Epiphany 2 John 2:1-11 The Wedding Miracle

Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11

Weddings! Almost every girl dreams of her wedding day.  For many, their wedding is considered to be one of the most important days of their lives.  They want their wedding and the reception to be perfect. So they put great thought and effort into planning for that very special day. Most grooms however are more concerned about the commitment they are about to make rather than about what happens at the wedding. So grooms usually go along with what ever the bride wants. For both the bride and the Groom however, their wedding is a very special time. It is a time they want to remember all of their lives and so they surround themselves with family, neighbors and friends to share in the special event. 

On the day of the wedding, the bride and the groom are the guests of honor.  A wedding steward or a master of ceremonies is usually put in charge of the reception to handle any problems so as not to upset the happy couple and to keep the party going.  If he saw that too much wine was being drunk, he was to mix in water so the wine would not only last longer but also so the party would not get too rowdy.  But weddings can get out of hand whenever the crowd gets large.

Weddings at the time of Jesus were different from today. Wedding were usually held in the groom’s house and the preparations would be his responsibility.  The whole town was invited, and the reception usually lasted at least a week.  Sometime during the celebration the bride and groom were formally married. Wine was an integral part of the ceremony and the celebration. Wine gladdened the heart and signified joy. A wedding party that ran out of wine essentially ran out of joy.

At the particular wedding in our gospel lesson, three days after His own Baptism, Jesus shows up at just the right time.

This wedding ran out of wine well before its time. Apparently more people came than they were prepared for. The blessing of having too many friends had overwhelmed their party. A disaster was about to befall the wedding and no doubt the wedding family would be greatly embarrassed and their wedding memories would always be tainted by the calamity. Mary, the mother of Jesus, sees that the congregation of family, friends and neighbors are in need.  Knowing that Jesus can do something to help, she tells Him, “They have no wine.”

Jesus said “Woman what has this to do with me?” Jesus was an invited guest.  He was not in charge.  Yet the steward had failed and Mary knew He could help. It was out of her faith in Jesus, the very Son of God that she presented her request.

“My hour has not yet come,” Jesus said.  His words, reminds me of the commercial where they say, “We shall serve no wine before its time.”  Performing a miracle now meant that Jesus would be revealing some of His power and glory.  This was a day to honor the bride and the groom, and not the time for our Lord to steal the show.

Mary’s faith however does not waiver. “Do whatever He tells you,” she tells the servants. Mary does not know what Jesus is going to do or how He will do it, that remains a mystery, but she knows He can accomplish great deeds.  So she directs the servants to listen to His words and do them.

Jesus directs the servants to six stone jars reserved for the Jewish purification rites. So the servants fill the six jugs to the brim with water, draw a sample at Jesus' command, and take it to the steward. He tastes the water turned wine, not knowing where it came from, and says to the groom with amazement, “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.”

Talk about a miracle perfect for the situation, the wedding celebration goes on, the bride and groom are rescued from embarrassment, and Jesus allows the wedding to proceed with almost no recognition of His work by the guests.

In our Gospel we see that Jesus approves of marriage and blesses it with His presence. Jesus desires us to be happy and to have fellowship, to eat and to drink with people. And we can see how He obeyed the commandment to Honor His Father and mother. We also see Mary’s faith. But there is much more to this miracle.

We can also see that sometimes amid all of the excitement in our lives it becomes easy for us to miss what God is doing in subtle unseen ways. We can get so focused on our current problems that we lose sight of who Jesus is, who we are in Christ, and what He has done to save us. We focus on worldly things rather than on spiritual and eternal things. Consequently, we don't make time to pray.

We don't give Him praise or thanks in worship. We do however expect God to solve our immediate problems even if we do not desire His guidance through this life to life eternal. While we expect the Scriptures to give us answers for our day to day problems, we do not always regard His word as making us wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Look again at those who were wise at the wedding; only Mary, a few servants and His disciples know that Jesus has changed wash water into fine wine. From this we learn that only those who follow and obey Him see His glory.

