Divine Transformation
John 2: 1-11
The classic novel, “Gone With the Wind,” was based on real people who lived pretty much the lives described in the book--although Rhett Butler's actual surname was Turnipseed, and Scarlett O’Hara was really Emelyn Louise Hannon. But Rhett did, in fact, walk out on her and join the Confederate Army, where he became an officer.
What happened next has been chronicled by the Turnipseed family from South Carolina, and it’s an amazing story. After the Civil War, Rhett became a drifter and gambler--that is, until attending a Methodist revival meeting one Easter morning in Nashville, where he gave his life to Christ. He studied at Vanderbilt University Divinity School soon afterwards, and went on to become a Methodist circuit rider in Kentucky.
Pastor Rhett learned about a young lady under his care who had run away and was rumored to be working in a house of ill-repute in St. Louis. He went there to look for her and found that she was indeed working as a prostitute. And as it happened, the madam of the brothel was none other than his old flame, Emelyn Louise Hannon. Truth really is stranger than fiction. But she refused to release her ‘employee.’
Still a gambler at heart, Rhett challenged Emelyn to a hand of poker. If he won, the young woman he’d come for was free to leave with him. If he lost, he’d give Emelyn his coveted barbeque recipe and he would leave alone (while no doubt hoping that she would soon follow on her own). He trusted God to help him win--and so he did, dramatically: with a Royal Straight Flush, the best hand in poker. Rhett called it “God’s own hand.”
The runaway came back home with Rhett, and in time she married well, even becoming the matriarch of a leading family in Kentucky. And Emelyn, after her encounter with Rhett and seeing his new life, also gave her heart to Christ, leaving prostitution. In fact, she later founded an orphanage for Cherokee children in Oklahoma, where her grave is marked to this day in the cemetery of the Methodist Church in the city of Tahlequah.
Let’s pause to consider the miraculous transformation of those three lives: Rhett, a one-time drifter and gambler, became a Methodist circuit rider, one of the most heroic forms of Christian ministry in the history of the church. Circuit riders traveled on horseback for hundreds of miles on the frontier, through freezing winters and rain-drenched springs, sometimes sleeping in the elements and eating only whatever could be shot or scavenged, while also enduring occasional persecution, all for the sake of the Gospel. It was an extremely sacrificial life, as evidenced by the fact that half of all circuit riders died before the age of 30 from its hardships.
And Emelyn, after her encounter with Rhett and giving her heart to Christ, experienced her own dramatically changed life, from serving sin and degradation, to ministering life and blessing to Cherokee orphans.
And finally, there was the young woman who was rescued from her rebellious mistake and able to live a fulfilling life because of the love of God expressed through Rhett’s pastoral care. All three lives were dramatically changed by the power of the Gospel, and each of them passed on that blessing to others, through the ministry of the church, by the gift of a Christian orphanage, and in the form of a mother’s love for her family.
Jesus’ first miracle was one of transformation, in a sign of things to come. According to the Apostle John, Jesus was with his mother at a wedding in Cana, a village not far from Nazareth. Early sources tell us that the bridegroom was John himself, whose mother Salome was Mary’s sister. That would explain why Mary took charge when learning that they had run out of wine: she was helping her sister with the wedding arrangements. It’s a familiar story: Jesus miraculously transformed several large vases of water into wine. And John concludes, “This was the first of his miraculous signs… Jesus thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”
The Apostle John always refers to Jesus’ miracles as “signs" pointing to a greater reality. This first miracle wasn’t just about changing water into wine, but it was a sign of Christ’s power to transform the commonplace into something extraordinary. That quality would become the hallmark of his ministry, and still is today: Jesus continues to work miracles of transformation in the lives of countless followers.
There are many people today, however, who don’t believe in miracles. We live in a culture of doubting Thomases, those who need to see in order to believe. But if we observe God’s amazing power and glory in creation, from the vast wonders of space to the invisible mysteries of the atom, there is clear evidence of the greatness of God. As Saint Paul wrote: “What may be known about God is plain.... For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that humanity is without excuse” (Romans 1: 19-20). Theologians called this General, or Natural, Revelation, nature itself bearing witness to the power and glory of God. And in light of that extraordinary revelation, how can we deny his ability to work miracles?
Yet, there's one miracle, one sign, that matters most: the power of God to change hearts. Everything else in creation and all of God’s work in the world, is focused entirely on that one, great purpose: the changing of human hearts and lives. Like turning water into wine, Jesus came to us to transform our hard, selfish hearts into something extraordinary, lives worthy of God’s power and glory, stamped with the likeness of his Son.
But the miracle of our salvation isn’t passive, it’s participatory. We’re called to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12-13). We work out our salvation by cooperating with God’s power and with his help. We can’t become Christ-like without centering our lives on his love and truth.
A picture of the Christian life, and the mission of the church in general, is this: There are two opposing spiritual forces facing each other. One is our contradictory human nature, full of our unique, God-given potential, but also deeply flawed and destructive. The opposite force is the power of divine transformation, God’s ability to change our hearts and bless us with new life. Those two forces often clash and struggle for dominance in our lives. The church is one of those arenas where the conflict rages. And every pastor and congregation knows the damage it causes when our unredeemed human nature carries the day, rather than divine transformation. The same is true of our personal experience: our hearts are a battlefield on which the war for our souls is fought, and we know the dramatic difference it makes as to who wins. But we also know, individually and collectively, how beautiful and life-giving it is when we experience God’s transforming love and truth in our hearts. The Kingdom comes, churches flourish, lives are changed, and God is glorified among us.
It all comes down to the power of divine transformation, and our cooperation with God’s will for our lives. It’s a matter of his saving grace--God’s amazingly kind, merciful love--and our faithful response.
Let’s honor this miracle of transformation by opening our hearts to the power of God’s love in its many forms: through the life-giving message of scripture, in our relationships with family and friends and others our lives can touch; in responding to opportunities we have to share generously of ourselves and our resources--and especially by living in faithful relationship with God, with his gracious help. Amen.
