Sermon

January 18, 2004
2nd Sunday after the Epiphany
John 2:1-11
Pastor Joel Zank

JESUS REVEALS HIS GLORY

(John 2:1-11) On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so,9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside10 and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

In Christ Jesus, our gracious Guest of honor, dear fear fellow redeemed,

Have you ever had an epiphany-you know, one of those experiences where the light suddenly goes on in your brain? Maybe it happened at work or in the classroom. There was some concept, some notion or idea that was just a mystery to you, and then, all of sudden the intellectual fog lifted. The mystery was revealed making you want to shout: "I get it!" I don't know about you, but when that happens to me, I'm usually a little proud of myself. I want a little credit for "seeing the light." But the Scripture before us today teaches us that when it comes to spiritual epiphanies, there's no credit for us to take. All the credit goes to God, who in his great patience and love must constantly enlighten us dull and forgetful sinners. This is what the Epiphany season of the church year is all about. We're celebrating the Savior's Epiphany. It's his epiphany not in the sense that some mystery was finally revealed to him, but in the sense that he is willing to reveal a mystery to us, the mystery that surrounds his person and his work. With this said, lets study the first eleven verses of John 2, taking as our theme: Jesus Reveals His Glory: 1) as our compassionate Savior; and 2) as our all-powerful Lord.

As we meet up with Jesus today, we find him making a transition from private life to public ministry. Having been baptized by John and anointed by the Spirit, it's time to get on with his saving work. Jesus has already chosen six of his soon to be twelve disciples. Now what should he do? I suppose we might expect him to head off to the Temple in Jerusalem where he'd be able to introduce himself to large numbers of people and gain some popularity. But Jesus does the exact opposite. St. John tells us that just three days after enlisting his new disciples, Jesus takes them to a remote village called Cana in the in the backwards province of Galilee to attend a small wedding of a no-name couple. From a public relations perspective this was a horrible move. But Jesus wasn't concerned about public relations. His mind was on his disciples, his mother and two newlyweds who were about to suffer a good deal of embarrassment; for John reports, "When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine" (John 2:3).

Mary, the mother of Jesus was also at this wedding. In fact, she may have been the reason Jesus was invited. She seems to have had a close relationship to the wedding couple, close enough for her to have information about what was happening behind the scenes. Someone, perhaps the groom himself, had failed to buy enough wine for a celebration that typically lasted several days or more. The bride and groom were in trouble. Mary knew someone who could help. She turned to her son, knowing very well who he was and what he could do.

But Jesus' response must have surprised her a bit. He said, "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" (John 2:4). Mary turned to the right person for help, but Jesus' words tell us there was a fatal flaw in her thinking. Apparently she went to Jesus as his mother expecting him to respond as her obedient son. But the time had come for her to see Jesus in an entirely different light. So he called her "dear woman" rather than "mother," to help her understand the importance of her new relationship to him. No longer was he a son living in her home and at her beckon call. Now he was doing his Father's business and doing it at the hour of his Father's choosing, as he told her, "My time has not yet come" (John 2:4).

How often don't we force Jesus to respond to us in the same way. We go to him with some problem. Maybe we tell him about the class we're failing at school, or about the troubles we're having with our manager at work. We explain to him that the paycheck isn't covering all the monthly expenses. We report that our health is failing us, or our marriage is in trouble, or our parents don't understand us. We tell Jesus that we need help and we need it right now. And then we sit back and wait for his answer. But sometimes rather than an answer, all we get is silence, right? Silence is hard to take. We grow impatient. We jump to conclusions -- "Jesus doesn't care about me." "He wants me to suffer." But have you ever considered that maybe the silence isn't really silence at all. Maybe it's Jesus way of asking us: "Why do you involve me?"

Why do we involve him in our troubles? With what attitude do we approach him in prayer? I fear that sometimes we treat Jesus like nothing more than a magic genie who's expected to grant our every wish. Or maybe we've fallen into the trap of thinking that Jesus owes us favors. If we worship and praise him, if we follow his rules, then it's his turn to do something for us. How foolish we are! Jesus owes us nothing. He's our God; and we're nothing more than his creatures - creatures who, in fact, spend our entire existence rebelling against him by breaking every commandment he's ever given us. How could we, how dare we expect his help when all we deserve is his anger and punishment. Why do we involve him in our troubles?

