Sermon Jn. 2:1-11, Is. 62:1-5 Jnuary 17, 2010

We know the wedding at Cana story well. It would be good to remember that for John the physical is the gateway to the spiritual. If we stay at the physical level, we stop only partway on our journey. We don't ignore the physical. After all this is a gospel of the Word made flesh. A good way to approach it is to ask some questions that can apply to both levels. Why did the wine run out? Were the jars empty or partially empty? I don't think it matters, but if we use this as a spiritual image, it may. If they reflect the state of our souls, are we running on empty or using what we have with some in reserve? 

 

Wedding stories always have some trouble- ringbearers set fire to the ring pillow- a string quartet gets drowned out by a tornado siren- music blaring in from festival at the wrong moment

wedding as the start of better days and the promise of company 

Wine is a symbol of celebration. Again, a feature of a wedding now is for the couple to have a toast with a special cup filled with champagne. Bible uses a wedding as a symbol of the bond between us and God. So it is appropriate that God's own makes a move at a wedding. In Isaiah, the image of a wedding, maybe a royal wedding,  represents closeness instead of absence, creation instead of ruin. We make a lot of jokes about marriage, here it represents a new Eden, this Beulah land. Many people look with fondness on their wedding and watch the recordings of it and leaf through the pictures and look back on their first year as the best year of their lives. I asked the folks at Crown Pointe about their weddings. Most of them were married in private ceremonies, so they spoke of small weddings. They are not quite correct. They may have had small receptions, but every wedding is a big one, no matter the number of attendants.

 

This is the first sign of God's nature here, where first means the start, not the beginning of a sequence. We are treated to God's desired activity act of extravagance, sheer abundance, where in Jesus God is saving the best for last.-the manager does not know not knows the source, but the little people the servants do. The wedding party isn't even aware that a miracle has occurred. this is a signal of the  last days, of wine pouring down from mountains in Amos 9 God's power does things in a big way. Signs for John are special events to demonstrate the character and identity of the message, the Word, of God. and source if humans were blood and water, then this emphasizes fully human intrusion into our world

why jars so big-lots of people-lots of need-have plenty just in case

 

So, the first act of Jesus is to help out a wedding party so that the party can last longer. It's not a a funeral, not at a day of fasting, not boot camp, but it is a wedding, with its biblical connotations intact. At a spiritual level, it emphasizes his human life, both body and feelings. It looks toward abundance: physically and spiritually. The jars are so big to show that we have a lot of life to hold inside. Instead of being stingy with our lives, they are filled to the brim. Our cups runneth over. It is a sign of transformation from one good thing to another good thing. At a wedding, Jesus, the bridegroom of the new, takes his place.