JANUARY 17, 2010  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen.

The sermon for this morning is based upon the Gospel of the Day from St. John chapter 2. There we read these words:

(John 2:1-11 NKJV) On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him

Dear Christian friends,

How is life at home, guys? Do you and the wife get along, or are you being a jerk? Why don’t you turn and ask her?

How is life at home, ladies? Do you and the husband live together in peace, or are you busy riding his backside because of his constant shortcomings or failures? Why don’t you ask him?

Parents, do you take any opportunity to talk to your kids and find out what is going on in their lives? Do you live every day, praying that God will strengthen you and enable you live as a father and husband ought, or as a wife and mother ought-no matter how old your kids are and no matter where they now live?

Or do you feel like you have struggled with your spouse and your children for long enough; that you are about ready to quit and walk away?

Today's Gospel is for you! Today Jesus changes water into wine "at Cana in Galilee" (John 2:11). By this small but miraculous act, your Lord demonstrates to you how much He cares about your marriage and family.

Now, those of you who have not yet married or perhaps never will marry may be thinking, "If this Gospel is about marriage, what does it have for me?"

To you I say: This Gospel holds great blessing for you, for Christ loves not only marriage but all human relationships. Not only does He say, "Love the Lord your God," but He also says, "'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no greater commandment than these" (Mark 12:31).

You widows or widowers are now bearing a cross, perhaps a greater cross, too. Perhaps you wonder, "If God really loves marriage so much, why did He allow mine to end?"

To you I say: This Gospel holds great blessing for you. As it is written in the prophet Hosea, "He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds" (Hosea 6:1). Jesus comes to Cana not only blessing and honoring marriage, but also showing He greatly He cares for every aspect of your existence.

And what about those of you who have been divorced? Are you tempted to say, "The Bible can say all it wants about marriage- things just don't work that way in the real world." Or maybe you want to say to yourself, "How I wish I could go back and do things differently! If I had, maybe I wouldn't be divorced today!"

To you I say: This Gospel holds great blessing for you. Jesus cares deeply for you, as He cares for the widow and the married couple. He desires to take that "bitter water" of your past memories and change it into the sweet wine of forgiveness, peace, and a quiet mind.

Dear suffering Christians, look into this Gospel and see your God. See the One who cares for you in all of your sufferings, no matter how big or how small! Understand that this Man who visited a wedding in Galilee completely understands all of your pain, all of your grief, all of the many ways you suffer. He is the "Man of sorrows, familiar with suffering" (Isaiah 53:3).

Whatever your struggle, He has been there. Whatever your pain, He has suffered it. "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

It really doesn't seem like that big of a deal, does it? For His "first miraculous sign" (John 2:11), Jesus could have chosen something much more spectacular. He could have cast out demons or healed a blind man or raised a dead child back to life again.

But He didn't. He chose instead, something that reaches into your kitchens and your family rooms and your bedrooms. He turned water into wine. It is as if He says, "The demon-possessed and the sick can wait. The dead aren't going anywhere. I am going to care for a family in need. I will bring joy and peace to this home by My presence in it and by the gifts I bring."

"This, the first of the miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him" (John 2:11). In other words, Jesus performed a miracle in order to reveal His glory, whatever that may be. And what did He reveal? What did the disciples see that caused them to trust in Him?

If you think that Jesus performed this miracle simply to show that He is God, you have only eaten half the cookie. Think about a car mechanic. He may glory in the fact that he possesses the knowledge needed to fix cars, but such glory is useless until he actually picks up a wrench and fixes the car.

Or consider a doctor: What glory is it to have a head full of medical knowledge? A doctor is useless unless he actually uses his abilities to heal people.

In the same way, Jesus changed water into wine and in so doing revealed "His glory." He did not merely show that He is God. He revealed that He is God who works for you. The bare fact that He possesses divine abilities is useless, but the glory comes when He performs miracles for your benefit. Otherwise, Jesus is just a mechanic who won't work on cars, or a doctor who refuses to treat patients.

But Jesus revealed His glory at Cana! He showed that He not only has divine abilities, but that He desires to use them for your sake and for your benefit! He changed water into wine, and in so doing He solved only a very small problem. So what if the wine raqn out? The man and his wife were still joined in marriage

Jesus turned water into wine. If He concerns Himself with such a small detail in that marriage, how much more shall He concern Himself with the details of your marriage? How much more shall He strengthen you in your difficulties, comfort you in your struggles, sustain you in your weaknesses, and preserve you against any storm the devil can bring against your marriage?

Jesus glories in caring for you-each of you, whether you are young, old, married, single, widowed, or divorced. This is why He came, that is why He suffered, that is why He died.

He began showing you this by pouring out wine at the Feast of Cana. He demonstrates His love for you here at this altar by an even greater miracle, not by making water into wine, but by joining to wine the precious gift of His blood.

This blood, along with the gift of His body, comprise the greatest expression of Jesus' glory-not simply that He is God, but that He is the God who does all things for you

No matter what struggle you face-be it in your marriage or your family or anywhere else-you may trust the Word of the Scriptures, as it is written, "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you. He shall never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22).

Christ Is Risen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.