This morning I have chosen the gospel reading to share a message entitled “Never let the wine run out.” But before I get into it, listen to this:
A priest was driving erratically on a county road and got pulled over by a local cop. As the cop went up to the car he immediately got a strong smell of alcohol. To add to that, he noticed an empty wine bottle on the passenger seat. Very politely the Officer says “Father, I expect you to speak the truth - were you drinking?” “Not at all said the priest. The only thing I drank was just plain water.” Then why do I smell wine ask’s the Cop? The priest picks up the bottle and smells it and says “Oh my, I knew it - the good Lord has done it again!”
Alcoholics love this miracle. Many use it as a license to drink. I prefer all of us do not drink at all but back in the day of Jesus and even now, drinking wine on occasion was perfectly acceptable but drunkenness is certainly not. The apostle Paul did tell Timothy that a little wine is good for the belly but there is no passage of scripture that supports drunkenness. So instead of using this miracle to legitimize drinking, I want to share with you some greater truths hidden within this miracle
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Marriage is a divine institution ordained by God. Along with baptism and the Lord’s Supper it is considered to be a sacrament of the Church. A sacrament by the way is not something we do for God but it is a means of His grace in which He is fully present. In today’s miracle, we see that Jesus was there to bless the marriage union. It is His will to be present in your marriage too if you will invite him to be a part of it. Proverbs 18:22 says “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor with the Lord. But as good and holy as it is, if we are not watchful it can run into trouble.
Lots of planning goes into a wedding and in this story everything seemed to go well until the wine ran out. This tells us that no matter how much we try our human efforts will always fall short. This morning I am suggesting that the lack of wine may represent a lack of love or loyalty. It can represent the lack of financial security, expectations, character flaws or even your in laws! A flame that was once burning bright might have now come down to a flicker. A simple conversation turns into argument and what started out well may now need a fresh infusion of new wine.
The key to a healthy marriage is to never let the wine run out. In other words, never let the love dry up. All of us are like broken empty vessels. Imperfect as we are, God can restore brokenness and hopelessness into a thing of beauty. Friends, if you ever find things getting out of control, I suggest you invite the Lord into your marriage. Maybe I should add, even if everything seems to be fine, keep him in your marriage so that it stays blessed.
The saving grace for this family was that they “invited” Jesus to the wedding. Vs. 1 & 2 says, “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.” Friends we can never go wrong when we invite Jesus into every area of our lives. When the wine dries up and all hope is lost, you can still count on him to renew and replenish what is lacking. Yet we cannot just throw everything at his feet and step back and wait for things to happen. As you know, faith without works is dead. So we need to play an active part too to see the miracle come to life.
Look at vs.5 to 7. It says this:
Jesus’ mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
It seemed as though Mary was bothering Jesus to do resolve a serious problem at that marriage. Jesus had never done anything like that before. But unless we ask, how can we receive? Unless we believe in the impossible, how can we see a miracle? Jesus is not only in our marriages, he is in our sorrows, our grief’s and all of life’s struggles. Friends, Jesus can fill the emptiness of any relationship with new wine but the key is we need to take all our needs to his throne of grace. What he did for Mary that day, he can do for you too if we can only ask in faith.
If you take time to look around you will see that all our hospitals are full. Our mental institutions are full and there is trouble everywhere. It is not because God has forgotten us. It is not because he has become incapacitated. It is because the Church is not doing its job and perhaps those who call themselves Christians have failed to believe. We have to turn to Jesus my friends. Perhaps you heard this before but it is good to hear it again. It says:
“When my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Do you seek his face everyday?
Jesus is our strength and hope. You may feel like you have no faith but I dare you to believe. Like the apostle Paul said “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” You can say that too. He can turn our ashes into blessings and your failures into joy and peace. No matter what our need is, Jesus can fill our empty pots and bring life and hope to any situation. When we include God into the ordinary events of our lives, he will always do extraordinary things for us.
Like Mary, when you hit a dead end, it is okay to bother Jesus. Think about this. Mary had never seen her son do a miracle before but that never stopped her from asking. Like Mary, you may not see the miracle ahead of time but we need to trust him to meet our every need. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. Never forget that.
Without Jesus, our cups will always be empty and there will be a lack of new wine in all we do. Our Lord is not just our Savior. He is much more than that. Our Lord is in the healing and restoration business too. I don’t know what you are facing today my friends but if you want the good Lord to step into your situation or relationship, listen to his voice. As you can see, the miracle did not happen until they filled the pots with water. Likewise, in order for Jesus to answer our prayers we need to fully participate in what he asks us to do.
Look up to heaven and pray always both in the good times and the bad. That is a good way to ensure that you never run out of wine in lifes struggles or your marriage. Wine by the way is also a representation of his spotless blood. All our lack is covered by the blood. Here at our Church wine is offered free every Sunday. We give it to all those who come to the rail and need forgiveness and restoration. In a little while I will be inviting you to come and take a sip. Come in the faith of Mary. Come in faith believing that he is more than able to fill you with new wine and new hope. He is an all sufficient God. What he has done for others, he can do for you.
I cannot close without saying this. There is another wedding coming up soon. It will be the greatest wedding ever. Jesus has promised to be there. It is called the marriage supper of the Lamb. In attendance will be countless multitudes of saints from every corner of the world. Those gone on before will also be there. You may not think much of yourself, but you are invited to be there too. I hope you have been preparing for that day. And yes, wine will be served. The Lord himself will propose the toast. Quoting his own words he said “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” That is the wine I am waiting to drink and hope you are well.
Friends, the wine will never dry out when we have Jesus in our hearts. Even if all you have is only empty pots, fill them with water and offer it up to the Lord. He will turn it into wine. Amen
