Epiphany 2: John 2:1-12 Sermon

I love weddings. Everything about them. I don’t even need to know the people getting married. The joy and love and community is intoxicating and contagious and incredible. Whether it’s pipe organ or guy with a guitar. Whether it’s a live band or a DJ. Whether it’s open bar or Baptist, I just love the atmosphere of a wedding party.

In our story this morning, we arrive with Jesus at a wedding party for a friend of the family. And something amazing is going to happen at this party. Jesus will perform a miracle. And like every miracle story, it begins with a problem. Verse 1:

John 2:1–3 (ESV)

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

So, Jesus and his disciples have been invited to a wedding in northern Israel. Now, wedding celebrations in this culture could last up to a week, and it was up to the groom’s family to serve as host. But apparently, at this party, the supply of wine had been depleted far too soon. Either they did not plan accordingly, or they couldn’t afford the appropriate amount, or maybe they just were shortchanged by the merchant. Whatever the case, the problem is clear: the wine for the party has run out, and in a culture that so highly values hospitality, to have to end the party in such an inglorious manner would be a serious faux pas for the groom’s family.

Even in today’s culture, running out of food at a party is never a good look. The Super Bowl is coming up. Imagine hosting your neighbors and friends to watch the game, but you run out of snacks in the first quarter. That’s a nightmare scenario.

So, we have the setting for this miracle story: Jesus is at a party that’s about to go downhill real fast. Now, later John tells us that this is Jesus’ very first miracle. He’s going to do many more during his ministry on earth, and there’s a general pattern for his miracles, and it is this: Jesus is presented with a human need, and Jesus meets that need with divine provision. He’s going to encounter all kinds of human needs in the pages that follow this. He’ll encounter people who are blind, people who can’t walk, people who have no food, people who have a debilitating illness, and even people who are dead! People will come to him individually, but most of the time it will be huge crowds of people - the sick and the poor - that will flock to him for help.

So, in view of all the need that exists out in the world, how does this need compare? How does providing wine for a party stack up with healing the blind and raising the dead? Not well, right? This isn’t even close to the same category of need. This is just a party, and if it were to prematurely end, it would not be the end of the world.

And this is what Jesus communicates to his mother when she talks to him about the problem with the wine. Verse 3 again.

John 2:3–5 (ESV)

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Jesus points out what we just said: a lack of wine is not the end of the world. He’s not being rude or dismissive. Addressing his mother like this doesn’t carry the same kind of sass in his day as it does in our’s. His response is exactly what you would expect of a party goer. If you’re at a Super Bowl party and someone comes up to you and says, “Their out of chips.” You’d probably say, “Okay? What’s that got to do with me?”

But he adds this cryptic line, “My hour has not yet come.” What did Jesus mean when he said that? Well in this gospel, Jesus will often refer to his approaching hour - and what he means by that is the hour when he completes his mission and the glory of his identity is revealed. His hour of glory will be when he goes to the cross to mend the divide between Heaven and Earth, the divide between God and Humanity, when he restores our fortunes forever by his death and resurrection. That is what he has come to do.

So no, providing more wine for a party is not the hour of his glory…He has come to do so much more. More than we could ask or think...And yet. Mary walks away under the assumption that Jesus will in fact do something. I love that. I love that Mary knew her son’s heart well enough to be confident that even if this need pales in comparison to what he’s come to provide in the future, that doesn’t mean he’s not going to act in the here and now. She walks away certain that Jesus is going to do something about this.

And do something he does. Verse 6.

John 2:6–10 (ESV)

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

What does Jesus do about the lack of wine? He goes far beyond all need or expectation. The amount and quality of wine that he provides surprised everyone. Think about it: six jars holding twenty gallons each means Jesus just supplied the party with 120 gallons of wine. That’s enough for 12,800 glasses of wine! That’s way more than needed!

And it was good wine too. This was no two buck chuck. Which was surprising. You see, ordinarily, the hosts would serve the good stuff at the beginning of the party, and gradually work their way to the cheap stuff as the party went on and the people had their fill. But when the new wine was brought to the master of the feast, he is surprised to find that it’s the best wine he’s tasted all night!

So what is this story really about? We’ve already said that running out of wine isn’t really a pressing need. It’s a pretty weak set-up for a miracle story. And the way that Jesus responds is beyond anything Mary or his disciples or even us the reader would have expected: making hundreds of gallons of quality wine. So what’s this story about? It’s not so much a story about Jesus meeting a need. It’s a story of Jesus supplying an extravagance. Jesus going above and beyond. And if miracles are signs, as John says they are, then they point to something about the character of God and the mission of Jesus. So what does this miracle point us to?

