Sunday, January 16, 2022
THE SCRIPTURES
“…you will be a crown of splendorin the Lord’s hand…a royal diademin the hand of your God…” (Isaiah 62:3)
“…your righteousness is like the mighty mountains…your justice like the great deep…” (Psalm 36:5-10)
“…therefore, I tell you, that no one who is
speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed’, and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit…” ([Saint Paul] 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
“…then the master of the banquet calledthe bridegroom aside…and said…’Everyone brings out the choice wine firstand then the cheaper wine after the guestshave had too much to drink, but you havesaved the best till now…'” (John 2:1-11)
Would you pray with me today?
Gracious God, today we want to praise you forthe ordinary things of life, which we often takefor granted…the warm, dry bed…the three mealsa day…the medicines that keep us well and makeus well…those that provide friendship and goodcompanionship…the roof over our heads…so manywonderful things we couldn’t do without…and yet…often we get caught up in the web of life and forgetto your goodness and lordship…often we become depressed over our circumstances, not taking into account that all things work for our good when we love you and place our trust in you. We all too often curse things we consider to be bad, when, in the final analysis, you surprise us with your mysterious and wonderful ways. Forgive us, Lord. Indeed, you turn things around for us. You show us your love. You protect us, and as well, cause us to dare in life, to prove our love and sense of vision in you, in response. In short, we express our gratefulness to you and our promise to be just a little more faithful in the days ahead.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
the message
Some years back now, in a remarkable conversationwith a very special friend, Dr. Willy Anderson, formerprofessor of Nuclear Physics at M.I.T., Stanford University, and the Ohio State University, and Lockheedscientist, commented on his unresolved issues concerning the composition and nature of things in outer space… There, of course, are still many that are, to this day, a great mystery. Willy, now in retirement, is a great intellect, a delightful, generous person, one who enjoys good food and great social times, and a devoted evangelical Christian.
Upon one occasion he said that he couldn’t wait to getto heaven, indeed, at the appointed time, so he couldfinally ask Jesus two questions…
“Well, Willy,” I said, ‘What would be the first question?'”
He replied, “I’d like to ask Jesus about the unresolvedissues concerning the nature of ‘dark holes’ in space.”
“Yes”, I said, “…and what would be the second question…?”
Willy replied, “…I’d like to check with Jesus and ask Himif there was still any leftover wine from the wedding ofCana in Galilee…”
I laughed. I just wasn’t expecting to hear something like that. To me, the sign of a good sense of humor.
The Gospel lesson for today is a delightful accountof Jesus miraculously changing water into fine wineat the wedding of Cana in Galilee, in John 2:1-11.
I can remember being in Cana six years ago, going fromroom to room, including the great hall, where the receptiontook place, just imagining the scene. Coming out fromthe hall, I noticed a store selling goods across the street.The sign read (in English), “Get Your Miracle Wine Here”.I didn’t purchase any, but I got a kick out of the ploy.I’ll bet, dimes to donuts, the “miracle wine” was fabulous,that is, maybe…and then again…maybe not!
After his baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan,in the southern part of Israel, Jesus was back in the north,down the road from his hometown of Nazareth. Hiswater baptism was His initiation into active ministry andthe miracle that took place in Cana was the start of thatministry, that is, after selecting the disciples.
The wedding was in its third day. His mother, Mary, waspresent, and the disciples were invited, too. People werehaving one whale of a time, but then…”My Goodness!”…the wine ran out. Mother Mary was there to the rescue.She sensed Jesus could take care of the dire situation.Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them todo. Six stone water jars, each holding twenty to thirtygallons, were filled to the brim and presented to the masterof the banquet. His comment, “Everyone brings out thechoice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guestshave had too much to drink, but you have saved the bestuntil now.” This was Jesus’ first miracle. Jesus did whatHe did so the wedding feast could go on. Jesus does whathe does in our lives so our “wedding feast” — the great celebration of life we have in Him, can continue on. Whenthe good stuff runs out, Jesus enters in again in our lives.As the disciples put their faith in Jesus, because of whatthey witnessed and wondered, we put our faith in Him.
There is an expression—“Life is too short for cheap wine!”
