Invited to THE party
Monday this week was apparently the most depressing day of the year according to some researchers – apparently it’s the day when people recognize that Christmas is well and truly over, they realise how much money they’ve spent over the Christmas period and many people are back in work with no immediate holidays to look forward to….
And the end of the Christmas period can feel a bit like that… It’s as if the incredible build up was leading to something that was a one-off occasion and it’s now over, but Christmas in reality is never over – it is a wonderful reminder of the grace and love of God as Jesus came into the world.
I’ve quoted before I think the line from ‘A Christmas Carol’ when the transformed Scrooge says, ‘I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year…’ Like Scrooge, I think Christmas is something we need to live out throughout the year…
If Christmas is the end of things or only something we do once a year we run the risk of ignoring what followed – of ignoring Jesus’ ministry and his life – we can end up ignoring his teaching, ignoring his messages, ignoring his death and ignoring his resurrection… And if we’re ignoring those things then we’re ignoring the fact that he came to offer a very personal invitation to each one of us – an invitation to know a greater transformation than even Scrooge knew in ‘A Christmas Carol.’
And it is with thoughts of transformation that we heard today in the gospel reading of Jesus’ first miracle – the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).
Weddings were huge occasions in Jewish society – many people today talk about the expense of weddings and people seeming to go ‘over the top’ with all the preparations but in Jewish society this was nothing. The weddings usually took place in an evening - but the partying after went on for about a week.
At this particular wedding in Cana the unthinkable happened – now I’ve been at a party when the egg sandwiches have all gone or when the sausage rolls have all been eaten, and it can be quite disappointing, but in these weddings running out of wine was not just a disappointment but a matter of huge shame – hospitality was incredibly important in that culture as it still is and running out of wine meant the hosts could not provide for the guests.
The party was ruined – people would go home disappointed, angry and probably saying all kinds of things behind the backs of those who organized the wedding.
And so Jesus was called to the rescue by his mother Mary – she knew he could do something, and he did. The water used for cleaning hands was transformed into wine… He also made it clear that what he was doing was nothing compared to what was to follow – Some have suggested that he was almost rude to Mary in his reply as he said, when told about the wine problem, ‘Woman, what is that to you and me ? My time has not yet come...’ But there is no rudeness. He is merely saying that his time will come at the Crucifixion and the resurrection. That is when all the world changed forever…
This morning I want to think of 3 things to note about this incredible event. The first is that Jesus was at the party… Sadly there are still a lot of people that don’t associate being a Christian with having fun. Some people are still surprised that it’s ok to smile in church. Some would be surprised if they came along to a social event, but it is ok for Christians to be happy in Church or anywhere else !
And it’s important to live our lives as if we’re happy. It doesn’t mean we walk around with a strange grin on our faces all the time – sometimes life doesn’t make us smile, but knowing Jesus we can know his peace and know his presence and know that he wants the best for us – and know that he wants us to be enjoying life. Our smiling, our enjoyment of life is something that acts to show others something of Jesus.
As he was invited to the party at Cana, let’s remember that we are called to be people of celebration, people of good news, people of care, people of hope and people of love…
The second thing is to recognise that Jesus did transform the water into wine… We sometimes read these things and take them for granted, but let’s just recognise the incredible power of that act.
He saved the party, and he didn’t do it grudgingly or ask who was to blame about the wine running out in the first place – he did it with grace and he did it well as we might expect.
And this transformation was more powerful than just the physical act of turning water into wine – the stone water jars were filled for a reason. The Jewish rites of purification meant people had to wash their hands as eating without washing their hands was seen as an act of defilement. The hands may have been perfectly clean to start but it made no difference – this was part of the law.
In this one action though, as Jesus turned the water of purification into wine, he was saying the old had gone and there was something new. The water which washed hands that may already have been clean was of no real use – the wine, the incredibly fine wine, would transform things completely.
And in what Jesus did here we are reminded that it is only by trusting in him that we can really know this transformation in our lives. We can read books, we can listen to sermons, we can attend church – and all these things are important – but it is only by trusting Jesus completely that we will ever really know his transformation in our lives…
So in this action of Jesus turning the water into incredibly fine wine we are reminded that we have an invitation to know the transformation of our lives by trusting in the one who transforms…
And then there’s a third point of this gospel reading and that is to recognise the occasion…. Weddings are wonderful occasions and I don’t think it was any coincidence that it was at a wedding that Jesus performed his first miracle, because it was a declaration of so much more. It was the invitation to recognise that he can transform us but it was also a statement of how the world was changing.
Later the calendars of the world would change to recognise the presence of Jesus but in this event at Cana, Jesus was declaring that the old had passed and there was a new way which would become clearer as people knew Jesus.
And the culmination of this is written about in the reading from Revelation that we heard (Rev.19:6-10) as we are told the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride is ready. The Lamb is God and the bride is his Church – Christian people gathered from every corner of the earth to God to enjoy his eternal feast…
When we view Christmas as a beginning of something, we begin to think more about accepting the invitation of Jesus to live a new transformed life… We’ve thought about the wedding in Cana and the image of a wedding as the start of something new, the start of something special…
It is into that sort of close relationship we are invited – a relationship based on love and trust and acceptance, a relationship of knowing someone is there for us always…
That is God who loves us as we are, who accepts us whatever we’ve done or been, who trusts us to be his disciples and his witnesses and who absolutely never leaves us in any situation…
And so to finish I’ll return to Cana – Jesus was at a wedding and he provided abundantly for everyone. Jesus still provides abundantly… He didn’t just provide enough to get by – he provided more than enough, and he didn’t just provide a reasonable substitute for what was gone – he provided something better – he provided the best wine of all…
We’re invited into a relationship where we can trust Jesus to provide for us abundantly always, even in the toughest times, and we can know that when he provides for us – he always provides the best… AMEN
And the end of the Christmas period can feel a bit like that… It’s as if the incredible build up was leading to something that was a one-off occasion and it’s now over, but Christmas in reality is never over – it is a wonderful reminder of the grace and love of God as Jesus came into the world.