Jesus turning water into wine shows the incredible and extravagant generosity of God’s salvation in Christ. In giving us Jesus, God has gone far beyond any and every expectation. Like Jesus went well beyond what was needed for this party, God has gone well beyond all expectation by sending Jesus to redeem us and invigorate our lives with his grace.

The master of the feast thought the groom was foolish for saving the best for last. In the same way, God has kept his best gift to his people and the world until these last days. As you read the Old Testament, you will find again and again a call to remember. God’s people were to remember the ways that God had been faithful to them in the past. Remember how God saved them, redeemed them, protected them, provided for them, removed obstacles from before their path. Remember the great and mighty acts of God. But the punchline of this miracle story is this: God’s greatest gift is not in Israel’s past. It is now. It is Jesus. The greatest and most mighty act of God’s salvation, redemption, protection, and provision is the ministry of Jesus. He is the extravagance of God. The best wine that is saved for last so that we might enjoy him.

The life that Jesus gives is, the life that he has won for us is meant to be enjoyed.

In the Old Testament, there is a recurring image that is used to describe the extravagant joy that will be experienced when the Kingdom of God encompasses the whole earth. Do you know what that image is? It’s the image of a wedding party. A wedding party where the best of wines is served in abundance.

Do you see the brilliance of what Jesus is doing? In symbolic fashion, he is communicating that he has come to inject the joy of God’s kingdom into the lives of ordinary people, here and now. Jesus came to do more than provide for the forgiveness of your sins. The salvation that he brings is more than healing and redemption. It is that and more. It is abundant life. And that abundant life is not given sparingly, but extravagantly. In this miracle, Jesus enacts what he later in this Gospel will say: “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Life intensified. Life maximized. Life invigorated.

Jesus has come to bring you the extravagant grace of the Father and the extravagant joy of the Kingdom. We really need to hear this today, because there are so many forces at play today that want to rob us of the joy of our life in Christ. When King David was at his lowest moment, the abundance of his sins haunting him day and night, obscuring from his eyes and heart the steadfast love of his God, he wrote in Psalm 51 what has become my prayer in this season of life. He writes, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” I know that some of you are there.

So what should we do? Well, let me offer two suggestions. First, pray more. If you want to know the extravagant grace of the Father the joy of his Kingdom, than you have to seek his presence in your life. Wherever Jesus is, the joy of his kingdom overflows, and so the more time we spend connecting with him, the more it spills into our lives. Prayer is how we connect with God, and the more we connect with Him, the more his presence will permeate our lives. So that’s the first thing. Talk to God more. Talk to him in the car on the way to work or home. Talk to him while you clean. Talk to him while you cook. Talk to him with your spouse. Talk to him with your children. Where Jesus is, the joy of his kingdom overflows. So live in such a way that you are seeking his presence.

The second suggestion is this: do more of what brings you joy. There are things that we have to do in our daily lives that we do not enjoy. We have to do the dishes. We have to change diapers. We have to budget. But what I’ve come to find is that unless we are intentional about it, we can spend our hours, and days, and weeks doing nothing but those things that drain us of energy and sanity. And so as your pastor, let me tell you something: Important things are not always urgent. You can give yourself time to pursue the things that fill you with life. In fact, it’s a spiritual discipline.

When we step away from the never-ending list of “have-tos” and “must-dos,” and we engage God’s creation in a way that fill us with joy and energy and rest and wonder. When we do that, we remember that our God is one of extravagant generosity. He has created the world and everything in it as an overflow of his love. He longs for us to enjoy what he has made, which is why he is committed to restoring all that he has made, ourselves included. He gives us life. Day in and day out.

And so consider this permission to let the dishes clutter the sink tonight, so you can cozy up by the fireplace with a good book. Consider it permission to call the babysitter and go out to eat with your spouse. Go and do those things that bring you joy.

The Church has not always done a great job of conveying the fullness of God’s salvation in Jesus. It is more than redemption. Jesus came to give us the fullness of life. Not sparingly, but extravagantly. Kierkegaard warned that while Jesus turned water into wine, the church often turns wine into water. We forget that the kingdom of God is not composed of somber, weary hearts. but hearts rejoice with singing and dancing at Christ’s wedding party. When Jesus gives life, he gives it abundantly, far beyond all need or expectation.