It is no coincidence that our Lord’s first miracle is done at a wedding.  The entire wedding pictures the relationship between Christ and the Church. On the third day of our Lord’s Baptism, the wedding He attends is as good as dead. But the wedding is now raised to life again through the miraculous work of Jesus.  Moses showed God’s power through a miracle which changed water into blood. Jesus turns water into fine wine.

The old inferior wine of the Law had run out. The new wine of the Gospel is now found abundantly. The bride and the groom have been richly blessed are rejoicing in their marriage celebration. 

The wedding portrait that John has painted becomes the very picture God used in the Scriptures to describe the passion He has for His people and the love that Christ has for His bride the Church. It shows us the picture prophesied by Isaiah, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”  (Isaiah 62:5). Saint Paul later tells you, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Like I said earlier, every bride wants a perfect wedding.  Ironically, God’s bride, Israel was not perfect. Not only did they not obey the law under God’s covenant, they had lost their zeal and were no longer looking for the Messiah that God had promised. And just when it seemed as if Israel had run out of the Old Covenant wine, when things were hopeless and Israel's joy appeared to have run dry, God sends the new wine of His Son, God's private reserve, as a gift of His love. God sent the best wine when He sent His Son, the Word made flesh to dwell among us.

“The Law came through Moses, but grace and truth come through Christ Jesus.” The Law cannot save us. Moses cannot lead us into the Promised Land. Our works under the Law cannot make us pure. We are sinful and the Law condemns us for there is no sweet forgiveness to be found. Our sins bleed us dry and take away our joy. The Law reminds us, “There is no wine.” It offers no help, no comfort, no solution--just an empty glass.

However those who are watching, learning and listening to their Savior, see washing water become wedding wine at Christ’s word. The old Covenant gives way to the New Testament. Moses gives way to Jesus. The Law gives way to the Gospel. Sorrow gives way to joy. Death gives way to life.

Martin Luther says that when God is our Father, the Church becomes our mother. The Church, through our worship celebration says, “Here is my Son. Do whatever He tells you.”

Look what happens during worship. We come into worship as sinners, unprepared to stand before God. We walk past the Baptismal font and remember that we were washed clean.  With God’s word, water becomes Holy Baptism, a washing of water with the Word, purifying sinners with the death of Jesus, washing away the stain of sin; bringing new life.  Our Baptism once gave us joy but we may find our mouths dry and our souls parched because we have continually sinned by what we have done and by what we have left undone.

We worship before our Lord watching and listening to what He tells us through the Hymns, the liturgy and the spoken Word. With His Word the water of our baptism cleanses us once again. With His Word, wine becomes His Blood, and bread becomes His Body, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins and for the nourishment of your soul.  But, unless you have the faith of Mary, and the willingness to learn as a disciple, all you see is bread and wine. The miracle of His body and Blood remain hidden. 

Through the eyes of faith, you can see that every Divine Service, every liturgy of the Word and the Sacrament is a wedding feast, a very real foretaste of the great marriage feast of Christ the Lamb and the Church, His bride, in His kingdom which has no end. God has invited you to the wedding. And you are His honored guest. He offers you the very joy that the world cannot give in a miraculous and sacramental way.

Those who are faithful, those who follow His teaching, those who obey His commands, see His glory.  They remember Jesus and what he has done just as fondly as a bride remembers her wedding day.

 

So we live in the freedom of Jesus; freed from the burden of sin, obeying His commands and delighting in the joy of His wine, while at the same time, trusting His Word, and believing in Him as His disciples. Christ’s time has come. He has paid for our sins and we now receive the full benefit of His work on the cross each time we look to Him in faith.

 We live in the joy of knowing that we are made perfect in Christ.  Thus having our sins forgiven, we enjoy the cup of joy in table fellowship with Jesus.  And although we see only part of His glory now, we have seen enough to know He has saved the best part for last; namely eternal life with Him forever and ever, Amen.

In Jesus Name, Amen.