I’ve quoted before I think the line from ‘A Christmas Carol’ when the transformed Scrooge says, ‘I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year…’ Like Scrooge, I think Christmas is something we need to live out throughout the year…
If Christmas is the end of things or only something we do once a year we run the risk of ignoring what followed – of ignoring Jesus’ ministry and his life – we can end up ignoring his teaching, ignoring his messages, ignoring his death and ignoring his resurrection… And if we’re ignoring those things then we’re ignoring the fact that he came to offer a very personal invitation to each one of us – an invitation to know a greater transformation than even Scrooge knew in ‘A Christmas Carol.’
And it is with thoughts of transformation that we heard today in the gospel reading of Jesus’ first miracle – the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).
Weddings were huge occasions in Jewish society – many people today talk about the expense of weddings and people seeming to go ‘over the top’ with all the preparations but in Jewish society this was nothing. The weddings usually took place in an evening - but the partying after went on for about a week.
At this particular wedding in Cana the unthinkable happened – now I’ve been at a party when the egg sandwiches have all gone or when the sausage rolls have all been eaten, and it can be quite disappointing, but in these weddings running out of wine was not just a disappointment but a matter of huge shame – hospitality was incredibly important in that culture as it still is and running out of wine meant the hosts could not provide for the guests.
The party was ruined – people would go home disappointed, angry and probably saying all kinds of things behind the backs of those who organized the wedding.
And so Jesus was called to the rescue by his mother Mary – she knew he could do something, and he did. The water used for cleaning hands was transformed into wine… He also made it clear that what he was doing was nothing compared to what was to follow – Some have suggested that he was almost rude to Mary in his reply as he said, when told about the wine problem, ‘Woman, what is that to you and me ? My time has not yet come...’ But there is no rudeness. He is merely saying that his time will come at the Crucifixion and the resurrection. That is when all the world changed forever…
This morning I want to think of 3 things to note about this incredible event. The first is that Jesus was at the party… Sadly there are still a lot of people that don’t associate being a Christian with having fun. Some people are still surprised that it’s ok to smile in church. Some would be surprised if they came along to a social event, but it is ok for Christians to be happy in Church or anywhere else !
And it’s important to live our lives as if we’re happy. It doesn’t mean we walk around with a strange grin on our faces all the time – sometimes life doesn’t make us smile, but knowing Jesus we can know his peace and know his presence and know that he wants the best for us – and know that he wants us to be enjoying life. Our smiling, our enjoyment of life is something that acts to show others something of Jesus.
As he was invited to the party at Cana, let’s remember that we are called to be people of celebration, people of good news, people of care, people of hope and people of love…
The second thing is to recognise that Jesus did transform the water into wine… We sometimes read these things and take them for granted, but let’s just recognise the incredible power of that act.
He saved the party, and he didn’t do it grudgingly or ask who was to blame about the wine running out in the first place – he did it with grace and he did it well as we might expect.
And this transformation was more powerful than just the physical act of turning water into wine – the stone water jars were filled for a reason. The Jewish rites of purification meant people had to wash their hands as eating without washing their hands was seen as an act of defilement. The hands may have been perfectly clean to start but it made no difference – this was part of the law.
In this one action though, as Jesus turned the water of purification into wine, he was saying the old had gone and there was something new. The water which washed hands that may already have been clean was of no real use – the wine, the incredibly fine wine, would transform things completely.
And in what Jesus did here we are reminded that it is only by trusting in him that we can really know this transformation in our lives. We can read books, we can listen to sermons, we can attend church – and all these things are important – but it is only by trusting Jesus completely that we will ever really know his transformation in our lives…
So in this action of Jesus turning the water into incredibly fine wine we are reminded that we have an invitation to know the transformation of our lives by trusting in the one who transforms…
And then there’s a third point of this gospel reading and that is to recognise the occasion…. Weddings are wonderful occasions and I don’t think it was any coincidence that it was at a wedding that Jesus performed his first miracle, because it was a declaration of so much more. It was the invitation to recognise that he can transform us but it was also a statement of how the world was changing.
Later the calendars of the world would change to recognise the presence of Jesus but in this event at Cana, Jesus was declaring that the old had passed and there was a new way which would become clearer as people knew Jesus.
And the culmination of this is written about in the reading from Revelation that we heard (Rev.19:6-10) as we are told the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride is ready. The Lamb is God and the bride is his Church – Christian people gathered from every corner of the earth to God to enjoy his eternal feast…
When we view Christmas as a beginning of something, we begin to think more about accepting the invitation of Jesus to live a new transformed life… We’ve thought about the wedding in Cana and the image of a wedding as the start of something new, the start of something special…
It is into that sort of close relationship we are invited – a relationship based on love and trust and acceptance, a relationship of knowing someone is there for us always…
That is God who loves us as we are, who accepts us whatever we’ve done or been, who trusts us to be his disciples and his witnesses and who absolutely never leaves us in any situation…
And so to finish I’ll return to Cana – Jesus was at a wedding and he provided abundantly for everyone. Jesus still provides abundantly… He didn’t just provide enough to get by – he provided more than enough, and he didn’t just provide a reasonable substitute for what was gone – he provided something better – he provided the best wine of all…
We’re invited into a relationship where we can trust Jesus to provide for us abundantly always, even in the toughest times, and we can know that when he provides for us – he always provides the best… AMEN
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