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First Preached  14/1/2001  Epihany 2 C

John 2.1-11                                                                                              

Of all the miracles of Jesus this is I think  the oddest. It was also the despair of the Band of Hope and other temperance movements.

Yet to John it is obviously important. It is he said the first of the signs by which Jesus reveals his glory. That Glory which he claims to have seen.

 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1.14

Now his disciples see this sign and believe in him. It is only they and Mary of whom this is true. It remains hidden to the main beneficiaries, the Bridal Couple and the ‘Toastmaster’. The events are known to the servants. But they do not know what the disciples already know.

“We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth” John 1.45

To those on the outside it is hidden. To those who already have some inkling it is a confirmation. They can see the glory of God, and they are moved to faith. Those who are outside are left baffled and bemused.

That is how the signs work in John. The crowds believe in him because of the signs that he does. (6.2 & 12 .8) Nicodemus says, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  (3.2)

That is what signs are there for: ^“ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”. (20.30f)

But they are signs. They are not proofs. To the ruling council, they are a source of annoyance rather than a call for faith.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.  ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  (11.47f)

On the other hand there is a demand for more signs “In order that we may believe” (6.30) A request which might seem a little unreasonable since it follows the feeding of the five thousand. There is no pleasing some people!

They are signs, not proofs. Yet they reveal that there is something extraordinary here. They are part of the reason that Jesus was remembered by his disciples as more than a mere mortal. He revealed himself to be something more. But what?

A sign is supposed to tell you something. There is reputed to be a notice in the Yorkshire Dales which only says, “It is an offence to throw stones at this notice” But usually signs are a little more forth coming. Signs point to something or tell you something useful.

What does this sign tell us about Jesus.

Firstly he is “the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote”

Here he fulfills the words of Isaiah. “

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost (Isa 55.1)

The works of Jesus are the works of His Father. Looking at Jesus will show you what God is like.

Secondly he is the new wine of the Kingdom. In place of the ritual purification of the Law, comes life and celebration.

Common Worship gives a number of ways of introducing Holy Communion, but, “Hey let’s party”, does not seem to be one of them. Which is a pity. We do refer to it as a celebration of Holy Communion. But we do not take the word seriously enough (If that is not a contradiction)

Jesus is here and that is a cause for real joy.

Finally, this is the new wine of the Kingdom which is to come. It is a foretaste, of the life eternal.

John saw Jesus transformed an ordinary wedding. Another John would write, “‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” Rev 19.7

In Jesus the powers of the Kingdom are already breaking into the present world. He calls his Church to drink deeply. To be transformed from water into wine.

• Uncategorized

First Preached 14/1/07            Epiphany 2                  

1 Cor 12.1-12                          John 2.1-11

Children’s Talk:  Grapes. Jesus turned water in to wine. This is as close as I can let you get to wine…. [Show them a bunch of grapes, hand out a few.] … but it will do, they are a fruit that makes for fun and celebration in a way that lemons somehow fail to do. I just want you to remember Jesus came to put Joy in our hearts. So be happy and be grapeful.

Adults:

Who remembers the 60’s? Oh then you weren’t really there.

There was a lot wrong with the 60’s in fact we have spent the last 50 years putting right the damage done. But the one thing that was different was that people thought that things could change for the better. The world seemed wide open with possibilities. Not just because I was 16 then & 60 now.

Now the world all seems shut down. If you enjoy something you can bet it is bad for the environment. The image of the 60’s was a hippie, now it seems to be grumpy old men. The frightening thing is that they are the same people.

The world has lost its hope.

We have gained the whole world but lost our soul.

This passage from John is a counter blast. It is all about hope and new life and celebration. It is about a world of endless possibilities.

What did Mary expect. She says to Jesus, in effect, ‘Do something’ What did she expect him to do, pop down to Tescos for a box of Bulgarian Cab-Sav. I do not know what she expected. The most sensible suggestion I have heard was that he and his friends should go away so that there would not be so many people guzzling what was left. The daftest suggestion (Calvin) that he should have given an uplifting discourse, which would have gladdened peoples hearts and made it all right. Try that at a party – “Sorry folks there’s no more booze, but never mind we have a guest preacher here to give a sermon.” -How to make friends and influence people.

Clearly it is a cry of desperation. And the answer when it came was beyond comprehension.

The Augustinian explanation: Jesus  Accelerated the process. [Water =rain = growth = grapes = wine] I find this helps me not at all. It is still beyond my experience and it wrecks all I ever learned about brewing; which is that you cannot rush it. But the one thing it does say to me is that very often when we are praying for a miracle we are not asking for a suspension of the laws of nature but a rearrangement of the possibilities.

Here is a miracle – On Tuesday I had a sore throat. I was definitely coming down with what my wife had had just had; only worse of course. We prayed and the next day it had gone. Well it is a small miracle. These things do clear up; it is not that improbable. But it seemed it when we prayed.

We frequently ‘misunderestimate’ (To quote George Bush) the possibility of a miracle, particularly if we are depressed. The odds against seem overwhelming. The reasons why there cannot be an answer seem innumerable and insurmountable.

I think that is the state of our world. A health and safety mind set, everything is too dangerous. It is depressed because it has lost faith. It trusted itself, instead of God and it let itself down. Everything is bound up in correct procedures.

Interestingly the Jars that Jesus used were all about correct procedures – ritual purification. But they were dry and empty, like many of our slogans today. Our world is full of procedures that have to be gone through; not to achieve anything, but simply to show that you have gone through the correct procedures.

Jesus transformed them he filled them with new wine – The new wine of the Kingdom,  The new wine of the Spirit.

Nothing is deader or dryer than formalised religion – Lacking in power, in joy, in vitality, in transforming power.

But Jesus brings new life. Transformation, joy celebration and the overturning of possibilities.

How – to those who like Mary do not really know what they wantfrom Jesus but are sure that He can do something; to those who will ask and go ahead in faith.

Believe in miracles – surprise yourself. Astonish the world.

• Epiphany 2 C