For those of us who partake, we drink too much cheap wine,thinking that quantity will make up for quality. Jesus madesure that the best stuff was saved for last. He does thesame thing in our lives.
I sometimes think of the “abundant life” in Christ as being like sipping an excellent glass of fine wine. Yes, I know, some folks would take offense to the suggestion because of how often people abuse the use of alcohol. It’s great if handled properly, for those who choose to partake.
We can expect that Jesus will always save the best forlast. It’s just one way to explain the advantage of faith.
God Almighty, in His imaginative, glorious way, calls usfrom a “fallen world” into the magnificent “wedding feast”of His beloved Son—with each one of us—united with Him, in faith, bonded together through the work of the Holy Spirit.
In a larger way, the second basic step of faith, receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives, can be likened to partakingin the best wine made available at the wedding in Cana.
Saint Paul said a mouthful when he laid it on the line in1 Corinthians 12:3b, “…no one can say Jesus is Lord,except by the Holy Spirit…”
We need to invite the Holy Spirit into our heart just aswe asked Jesus Himself to come into our lives.
We must experience the “warming experience” or the “second blessing” that John Wesley, for one notablespokesman for Christ, writes about. We can receivewhat Dr. Martin Luther, Westley’s mentor, suggested as we invite the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts, “a second blessing”, much the same as we’ve already had the experience of knowing Christ Jesus.
One remembrance coming to mind is the painting of “Jesus Knocking on the Door” (that being, of our heart) that was on the church altar of our former church building in Wisconsin. This painting spoke to my heart.
Jesus knocking!
Can you hear Him at your door? Thinking back, yes, I heard the knocking. The image on the painting changed my life.
Indeed…
Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart today. Can you hear Him knocking? — from 1 Corinthians 12:3b, “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
Yes.
As we’ve accepted God the Father and the Lord JesusChrist into our heart, we need to invite the Holy Spirit in.
That’s what’s been missing so often when we start toblame our pastor, or the church choir director, or ourchurch’s governing body, or, the social hour after worshipwhen we feel a sense of deadness in our faith life…
We need to put the Holy Spirit in the front seat of ourspiritual vehicle along with the Father and Jesus…
Sometimes it gets bad…
Life for many people is “just life”. Blah! Nothing is reallygoing on there…day to day, week to week, month to month. We go to work. We pay the bills. Etc., etc., etc.—There’s a lot of television and not too much excitement or anticipation of good things to come. There’s hardly time to “smell the roses” and treasure of the gift of our life.
Enter the Holy Spirit…
there are a host of important things and there are essentialsin this life…
The reason for God in our lives is to bring a sense of purposeand well-being. To know that life has a higher purpose thanall these other lesser things—details regarding a purposelesslife produce a blur in our mins. The reason for God is to bring meaning and focus into our lives. Purpose. Assurance.
Fulfillment.
It happens when we make a decision. To die to thingsthat remind us of unpleasant things, death, life without meaning, boredom, and seeming purposelessness. These cause us to fall into deep despair at times.
Make a personal choice… Die to a lot of things in life that just do not provide joy and personal peace. Be raised up into newness of life through the Holy Spirit—already at work in each one of our hearts. All you need to do is open the package.
When the wedding feast of life has run its course—and the wine has run out—and the party’s about to abruptly end…that’s when Jesus shows up toliven things up…to keep the party going…to save the notion of life as celebration…what a strange, exotic idea…
to give us a new lease on life…
to let us know the exceptional journey has just begun…
to taste the really good stuff in life…
to give us a powerful, reasonable purpose for living….
What a great Gospel lesson in John we have to consider…we thought life was almost over for us…and now we knowthat life is just about to begin in an abundance it was meantto be—from the time we were conceived in the womb…
We tried it our way and things didn’t work out for us…Now we will simply do it God’s way, with reason todecide to live our life in Jesus, we experience joyand peace and have the assurance things aregoing to be just great!
“…all things work together for the good of those wholove the Lord and act according to His purpose…”([Pau] Romans 8:28)
When it seems to look as if the wedding feast is aboutto end, Jesus intervenes and keeps things going (again)—over and over again. The fine wine never runs out. Let Him liven up the feast of abundant life—yes, your reasonable and rightful life, your joy, your destiny—in Him.
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