Why? Because he invites us to! He wants us to come to him, not with mere wishes or expecting a favor, but as repentant sinners who believe that as our compassionate Savior he will come to our rescue at the time and in the way that best serves our faith in him. This is the invitation Jesus extended to Mary when he told her, "My time has not yet come." Mary accepted her Savior's correction. She had no business expecting a son's favor, but she had every reason to await her Savior's answer to prayer. Her God-given faith found and embraced a promise that Jesus had made. His time had not yet come, meaning that it soon would. That's all this woman needed to hear. She told those serving at the wedding: "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5).

Friends, may God give us all such a faith as Mary's! And what strength comes to our faith today as we learn that Jesus doesn't hand out favors, not even to his mother. Instead he treats all us sinners alike-having compassion on everyone of us. The Savior's heart went out to that wedding couple whose celebration was about to be ruined for no other reason than they were running out of wine. The Savior's heart went out to a woman who wanted nothing more than to help that couple in anyway she could. In his willingness to help sinners with such seemingly insignificant troubles, Jesus is granting us an epiphany, revealing to us his glory as our compassionate Savior. Don't you see, no matter how great or small the burden you carry the Savior's heart goes out to you too. He's going to help you. Not because you deserve his help, but because he is compassionate. And since this is true, believe it when I tell you that his interest in helping you is connected always and only to his desire to have you with him in heaven forever. Jesus knows that there is no point in solving your scholastic troubles, your financial woes, your health or marriage problems if when all is said and done you're going to be miserable in hell forever. So as he answers your prayers day by day he never fails to serve your eternal good. This is why you and I don't always get the answer we expect from Jesus when we expect it, because the Savior's time has not yet come-the time at which he will give us the best answer that brings us his best blessings not only for the time being but forever.

How can we be so sure of this? Beecause today through Word and sacrament Jesus reveals his glory, not only as our compassionate Savior, but also as our all-powerful Lord. In other words, Jesus not only has the desire to help us, but he has the power to solve our greatest problems.

Look how he helped out at the wedding at Cana. With nothing more than his word, Jesus turned simple water into all the wine those newlyweds would need for all their guests for the rest of their week-long celebration-gallons and gallons of wine; and not just any old wine, but the best tasting wine the master of the banquet had ever had, prompting him to tell the groom: "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now" (John 2:10). These words in no way suggest that Jesus had made wine for a party of drunken guests. They instead serve as only a commentary on the quality of the Savior's gift, even as they offer us the promise that we too can expect nothing but the richest blessings from his hand, including the best blessing of all, a deeper faith in his saving love. That is the greater miracle to which John refers in our text when he writes in its closing verse, "This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him."

Notice that John calls the Savior's act of power a "sign," that is, a "calling card" by which he proves that he is who he claims to be-our all-powerful Lord whom we can trust to save us. The miracle he performed in Cana was just a sampling of the power he went on to use to free us from the guilt and curse of our own sin. By his great power as the Son of God, Jesus turned his perfect life on earth into a righteous robe for us that more than covers all the ugly stains of our sin. By that same power Jesus turned his sufferings on the cross, and his torture in the depths of hell into a sin payment that provides us with so much redemption that the Prophet Isaiah tells us that our hard service has been completed and we have received from the Lord's hand a double payment for all our sins (Isaiah 40:2). Imagine that, my friends, not matter what sins we have committed, no matter how often we have committed them, they are all more than paid for by our all-powerful Lord.

Think of this, won't you as often as you turn to Jesus in prayer! Go to him every day, knowing that he is the One who as has already solved the worst problem you will ever face. He has saved you from hell itself; but he isn't finished helping you. He wants to be working in your life to keep you close to him and his salvation. Believe this. Turn to him in every trouble; and expect his help because he is your compassionate Savior and your all-powerful Lord. Await his solution to your problem knowing that it will come at the best time, bringing you relief here and now and building for you a faith that will see you safely to heaven's door. To this end may Jesus continue to reveal his glory to us all for time and through eternity. Amen.

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