“Receiving God’s Grace” 2013

Psalm 104:14-24 John 2:1-11

Psalm 104:14-24

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

What is it like to receive God’s grace?

What are some of the stories and experiences of your life

that you would use to describe God’s grace and power,

or to explain what it’s like to be touched by God’s love?

When have you received the blessing of God’s gracious compassion?

* The John 2 passage we read is a wonderful story about grace.

It’s the first miracle of Jesus recorded in John’s gospel,

and it begins with Jesus, his mother and disciples

at a wedding in the rural peasant village of Cana.

In those days,

a wedding in Palestine was a week-long celebration,

a public affair that involved the whole village

in joyful feasting, festivity and frivolity.

But it wasn’t about just the bride and the groom,

but the celebration was purposeful, and intended to connect,

to mingle and merge the two families and their friends, by building new loyalties and relationships.

According to vs. 3, there was a crisis.

When the wine gave out,

the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

In that culture, to run out of wine on such an important occasion,

would be a social disaster of epic and lasting proportions,

and would be understood as an extreme and public insult

to the bride’s family, their friends and community.

It would send the message that the groom’s family

didn’t bother prepare to offer adequate hospitality,

or didn’t care enough to make a good impression.

It also might infer or suggest that the groom and his family

didn’t possess or couldn’t acquire sufficient resources,

and were not socially respected and honored enough

that they could call on friends and neighbors

to help out with such an important event.

Although running out of wine at their own wedding celebration,

was a disaster that would damage the family’s social standing,

they were not close enough family or friends

that Jesus felt responsible to help bail them out.

vs. 4-5

And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Jesus answered his mother in Aramaic,

and it sounds cold and harsh to our ears mostly because

the idiom or phrase doesn’t translate well into English.

Jesus is saying that this isn’t the right time or place

for his ministry and power to be publically revealed…

… though clearly Jesus did respond and resolves the need,

but not in a way that attracted or drew attention to himself.

Continuing with the text, vs. 6-7

Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

This is not just a miraculous event story, but is

a prophetic or symbolic sign pointing to why Jesus came,

and helps explain his purpose and mission,

as a foretaste of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

The stone water jars represent the ritual purity laws of Judaism.

Judaism sought to please God by separating from other people,

trying to please through purity a demanding and angry God,

rather than the loving Father who seeks the lost

that Jesus described by his example and parables.

The conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities

was centered around religious traditions of ritual purity…

… endless rules governing what could be done on the Sabbath

and separation from sinners by socially rejecting them.

But Jesus welcomed the lost sinners and the rejected outcast

by overthrowing man made religious rules and rituals;

everything changed by the fine wine of God’s gracious love.

The hand-sanitizers, stone jars of Jewish traditions & rituals,

those legalistic ways of trying to placate & relate to God,

were replaced by God reaching down to unworthy sinners

with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross …

… by God’s gracious love in unending abundance,

as symbolized by the promise,

by the hope and joy of the free-flowing finest wine.

In the Old Testament,

the Hebrew prophets, Amos, Joel and Isaiah in particular,

write about an abundance of wonderful wine as a sign

associated with the coming of the Messiah,

when God’s promises would finally be fulfilled…

… so the wine was also a sign that the coming of Jesus

marked the beginning of the long-promised Messianic age,

both the coming and the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

This story is all gospel and grace – with no restraints or limits.

It intends to demonstrate

unexpected abundance in the midst of perceived scarcity,

--- try to imagine you were there to witness the amazing scene

of the whole village caught up in the joy and celebration.

Jesus could have simply made more of the same mediocre wine,

but instead, he make a vintage so notably wonderful,

that it amazes the chief steward of the wedding –

vs. 9-10

When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus could have made

just enough wine to get by and avoid embarrassment,

but those six water jars filled to the brim

became 180 gallons of fine wine,

somewhere between 800 and 1000 bottles…

… way more than enough for a peasant village wedding celebration…

… as a sign of our God’s grace, of Jesus who transformed ordinary water into extraordinary wine in abundance.

