Celebrating Our Faith – January 26, 2025

Micah 6:1-8, John 2:1-12
January 26, 2025

Today we look at this story from John’s Gospel, the story we call “The Wedding at Cana.”  And according to John, this is the very first miracle Jesus performed.  And it took place at this wedding feast.  It took place at a celebration!  And what I want you to think about today is that our faith is a celebration.

So, as we’ve started this year, we’ve renewed our faith, thinking about Jesus’ baptism, we’ve thought about being disciples, and now were thinking about “Celebrating Our Faith.”  And I think those are all good things to think about at the start of a new year.

Now, as far as this first miracle of Jesus is concerned, there have been those in certain Christian circles who have tried over the years, to “explain this away.”  That’s because they’re uncomfortable with this story being centered around wine.  And I’ve heard a number of those “explanations” over the years.  “Oh, their wine wasn’t as strong in those days.”  Or “Their water was not safe to drink.  So wine was more common at meals.”  And I’ve heard others.

Well, if any of those “explanations” were true, then why would the steward of this feast say what he said?  Right?  When he tasted the water Jesus turned to wine, he said, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.”  That kind of flies in the face of those who would try to “explain this away.”  Doesn’t it?

This morning I’d like to simplify this and go back to the idea of this being a celebration.  And they had wine!  And I’m not trying to say that this was some kind of drunken, out of control party.  But it was an event where people gathered as a community, enjoyed themselves, and reveled in this happy occasion of a wedding feast.  This was a big celebration in that town, and Jesus and his disciples were part of it!

As you think about that, let me say that there are a couple of things in this story that stand out for me.  The first is, that Jesus was reluctant to perform this miracle.  He said, “My time has not yet come.”  He said that to his mother when she came to tell him the wine was gone – as though she thought he could do something about it.  Maybe she expected that he and his disciples would go out and buy some more wine.  We don’t know what she was thinking.  But as the readers, we do know what was about to happen.

But Jesus was not yet ready.  He always seemed to have a definite “time line” in how he was going to reveal who he was.  And if you think about it, that’s very wise!  I was thinking this week that if Jesus just suddenly come on the scene and started saying, “Hey, I’m the Son of God,” how do you think people would have reacted?  I don’t think it would have gone over very well.  They might have thought he was some kind of “religious nut,” or worse, some kind of “cult leader.”  And we know there had been such people in those days.

Well, that’s not how Jesus revealed who he was.  Instead – and think about this – instead, he proved who he was, long before he came out and said who he was!  Do you get that?  Jesus proved who he was, before he said who he was!  And if you think about it, that’s a much more effective strategy!  If he had started the other way around, if he first said who he was, what do you think the people would have said?  They would have said, “Prove it!”  Right?  In fact, that actually started happening!  When he started letting out the truth about himself, what did the religious leaders say?  They said, “If you are who you say you are, show us a sign!”  “Prove it!”  And what was his answer?  “I already did!  And you didn’t believe it!”

So that’s the first thing.  Jesus was reluctant to perform this miracle.  His time had not yet come.  However, Jesus was a good Jewish boy!  And this was his mother speaking!  And good Jewish boys didn’t disobey their mothers!  It’s always seemed to me that there was a little bit of that going on in this story.

The other thing that stands out for me is the thought I started with, that this is indeed a celebration.  And Jesus was part of it.  These people were celebrating life, in one of the happiest of occasions!  And I believe that’s what God wants for us.  He has given us an amazing world, and a wonderful existence here.  And he wants us to be happy, to be fulfilled, and to enjoy this life with all the people he has given us.

So, this is a celebration, and Jesus honored this celebration with his presence.  But more than that, he wasn’t just standing around observing.  He wasn’t just gracing them with his presence.  He was celebrating along with everyone else!  And as part of that celebration, he performed this, his first miracle.  And I think that’s a great picture!  He turned the water into wine!

Now, there are two things to be said about that wine.  The first is, Jesus made a lot of wine!  We’re told there were six stone jars there, each holding 20 to 30 gallons.  So, do the math!  That comes out to 120 to 150 gallons of wine!  That’s a lot of wine.  I asked Siri the other day how many bottles of wine make up a gallon.  She said five.  Does that sound right to you?  Well, if that’s the case, then that means we’re talking about 600 to 750 bottles, or 50 to 60 cases!  So, Jesus made a lot of wine!

The other thing that can be said about this is that Jesus didn’t just make a lot of wine, he made very good wine!  Remember what the steward said.  “Every man serves the good wine first…” “But you have saved the best wine until now!”  Jesus made the best wine!

What it comes down to is that Jesus was part of these people’s lives.  He was part of their community.  He mourned with them.  He wept at the death of his friend Lazarus!  And he celebrated with them.  I’m sure this wasn’t the only wedding feast he ever went to.  And he wants to be part of our lives, too!  He wants to be with us when we mourn, and when we’re hurting.  And he wants to celebrate the good times with us, too!

Over the years I’ve known people for whom the Christian faith seems to be all discipline and drudgery.  Maybe you’ve known some like that, too.  And don’t get me wrong, discipline is a good thing.  Lent is coming.  That’s a time we take to be more somber and introspective in our faith.  It’s a time to consider how far we’ve come, where we’ve failed, and where we should seek to grow.  And that’s all good!  But there’s more to faith than that!

A number of years ago I discovered the writings of John Eldredge.  You’ve heard me quote him before.  He describes our faith as being one of joy and abundance – and celebration.  In his book “The Sacred Romance,” he pointed out that the relationship between Christ and his church is described in the Bible as being like that of a bridegroom and his bride.  It’s that kind of relationship!  Eldredge’s writings were life changing for me!

Tony Campolo had the same perspective.  Tony passed away just recently.  And I’m so sad about that!  I still think about the things he said!  You’ve heard me quote him before, too.  In one of his books, he said, “The Christian faith is a party!”  And he pointed out that, at the end of time, what do we have to look forward to in God’s kingdom?  The wedding banquet of the Lamb!  That’s right out of Revelation 19.  That’s almost the last chapter of the Bible!

In one of his parables, Jesus described a certain man who held a wedding feast.  Do you remember that one?  Do you remember what happened?  All the guests made excuses!  They had business obligations.  They had family obligations.  And of course, there’s nothing wrong with those things.  But, the point of his parable was that those people missed out on the celebration!

God doesn’t want us to miss out on the celebration!  I believe he meant for us to celebrate this life he has given us!  And our belief in him – our faith – was meant to be celebrated!  You know, we even use those terms.  We say that we “celebrate” Christmas and Easter and the other events throughout the year.  And that word “celebrate” means more than just “observing” them.  We celebrate them!  In the old liturgical calendars, such days were even referred to as “feast days!”

So then, here at the beginning of a new year, even as we look towards Lent, I ask you to consider what your faith is going to be like in 2025.  Will you just “practice” your faith?  Will you just “observe” your faith?  Or will you “celebrate” your faith?  I think we need to celebrate!  Because in the end, that’s what it’s going to be like in God’s kingdom, anyway!

Prayer

Eternal God, we are amazed by your great love for us.  We thank you that you have given us this life, and that you want to share this life with us.  Help us to do that.  Help us to see the joy in each new day, and to see the gift that each person in our lives is.  May the light of your love shine through us every day.  For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.