Epiphany 2 –17
January 2016 – Year C
Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen.
The text for this meditation is written in the 2nd
Chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 1 – 11.
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in
Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had
also been invited to the wedding. 3When 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." 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he
tells you." 6Nearby
stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing,
each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the
servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the
brim. 8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the
master of the banquet." They did so, 9and the master of the
banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise
where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then
he called the bridegroom aside 10and 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." 11This,
the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus
revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”
Let us pray: Father, may your Word of truth lead us to recognise the
signs of Jesus visual presence in our lives. We pray this in His name. Amen.
The account of
Jesus at the wedding feast at Cana is often used as an example of the high
place Jesus gives to the sanctity of marriage or how he often gives much more
than we sinners either desire or deserve. Now, whilst it is true that Jesus
does honour marriage – after all, He is the
one who instituted and sanctified marriage – and while it is also true that
Jesus gives to all his creation, both the evil and the good, much more than
they deserve (like life and salvation when what we really deserve is death and
condemnation) – John does not tell this story of Jesus at the wedding feast for
those reasons. John relates what happened that day for one purpose and one
purpose alone; as written in John 20:31: "But
these are written so that you may believe that, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that by believing you may have life in his name". That, is to
say, the wedding in Cana is one of those moments when Jesus gives us signs that reveal
him as our salvation.
John tells us
in verse 11; "This, the first of his
miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his
glory, and his disciples put their faith in him" But John does not speak of signs as we think of them.
Often, we think of signs as symbols, or something that symbolically stands in
the place of something else. For John, this is not the case. For John, the Word
sign really means something that points to, or is somehow linked with,
something else; quite literally, the Greek word that we translate as
"sign" here means "mystery." In the same way, ''mystery''
in Latin is translated as "sacrament" A sacrament is a mystery and a
mystery is a sign that points to something or reveals something hidden from
ordinary sight.
So these signs
in Holy Scripture reveal something that we wouldn’t otherwise know or recognise
unless someone or something revealed them to us. A sign is something like a
gift waiting to be opened. Because we are weak in our faith, God gives signs as
something visible for our faith to hold on to. So it is that the Lord's holy
gifts of Baptism and his Supper, manifested in lowly water, simple bread, and
wine, are signs, mysteries, Sacraments. They point to Jesus because they are inseparably
linked to Jesus. They are signs of Christ Jesus' real bodily presence among us
as Creator and Redeemer. In these signs we experience the death Jesus died to
give us life.
Now, don't
misunderstand me. I'm not saying that every time Jesus performs a miracle we
have a new sacrament. What I am saving is that Jesus' miracles are sacramental
in nature. They are sacramental signs that point to him and reveal him as the
Son of God. These signs point to spiritual truth of the Christ, the Messiah,
the Anointed One who took on our flesh, lived among us, and experienced
everything that we experience. They reveal Jesus, who, while fully human and
like us in every way, except without sin, is also fully God. These miracles are
signs, visible sacramental displays that reveal Jesus for who he really is,
namely, the Word made flesh, who created all things and who upholds all things
in himself. They reveal the glory of the one and only Son of God, Jesus Christ.
This is how
Jesus has chosen to reveal himself to us and to come to us, in signs in which
his Word resides; but there is a problem. The problem is not in the signs. The
problem is that, these are not the signs that we would choose. We are by human
nature an evil and faithless generation; we seek after all kinds of signs, just
not the signs that Jesus has given to us. Therefore, we would seek Jesus in
heartfelt emotions, which would lift us to heaven so that we can feel his presence; and yet, we often despise and
overlook his very presence among us in the water, Word, bread, and wine. We
pray for signs from God instead of relying on the signs he has already
provided. We are afraid that Jesus will not do what he has promised unless we
see or experience some sort of miraculous sign.
Because of that
fear, because we can't find comfort in what Jesus has already given, we often
seek Jesus, by trying to earn our way into Heaven (the legalistic method –
referred to a the Law). Friends, the Law is empty, and regardless of how hard
we try to be perfect in God’s sight, we fail – Our efforts can not save us; they
can only accuse and destroy. We, like the wedding guests at Cana, have drunk
this inferior wine to the dregs, and still we are not satisfied. The jars are
empty, and all we find is pain, despair, sickness, and death.
Our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ came to fulfil the Law, to pay the price for us. Just as
there were six jars to be filled, so Jesus on the sixth day of the week
fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets. Just as mankind was created on the
sixth day, so the Creator re‑creates his creation on the sixth day with his
holy body and blood. On the sixth day, Jesus died on his cross and was placed
in his grave. It is finished. His hour had come. Our Saviour became the
sacrificial lamb as a substitute for us.
The very good
news is that this is not the end of the story. The One who has died is no
longer dead; he lives! The new and greater Jonah, after spending three days in
the belly of the earth, gives us his greatest sign. The grave is empty. He is
not there. Jesus lives! He has filled the Law to the brim, He paid our price
for our Sin; and now our cup runs over with eternal forgiveness and life with
Him. He replaces the Law and the old covenant with a new and better wine, the
wine of Grace! We are not purified by the Law, but by his blood. The risen body
of Christ is the beginning of the new order of things. In him and through him,
creation is renewed and revitalised. Although this renewal is perceived now
only by faith, we see signs of it in the miracles and the Sacraments Jesus has
given to us.
Jesus continues
to provide, as he does this day, signs that point to him. He has provided to us
mysteries in the holy Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. There, Jesus
is hidden in lowly water and simple bread and wine. In these miracles, he is
revealed to us; He brings us His means of Grace! In the Sacraments, Jesus, who
revealed at Cana that he is Lord of the elements, continues to reveal himself
as Lord over all creation.
In the waters
of Baptism, Jesus makes us his own. It is not that the waters of Baptism are
more noble than plain water; in fact, they are plain water, except that Jesus
has added his Word and commandment to it. As he turned the water into wine,
with his Word and by his command, he also gave water the power to redeem us
into eternity. As it is written in 1 Pet 3:21, "Baptism ... now saves you" and in Titus 3:5 Baptism is a
"washing of regeneration" –
Baptism is a re‑creation of that which was dead in sin. Baptism re‑creates us
in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
In the same
way, the Lord's Supper is a sign of our redemption in Jesus Christ. As written
in 1 John 1:7, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. The miracle of Jesus'
true body and true blood under the elements of bread and wine reveals the
mystery of our salvation in a blessed and holy sacramental union with Jesus. It
is as though Jesus takes us as his bride and the two become one flesh.
On that day at
the wedding celebration in Cana, our Lord revealed who he is, to us and to the
world. In "this, the first of his
signs" (v 11), Jesus points us to the restoration of creation that he
would accomplish on the great third day, Easter morning. Through his first
miracle, indeed, through all his miracles, Jesus manifested his glory and
revealed to us a foretaste of what was to come: the restoration of our life in
our God as it is meant to be.
Friends, Jesus
has given to us a sign. At Cana, at Calvary, in the font, and on the altar,
Jesus gives to us a sign of his glory; and his glory revealed is also a sign: a
sign of his love for us. At Cana, in the font, and on the altar, our Lord has
given us signs of the renewed creation won for us on the cross at Calvary.
These signs are renewed here every time we gather in worship. During every Holy
Baptism; Every time we come to the communion rail, there is a sign, a mystery,
a Sacrament revealing the glory of Jesus Christ. Here Jesus reveals that his
life and death are ours. Every time we come to the Lord’s table Jesus reveals
that his body was given for us and his blood was shed for us for the
forgiveness of our sins. Jesus reveals to us his glory, the glory of his death
for our righteousness. This Divine Service is his wedding party given for us.
He is the groom, the wine steward, and the wine. We are the bride and the
honoured guest.
Dear Brothers
and Sisters in Christ, put aside your doubts, be uplifted in faith at the very
presence of Jesus, let us heed the advice of Mary, "Do whatever he tells you" - Jesus says, "Take eat, take drink, for
in this humble bread and wine I have hidden myself to give you life." Do
this and hear Jesus say, "I forgive you all your sins." Amen
The grace and
peace of our great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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