Friends, in the month of January we are beginning our study of the Gospel of John. Last week, we read about John the Baptist telling his disciples that Jesus was the Messiah – several of John’s former disciples decamped and began to follow Jesus instead. As Jesus began his ministry, he also began amassing disciples who were excited to learn from and work alongside Jesus.
But, apparently even the Savior of the world had family obligations – so very early on in his “ministry” days, Jesus traveled with his mother and his disciples to attend a wedding in Cana. Cana was about 8 miles away from Nazareth – we don’t know the relationship between the couple being married and Jesus’ family, but we assume they were relatives or close friends. And, something verging on tragic almost occurred during the wedding feast – fortunately Jesus was there to save the day.
Let us listen to this memorial story as we turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 2….
Scripture Lesson John 2:1-11
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so,
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
and 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.”
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Let us pray….
Message The Wedding at Cana
Not very long ago, even in the United States of America, things could happen in families that would cause so much shame that the whole family was affected. Early in the 20th century, a part of my family had to move far out into the country – far away from their homes and jobs and schools and lives in the city, because they were ashamed that a woman in their family got divorced…or, maybe had a baby outside of marriage. My grandmother said it was a divorce, but she wouldn’t have wanted us to know that it was ever possible to have a baby outside of marriage, so even though this happened a hundred and twenty-five years ago, we are not sure what happened.
Either way, the woman was ashamed of her failed marriage, or unplanned pregnancy. So, she moved with her mother and father far away from their home. It was a big, terrible secret.
And, it remains a secret. We only know a little bit of the story because the woman’s brother would come up from the city on the weekends to spend time with his parents and sister….and when he visited them, he happened to meet his future wife, a farm girl. And, they got married in 1902 and became my great-great grandparents.
But, secrets…and shame…and humiliations are passed down through the generations. And, whatever happened was so embarrassing, so shameful, that now we, the descendants continue to wonder about what happened. Whatever caused the divorce – or illegitimate pregnancy – was so shameful for the family that they felt the need to pick up everything and move to the country and not speak about what happened.
Shame – secrecy – humiliation…
In the first century, in the land of Israel, weddings were a big deal. The wedding feast typically lasted for seven days. The host was expected to provide abundantly – the guests expected to be provided with food and wine for all seven days. A wedding was the uniting of two families – each family had specific obligations to fulfill in the time of betrothal and the year that followed before the wedding. They had rituals to perform, clothing to sew, and a party to plan.
Since the wedding was an agreement between two families, it was not just about the couple who were being wed but the whole extended family. Everyone had to put their best feet forward.
Running out of wine before the end of the wedding feast was a huge deal – failure to perform the host duties correctly would shame the bride, the groom, and the entire family. And, this would not be a little problem…the family would have trouble living down the shame for years. In a shame-based culture like Israel of the first century, running out of wine was so shameful it would have plagued the family for years, generations. They would be that family who were unable to perform their social obligations and provide the proper food and beverage for the wedding feast. Future daughters and sons would have had trouble securing brides and grooms. Future business deals would have been avoided. The whole family would have suffered.
Fortunately for the bride and groom and their families, Mary and her son Jesus were at the wedding.
Mary came and told Jesus the wine had already run out. And, although Jesus protested and said it wasn’t his time to reveal himself, I can imagine Mary raising her eyebrow, turning to the servants, and telling them to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Mary was apparently the kind of pushy mom that didn’t take No for an answer. So, Jesus told the servants to fill huge jars with water. The water was turned to wine….the best wine anyone had ever tasted. And Jesus’ first recorded miracle was turning water into wine.
Jesus saved the bride and groom and their families from shame and humiliation. Jesus chose for his first miracle to protect a family and a couple just starting out in wedded life from the shame and humiliation that would have occurred if their wedding feast went wrong.
Jesus ministered to people who were experiencing shame. He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well who had been married five times – Jesus offered her living water, acceptance and redemption. Jesus healed the woman who was hemorrhaging for 12 years – for twelve years she was essentially an untouchable, but Jesus offered her healing, grace and peace. Jesus ministered to people who were outcasts and rejects – adulterers, prostitutes, tax-collectors, thieves, rebels, the mentally ill, the physically ill, and people with disabilities.
We are not perfect people either. We are all carrying burdens. We all have things we have done that we are ashamed of. We all know stories about people in our families that are shameful. We are the children and grandchildren of people who did things wrong – some of them criminal, some of them just morally reprehensible. We feel shame and guilt and humiliation – some for ourselves, some for our ancestors.
But, we believe in a Savior who loves us and forgives us and offers us grace. Jesus loved people like us who made mistakes. Jesus loves people like us who make mistakes. And, he came to teach us that God loves us. God forgives us. God accepts us even though we have done things wrong. Even though we do things wrong. And, Jesus doesn’t want us to be plagued by humiliation. Jesus wants us to free ourselves from shame. And live knowing we are loved and forgiven by the God of grace and truth.
In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul wrote;
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing we do, nothing we have done, nothing our ancestors have done is so terrible that we can be separated from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God loves us. God forgives us. – let us make it our work to love and forgive each other. And, to tell others that God loves and accepts them. We need to be reminded that God loves us – and everyone we meet needs to hear that God loves them and accepts them.
Amen.
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