( Sermon John 2:1-11 ) [ German Sermon ] [ Announcements (German)608.25 KB ]
Dear congregation, three weeks have passed already since Christmas. The glory of God became visible on Christmas. We celebrated a feast. And we celebrate this feast every year and become a part of the glory that has come from heaven to earth in the small child in the cradle.
And the grown-up Jesus will prophecy to his disciples: you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
And with these words Jesus places a colon and in all that follows, we too, by reading Scripture, become witness to the signs that are happening. The first sign is contained in the text for today in the second chapter of the gospel of John, verses 1 to 11.
Reading of Scripture
The gospel of John, dear congregation, is special. Because here the time of Jesus does not start with Jesus fasting in the desert, as in the other gospels, but John lets the deeds of Jesus begin at a wedding. Isn’t it inappropriate to let the deeds of Jesus start with a “luxury miracle”? Where water is transformed to wine?
Although... I can really indulge in the thought of this right now. Wouldn’t it be good if there were someone who could change water to wine? I’d even be happy to just celebrate joyfully again. Without social distancing, without masks, face to face. With friends and family.
And even more so at a wedding. Many couples had to scale down to a small ceremony during the times of Corona, others are still waiting for their big day.
A wedding – this is supposed to be the best day of your life. This is what many couples in love dream of.
So, I actually consider it appropriate that the first miracle Jesus does takes place at a wedding. Because at a wedding everything bears significance:
the rings, for example, that bride and bridegroom place on each others’ fingers become a symbol of eternity. At a wedding everything goes beyond face value. Everything has a deeper meaning. In our text, too, everything has a deeper meaning and nothing is told just as it is. The third day on which the wedding takes place points to the other third days of the Bible that have become great days of revelation. The third day on which God shows the Israelites his majesty on Mount Sinai. The third day on which the Crucified is resurrected from the dead. When we read of the town of Cana where the wedding takes place this reminds us of the land Canaan, the promised land with the huge grapes. We hear of water that is changed to wine and think of the wine that goes down really well, as Isaiah tells his readers. Like a precious veil, this wedding is veiling and transparent at the same time. If you consider this wedding you will discover below its gentle surface a wedding of faith and an evangelist who asks his readers between the lines: do you want to live with this Jesus in good times and in bad, without even death being able to part you? The wedding in Cana makes it really difficult not to answer this question with “Yes” because the Jesus that is introduced to us here is a Jesus that you can fall in love with.
It is Jesus who celebrates, eats and drinks with the people and not only wants to share his time of lent with them, but also wedding days. This Jesus reminds us as the church of Jesus Christ of something that is really important: we need to celebrate life and share the joys of life. It is important that we remind each other of this because sometimes this side of Jesus tends to be forgotten. I would love to have been at this wedding. Because Jesus is so very human. Because he is somewhat edgy as he spends this wedding by the side of his mother and reacts stubbornly at first when she tells him that there is no more wine (“Woman, what does this have to do with me?”), just to look into the matter a few moments later. This Jesus is very dear to my heart because he not only gives the people good wine to drink but at times also challenges them to swallow bitter pills. Jesus gives them a glimpse of his destiny that is still to come: “My hour has not yet come.” This is an indication of the hour of his death that, for John, is also always the hour of his glorification. Life with Jesus will not only bring with it good wedding days. The wedding will also be followed by hard times. But everyone who believes in Jesus may also expect surprising transformations in his or her life.
Through our faith in God dull everyday life can always be transformed to wedding days of life. The good wine for the feast is suddenly found in the water jars that were reserved for regular washing rituals. Everyday life can be transformed into a feast. An earthly wedding can become a heavenly appetiser for the kingdom of God.
Through our faith in God many transformations are possible. I think of visits to families who have lost a loved person. The relatives always tell me of the last days with the deceased person. It was tough accompanying the father or the mother. But many can retrospectively see that these sad times of parting were also good and precious times of spending time together and of celebrating life. Days of death become times of life. Through our faith in God many transformations are possible. People suddenly discover meaning in their life again. Reconciliation may happen where it was long deemed impossible because people talk to each other again. Children and parents find new ways of living with one another. New goals and new hope make transformation in life possible. A new orientation. Tears of sorrow turn into tears of joy.
Those are transformations that can happen in life. And transformations that we can also bring about. Sometimes completely unplanned, but sometimes we can also force these to happen.
Perhaps we will not be able to change water to wine. We will also not be able to change all the suffering of this world into joy.
But what we can change every Sunday is our consternation. We can transform it into support when we give our offering. Or when we head into our week refreshed and then see and hear the suffering of others, we can then take action.
You will see the heaven opened, Jesus tells his disciples. And thus also us.
He invites us to walk through life with Him by our side. Until, one day, we will see the heaven completely opened we will, time and again, experience such wedding days in our life where transformation takes place and where we can see and feel the glory of God.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen