Second Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 36:5-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you
from the one who reveals the glory of God. Amen
We are still in the time after Epiphany,
the time in the church year
where our Bible readings
each reveal to us something about Jesus,
who as the announcing angel in Matthew tells Joseph,
is from the Holy Spirit
and will save the people from their sins,
which is a good,
if broad,
place to start
but leaves a lot of the details out,
details like,
who is Jesus other than from the Holy Spirit
and how will he save the people from their sins
- two questions which go well together,
for example if Jesus is a military person
it might indicate he’ll use military means to save his people.
So who is this Jesus who will save?
So far we have seen Jesus revealed as a human baby
of such low social order
that he is laid in an animal feed trough for his first bed.
We have seen the child Jesus
revealed at King of the Jews
from a sign in the stars,
and then last week
we witnessed Jesus’ baptism,
after which the heavens opened,
the Spirit descended on him
and a voice from heaven-the home of God-
proclaimed Jesus the chosen beloved child
with whom God was well pleased.
God is certainly involved in this Jesus-
as we would expect,
but we’re still a little unclear on just how God will work through him,
and here is where it is important to look at the people
who first experienced these epiphanies.
a young woman and her fiancé,
Shepherds
Some gentile astrologers
Crowds of people in the wilderness gathered by John’s preaching
And all this takes place in homes, fields,
even the night skies and the wilderness,
rather than to priests in the temple,
or rulers on the throne,
or even the most religiously observant the scribes and pharisees
with their studies and prayers.
God in Jesus
is being revealed outside the centers and people of power,
even to those who are outside of the promise of a messiah,
in many unexpected ways,
so unexpected
that we’re unable to predict
how this will turn out based on what has been revealed.
And now today
we get the story of Jesus revealing his glory for the first time
according to the gospel of John,
and this glory is revealed not in wisdom or might,
not grand display,
or even an enthusiastic one
but a rather reluctant sign
noticed only by servants
and the few disciples that have begun to follow Jesus,
at the urging of his mother,
not in the temple,
but at a modest wedding
not for his own sake but for the sake of others.
We just heard the story,
Jesus and his disciples are invited to a wedding,
which in those days was supposed to last days
with festive food and drink,
celebration all to honor the new couple and the community,
but there’s a problem,
the wine runs out before the party is supposed to be over,
which will be a great dishonor to the hosts
not a great way to start a new life together.
Jesus’ mother is there
and knowing that he can do something
points out the situation to him.
Now this is only the third day of Jesus’ public ministry,
he seems reluctant to make a big display so soon
but his mother overrides his reluctance
telling the servants to do whatever he tells them to do.
And what he tells them to do
is to fill with water six large stone jars
usually used for rites of purification-
this is a lot of water that the servants have to haul
but they fill the jars up to the brim,
and then Jesus instructs them to draw some of the water out
and take it to the chief steward to taste,
who when he does,
tastes some of the best wine he’s ever tasted,
and he’s astonished
he doesn’t know where the wine came from
but he does know the party has been going on long enough
that the people wouldn’t mind a lesser wine,
and he congratulates the bridegroom on saving the good wine for later.
And this reveals Jesus’ glory.
What does this reveal exactly?
How does a lot of really good wine
show the magnificence of God?
God is magnificent in the abundance of good that flows from God.
Abundance that results in joyful community.
As the psalmist for this morning remarked:
How priceless is your love O God!
All people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
They feast upon the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the well of life,
and in your light we see light.”
God is a God of abundance
and isn’t stingy with the feast
continually providing the best
even when the best won’t be noticed
because God is one that rejoices in life.
We humans forget that sometimes,
we think God prefers strict asceticism from people,
that God prefers purity
especially somber purity-
and yet Jesus replaced the water for purification
with wine for celebration,
such an excess of wine
that it will be a very merry party indeed.
Later in the gospel of John
Jesus tells the disciples
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”
So no wonder his glory is shown in great abundance
in service of a celebration of life
and in a reversal of custom,
saving the best for last,
all indicating that the Jesus that will continue to be revealed
will challenge our notion of who God is and how God will act.
Perhaps it makes sense if we think of this like one of Jesus’ parables:
The glory of God is like a wedding where the wine has run out…
And what does the parable tell us?
In the world the wine will run out
but with God,
the wine will never run out.
That God’s vision for life
is a party that never ends
where the wine is mighty good,
and that wine is just the icing on the cake,
intoxicants aren’t needed in the presence
of the one who is the well of life,
in whose light we see light
Who brings us together in joyful community Amen
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