TRANSFORMING WATER INTO WINE
Text: John 2:1-11
John 2:1-12 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. (2) Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. (3) When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (4) And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." (5) His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." (6) Now standing there were six stone water jars 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 chief steward." So they took it. (9) When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom (10) and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." (11) Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (NRSV).
Have you ever had an embarrassing moment? You know what I am talking about. One of those kinds of embarrassing moments when you understand why an ostrich might hide its face in the sand because you would like to join him. Let me share with you one of my most embarrassing moments when I would have like to join the ostrich.
Years ago in 1982, I was a football player for Broome High School in Spartanburg. We had a winning season and had made it to the playoffs. During half time, we were walking to the guest locker room. I happened to notice that I had on two different shoes. One game cleat and one practice cleat. As noticed it, I thought to myself, “If this is a sign then surely it must be a sign of one good half and one bad half. If indeed it is true, then our losing half is coming up”. No sooner had that thought run through my head, I heard one of our supporters say to us on the way to the locker room, “I got twenty bucks riding on y’all”. Then I got all the more paranoid as I tried to hide my feet. It turned it that we did lose in the second round of the playoffs to Byrnes High School.
What happened at the wedding at Cana when the wine ran out was something that was sure to be a bad sign---an embarrassing moment. Why do you think that running out of wine was such a big deal? When you run out you run out right? It would seem that since hospitality was a factor because good hospitality was expected at a wedding. No one would want to be the object of conversation where poor hospitality was involved. Your name might forever be tied to the memories of poor hospitality.
Why is Jesus’s presence at this wedding so important? Think about the significance of this event. Now think about what they say about weddings. To answer this question let’s ask another question. What is the saying associated with weddings and their tradition? The answer is: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Jesus, takes the waters of our difficulties and transforms them into the wine of His grace and mercy.
THE OLD
This wedding observed tradition as all weddings did. What do we think of when we think of a tradition? When I was a senior in high school, I heard a country song that was recorded by Hank Williams, Jr. The name of the song was "Family Tradition." The lyrics make their own point. An excerpt of those lyrics from that song go like this: "... Hank, why do you drink? Why do you roll smokes? Why must you live out the songs that you wrote? ..." Later, the answer simply stated is "... it's a family tradition." Family tradition or any tradition that goes against God's will is sinful. Something Old.
What was God’s ideal life that He planned for us?
1) Genesis: In the first chapter of the word good is used to describe God’s approval of His creation.
2) Slew-foot : In ice hockey, there is what is known as an illegal body check where the opposing player knocks his opponent’s skates out from under him or her by kicking or dragging from behind. The end result is dangerous because the opponent can land on either his head, back or tailbone. (http://www.infocomcanada.com/afterthewhistle/hockeybook/slewfooting.htm). Satan is an adversary because he continually seeks to make “spiritual slew foot” attacks to defile God’s creation as he has from the beginning.
3) The Fall: When we go back to the Garden of Eden, we see from the fall how God’s ideal for us was tarnished.
4) Cycle: From the Garden of Eden to the birth of our Savior we can see that we were unclean. Before our Savior’s birth we continued to sin against God. It was a cycle---sin, repent, sin, repent.
5) Priesthood: Ceremonially, they would have to go to a priest to get clean.
6) The Word became flesh (John 1:14). The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Something new is desperately needed! God makes all things new (Revelation 21:5) through Jesus Christ!
THE NEW
God makes all things new! What were the new things that were desperately needed? “Wine is, in Scripture, where rightly and wisely used, the symbol of joy. … The fact that the wine was giving out at a marriage-feast suggests that Israel had so far departed from God that her joy disappeared in large measure. Nothing much remained but empty forms and ceremonies, as pictured by the empty water pots.” (H. A. Ironside. The Gospel of John. New York: Loizeaux Brothers Inc., 1954, p. 74). Obviously, the new wine was needed.
The six stone water jars held any where from 20 to 30 gallons. The water that went into these jars was usually used for ritual washing and cleansing. This washing and cleansing was in harmony with the Old Covenant of the Old Testament----the Law. This is an important point because Jesus Himself is the New Covenant---- God’s message of grace through Jesus. It is a sign that the best is yet to come!
Jesus uses us in the process of helping others in His miracles. Someone (Clovis G. Chappell) pointed out how God often works through others in the process of his miracles. “In fact, all the transforming work of the Lord waits upon your co-operation and mine” (Clovis G. Chappell. Sermons From The Miracles. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1927, p. 28). How well are we cooperating?
God loves us no matter who we are . “Billy Graham tells the story of a time when Albert Einstein was going on a train to an out-of-town engagement. The conductor stopped by to punch his ticket. The great scientist, preoccupied with his work, with great embarrassment rummaged through his coat pockets and briefcase to no avail. He could not find his ticket. The conductor said, "We all know who you are, Dr. Einstein. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it. Everything is okay." The conductor walked on down the aisle punching other tickets. Before he moved to the next car, he looked back and saw Dr. Einstein down on his hands and knees looking under his seat trying to find his ticket. He came back and gently said, "Dr. Einstein, please don't worry about it. I know who you are." Einstein looked up and said, "I too know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going!" (David P. Barrett. ed. Perfect Illustrations For Every Topic And Occasion. Citation: Greg Asimakoupoulos, author and speaker, Naperville, Illinois; source: John A. Huffman Jr., pastor of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, California, from sermon "Resurrection Life" (June 23, 2000) ]. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2002, p. 244). Jesus came to us as God in human flesh to help us experience God’s love and to know where we are going because we are lost without Him.
When is the next time in the Gospels that you see Jesus serving wine?
The next time we hear about wine is when Jesus is in the Upper Room.
That Lord’s Supper is a continual reminder of the new covenant. Christ came to give us abundant life, the joy of salvation and the gift of eternal life to those who are open to His ability to redeem and transform us. Jesus does more than fixing broken moments, He heals and saves broken people. Again, Jesus takes the waters of our difficulties and transforms them into the wine of His grace and mercy.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