This passage coming so early in John’s gospel, begins to answer,

who is Jesus and what purpose he come to accomplish.

It is wonderful that Jesus rescued a family’s honor 2000 year ago

but the abundant fine wine has meaning more personal to me.

Running out of wine for me, is when my gas gauge is on empty,

that familiar human condition of defeat and disappointment.

It describes when I’ve been wrong, made a mistake or failed,

when I am embarrassed, discouraged, I’ve hurt someone,

and my regret is joyless and feeling hopeless…

… we’ve all been there, “when the has wine run out”.

But into our helpless despair God’s grace, love & compassion

comes like the finest vintage in overflowing abundance,

as limitless hope, possibilities, another second chance.

This passage is the Gospel message of joyful hope

that in God’s presence and promise,

that God’s grace comes in limitless abundance,

there is cause for gratitude and celebration,

assurance we can trust, for we’re not on our own…

… but for some reason, sometimes we’re hesitant,

and we don’t really trust and recognize good news as good

or certainty of God’s promise & presence in our midst.

The problem is, that we don't necessarily handle grace very well.

God’s gracious love is scary, it can seem risky and radical,

even among folks who hang out with God in churches.

For surely, we assume,

God must demand more than just that we let ourselves be loved,

and surely requires more than we just walk with the Lord…

One time at a big denominational gathering,

everyone was given a helium balloon on their way into worship

and they were told that anytime during the service,

when they felt the Holy Spirit present,

or were touched by God’s grace and love,

to express that joy and gratitude by letting go,

by releasing their balloon to soar in the air.

But the worship planners were surprised and disappointed

that when the worship service had ended,

almost a third of the participants

were still gripping their balloons tightly …

… unwilling or unable to just let them go and soar freely.

Sometimes we stay focused on our troubles, our hopeless defeats;

but the wedding wine in abundance miracle story

is about the excessive extravagance of God’s grace,

that is always way more and far better

than anything we might figure out or imagine;

for if Jesus could do that with plain ordinary water,

what else do you suppose His grace and love could do,

or what might He intend to do with us and our lives?

As I thought about that this week, and considered

when my wine has run out, and my needle has been on empty,

whether by the consequence of my own mistakes & failings

or an outside circumstances crashing down on me;

God has never left me alone or abandoned in the dust,

but always God has fulfilled Romans 8:28,

For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

^* That’s an always, no exceptions – never failed!

Similarly, in Psalm 104, the poet is looking around

at the interrelated complexity and wonder of God’s creation

and is absolutely overwhelmed by God’s gracious glory,

by the wisdom and wonder of God at work…

… vs. 14~15, 24

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart… O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

The point?

It is all about God’s handiwork; not random, not by chance,

but the intentional purpose of God’s love in process,

as the very complexities of God’s creation

call us to notice and proclaim

the amazing and glorious wonder of God.

So I wonder, how often we don’t respond to God’s grace and love?,

because we didn’t notice, because we’re not looking…

… just as I doubt that many in the village of Cana

even noticed the miracle of the wine that day.

180 gallons, 800-1000 bottles of incredibly fine wine,

for an insignificant peasant village wedding celebration?

Our God does wonderful and amazing abundance,

especially when we are running on empty

and especially when we are willing to listen.

Sometime ago, someone sat in my office with me,

explaining their amazed wonder and delight

that somehow God is calling them to something –

- and saying, how unexpected and surprising,

calling them to something they would actually enjoy.

A few years ago, I might have been surprised too; but not anymore,

I’ve been having a lot of those sort of conversations.

I believe that right here in this congregation,

God has been make an abundance of some mighty fine wine,

ordinary Christians called to extraordinary service;

and I believe the best is yet to come,

for as Jesus explained in John 10:10,

I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly.

** So let us this day,

celebrate and soar with our God who is never stingy,

not with wine, and definitely not with joy, grace or love!