Sermon Based on : John 2.1-11; Isaiah 62. 1-5; 1 Corinthians 12. 1-11
Preached on: Epiphany 2 -20.01.19
The Wedding at Cana is unique to the Fourth Gospel and is the first of Jesus’ seven signs in the Gospel of John.
We should remember that the miracles Jesus performs in the Fourth Gospel are never called miracles but signs.
A sign is more than a demonstration of power. A sign reveals something—points to something beyond itself. At Cana, the sign points to Jesus’ grace and His glory (v. 11). Signs, however, unlike miracles that are done openly, are hidden from some. Not everyone understands their significance.
In other words, the miracle itself is not really what we are supposed to see, as miraculous as it is. Rather, the miracles point to a convincing revelation about Jesus. This could be an important way to move through the season of Epiphany. Revelation for revelation’s sake is really not the point. What deeper reality is Jesus revealing? What are we supposed to see about Jesus?
The First verse of today Gospel says, “There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee”.. I was thinking why Cana. Cana is not a very significant place. So what does this miracle at Cana mean to us?
Maybe the purpose of this miracle is that Jesus cares for the little things
“in Cana of Galilee” (v. 1b). The location of Cana is uncertain. We believe it to be near Nazareth. Cana is mentioned in the Bible only in the Gospel of John. It is Nathanael’s home (21:2). Cana is not in Judea. It is in Galilee. Galilee was known for its thieves, rebels, and Gentiles.
The significance of Cana is its insignificance. Just as God regularly chooses unlikely candidates to do his work (Moses-who couldn’t speak clearly, David who was the youngest one and was overlooked, Gideon-who thought himself weak and was afraid of Midianites and so on), so also God chooses unlikely places to reveal his glory (Bethlehem- a tiny little town, Nazareth-and people said about Nazareth “Can anything good come out of Nazareth- and now Cana). It is at Cana Jesus does a miracle of transformation. God can use anyone or anything for His glory and God cares for the little things.
Another
important detail in this first sign, this first act of Jesus’
public ministry, is that his mother is present. Do
What Your Mother Tells You. In the Gospel of John, the mother of Jesus is never named, never
called Mary. She is always denoted by her relationship to Jesus. The
mother of Jesus appears only twice in the Gospel of John, at the
wedding at Cana and at the foot of the cross. Here, it is her urging
that initiates Jesus’ action.
The exchange between Jesus and his mother is really quite funny. She notes that the wedding hosts have run out of wine. Jesus’ response is that they should have hired a better wedding planner. But then, she tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says. But, I also wonder what she saw in that moment. What had Jesus revealed to her up to that point that would cause her to believe that such a miracle was possible from him? How did she know that this was the time for revelation, the event of Epiphany?
It
is indeed “An Epiphany of Abundance”
The
word “grace” occurs only four times in the Fourth Gospel and only
in the Prologue (1:1-18). Why? Once the Word becomes flesh, the rest
of the Gospel shows you what grace tastes like, looks like, smells
like, sounds like, feels like?
That is, Jesus’ signs show you, what abundant grace is, “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (1:16). Turning water into wine is revealing of abundant grace in this season of Epiphany. And what does abundant grace taste like? Like the best wine when you are expecting the cheap stuff. It’s one thing to say, “Jesus is the source of grace.” It’s quite another to have an experience of it. So much of our preaching tends toward telling people about Jesus. What if in the season of Epiphany, we commit to creating experiences of Jesus so that there can be no doubt that Christmas was real?
The details of abundance cannot be overlooked in this text — six water jars, each 20-30 gallons, filled to the brim, of the best wine. The amount in and of itself is extraordinary. The amount of wine that Jesus produces may seem like a humorous exaggeration to us. I read Our Archdeacon Colin Williams refection on this text and he writes “From a shortage of wine, the host suddenly finds himself with 120 to 180 gallons on his hands. Enough to float a battleship, had there been such a thing in the Palestine of Jesus’s day”. But this exaggerated amount is precisely why John introduces Jesus’ public acts with this story. God’s presence now fills the world “up to the brim.”
The miracle is about abundant goodness — about “grace upon grace” (1:16) — and the goodness of God overflows with the appearance of Jesus in the world.
(Verse-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)….
Jesus worked this miracle quietly. This is a private miracle, subdued and quiet. It is not some flashy show of divine power. In our epistle this morning, Paul warns the Corinthians against an unhealthy obsession with miracles and supernatural gifts. He reminds them that each manifestation of the Spirit is given for the “common good”. . Jesus was even reluctant to do anything in the wedding at Cana . It was not meant to happen, but the persistence of his mother led him to perform what has become one of the most famous of his miracles. The steward knew that there was a problem, but doesn’t know how it was solved. We don’t know if the groom or the guests were ever aware that there was a problem.
When your problems are solved…when your works are done miraculously…Remember there is someone somewhere praying for you…it happens with me many times when extraordinary things happen and I wonder and come to know..someone was praying for me…
We should believe and knowledge the Grace of our Lord
In the first century there was also much confusion about where Jesus came from. Jesus’ origin is one of the concerns of this Gospel (6:46; 7:27; 8:14; 19:9) and that suggests a clue to the meaning of this passage. Some people know where the wine/grace comes from, but others do not. As is often true in the Gospels, there is a reversal here. The steward should be the one to know the wine’s origins, but it is the servants who know. In like manner, the religious leaders should understand Jesus’ signs, but it is the disciples, more ordinary people, who believe.
The steward assumes it came from the bridegroom of the wedding being celebrated, but for John the real bridegroom present at the wedding is Jesus (see 3:29). The custom that the steward mentions in verse 10, of serving the good wine first, is known only from this text. The most important word he says is the last one: “now.”
The real bridegroom who served this superior wine, Jesus, has “now” appeared, This prefigures the part Jesus plays at the “marriage-feast of the Lamb” in Revelation 19.6-9, where He is the bridegroom of the Church and provides the wine in the form of his own life-blood. In this eternal feast — anticipated at every celebration of the Eucharist — Christ does not overwhelm or cancel God’s work in creation, but brings it to completion.
This quiet miracle is the manifestation of Christ’s grace and glory. But no one actually saw it. Nor was there a thunder clap to herald the event. God’s glory is not what we sometimes expect it to be. His glory is not for mere display, but has the purpose to fulfill his service to his creation. He buries Himself in a quiet tomb to do his work on Easter where no one can see or hear. In Christ, the very nature of glory is being redefined. It is glory with a silent purpose and aim, to create and maintain faith in Christ Jesus who responds to human need in ways that seem hidden and mysterious, but whose deeds are open to the eyes of faith.
May God bless us all with His Grace to see our Lord Jesus with the eyes of faith.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen