do something to spare this couple the unpleasant experience
Just then Jesus and his new disciples come walking around the corner perhaps looking for something to drink. “THEY HAVE NO WINE” - They are her first words in the Gospel of John and they are obviously said as only a mother with an adult son can. There is a tone in her voice that clearly communicates, “AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS?” He protests, but he knows and she knows he has already lost this argument. “WOMAN, WHAT CONCERN IS THAT TO YOU AND TO ME? MY HOUR HAS NOT YET COME.”
She says nothing else to Jesus, but she probably just gives him that deep, motherly look - their eyes meet - and she knows he will respond. Mary goes over to the temporarily redundant wine servers, and she says, simply, “WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO, DO IT.”
• The interesting thing to note is - These are Mary’s last recorded words in Scripture
• Her charge to the servants
• And perhaps, in the Christian tradition, to all of us “Do whatever he tells you”
What wonderfully fantastic words as your final recorded words. – WHATEVER JESUS TELLS YOU TO DO, DO IT – There have been some interesting and some profound famous last words from – PRESIDENTS – DIGNITARIRES – ACTORS – RELIGIOUS LEADERS – but I would dare to say this morning there have never been such Profound last recorded words as these final Words recorded from the Lips of Mary.
• Our Lives would be the Bettered
• Our Marriages would be Stronger
• Our Christian Walk would be Worthy
• Our Churches would be more Loving
• If we would only respond to these last words recorded by Mary
• WHATEVER JESUS TELLS YOU TO DO, DO IT
It is interesting here that Mary no longer addresses Jesus. UN-PHASED by his reaction she just turns to the servant and issues this Profound Statement. I will admit it, I love this moment – EVEN JESUS CAN’T SAY NO TO HIS MOTHER -- So I don’t feel so bad now when it comes to my Mother. Mary may have suspected what her son will tell the servants to do to solve the problem may appear nonsensical and so she emphasized her message to them.
Let me tell you why Mary addressed the servants and did not address Jesus again after sharing with him the fact the Wine Had Run Out.
• Mary knew something about Jesus that the others did not yet know
• Mary had been with Jesus for 30 years now and I suspect she had seen some things
• More importantly Mary understood who her son was
Mary knew where her son had come from. She understood the makeup of his DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID or we like to simply say - DNA. Mary said you need to do whatever Jesus tells you, because I have learned HE IS JUST LIKE HIS DADDY AND HIS DADDY HAS BEEN KNOWN TO DO SOME STRANGE THINGS. Can I prove it to you -
• God told Naaman to dip in the dirty Jordan River 7-times and he would be cleaned of his Leprosy
• God told Moses to stand at the Red Sea and hold up his staff – divided walked on dry land
• God told Daniel not to worry in Lions den and told Lions to be Vegetarians for the evening
• God spoke to a Big Fish and gave it exact GPA coordinates and time to be at a location in the sea and told the fish to go on a fast don’t eat anything all day to make sure it would be hungry – at the appointed time, sure enough a man by the name of Jonah was thrown overboard at the exact and precious time the Big Fish passed by, it was so hungry it swallowed Jonah whole
• God spoke to a young man and told him he would be a great leader of God’s people and took him, Joseph, to the Pit before taking him to the Palace
• God told his people to Walk around the Walls of Jericho Six Times and be quiet and on the Seventh Walk just sound the instruments and then let out a Shout and the Mighty Walls Fell Down Flat
• Yes, Jesus was just like his Daddy and did strange things to bring about a blessing
Maybe, just like these servants, we all should follow Mary’s advice. DO WHAT JESUS TELLS YOU TO DO. Sometimes we get into trouble in areas of our lives, we run out of wine, because we have not followed the way of Jesus in the world.
• We have not been obedient to His will
• We have not been obedient to the Gospel of Sharing
• We have not been obedient to the Gospel of Forgiving each other
• We have not been obedient to the Gospel of Serving others
• We have not been obedient to the Study the Scriptures
• We have not been obedient to the being Engaged in Prayer
Listen to what Jesus tells the Servants to Do. Jesus told the stewards to fill the six stone jars of 20–30 gallons each with water. We’re told these jars are for the Jewish rites of purification. People would come to events, and ritualistically wash signifying a cleansing for God. You get ritually pure and then you can get into the party. He told the stewards to fill these jars to the brim with water.
The servants at the wedding obeyed three commands of Jesus:
(1) Fill the jars
(2) Draw water from the jars
(3) Take the water to the master of ceremonies
EACH ACT OF OBEDIENCE WAS A TEST OF THEIR FAITH BUT THEY SUCCEEDED BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T ANALYZE THE COMMAND FOR REASONABLENESS.
• They did not challenge the commands because – Ms. Mary Said
• They did not question Jesus because – Ms. Mary Said
• Apparently these servants or workers at the wedding party had a relationship with Mary
• They may not have had a relationship with Jesus
• But they knew and apparently respected Ms. Mary
• Jesus gave some specific requests and they followed because – Ms. Mary Said
• Ms. Mary Said – What Jesus asks you to do, just do it
Consider this last command that Jesus gave the stewards – VS. 8 “AND HE SAITH UNTO THEM, DRAW OUT NOW, AND BEAR UNTO THE GOVERNOR OF THE FEAST. AND THEY BARE IT.” Jesus tells them to fill the pots with water, fill it to the brim and then scope some water out and take it over to the Governor to taste. Did you catch it?
• Take some water over to the Governor to Taste
• The Governor is upset because they ran out of Wine not Water
• The Governor will expect to taste some Wine from the Stewards – not Water
• They are probably thinking to themselves what did we get ourselves into – But Ms. Mary Said
• They are probably thinking after the Governor tastes this Water we Carrying we probably going to jail – But Ms. Mary Said
• They are probably thinking What did we get ourselves into this time – But Ms. Mary Said
• Whatever He tells you to do – Do it
In spite of the Perceived Repercussions, they followed Mary’s words - O that we would do whatever the Bible tells us and without second guessing.
• We spend too much time Second Guessing God
• We spend too much time trying to figure out all the details
• Every little detail must make perfect sense to us or we will not move for the Lord
• But -- When they obeyed the Water became Wine
Suddenly from the time the servants draw the water and the Governor tastes the liquid, a miracle occurs.
• The Bible simply states, the water had become wine
• A few simple words for such an extraordinary event
• The water has become wine!
The Governor is shocked. He has never tasted wine so good. As a matter of fact, he accuses the bridegroom of breaking a first century custom and saving the best wind for last. “You have kept the good wine until now,” asserts the attendant.
• From all indications, only the disciples and servants know the real story
• The text just ends abruptly
• No more detail
• No more explanation
• The Water was Turned into Wine
--As we march forward on this first day of 2017 I fully expect the blessing of God because – Ms. Mary Said
--Every time we enter into this Sanctuary this Year – I expect God to Meet our needs because – Ms. Mary Said
--We can grow in our Spirituality because – Ms. Mary Said
--We can grow in our Love one for the other because – Ms. Mary Said
-- Ms. Mary Said – Do Whatever Jesus Has Told Us To Do
--We will get along better because – Ms. Mary Said
--The Church will Grow because – Ms. Mary Said
--We will Treat One Another Right because – Ms. Mary Said
--In this New Year of 2017 – Let’s Do Whatever The Lord Tells Us To Do
