The Second Sunday after the Epiphany - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

  

John 2:1-12 

One of three Olympic-class ocean liners, the Titanic was the largest ship afloat when it went into service in 1912. It was a first-class luxury ship with all the comforts imaginable. With over 800 staterooms, many were lavishly decorated. The vessel had a gym, fine restaurants and cafes, a swimming pool, a Turkish Bath, and many other luxuries never seen on an ocean liner before. Aside from first-class accommodations, the operator, White Star Line, bragged that the ship was unsinkable. The Titanic had watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, all advanced safety features. When it took its first voyage, some of the wealthiest people in the world were on it.        

In 1997, the movie Titanic came out. In the film, we get a glimpse of the luxuries aboard the ship. The wealthy elite enjoyed luxurious meals and spending time in the grand ballrooms. At times, some of them showed arrogance and entitlement. Friends were laughing and running about the ship without fear of danger. The crew was confident of their voyage and had confidence in the technology to provide safety and security.  

But then things failed. Disaster struck when they hit an iceberg. The ship began to sink, and their worldly securities were stripped away. When their human resources failed, and they realized that their wealth and status couldn’t save them, some people cried out in fear. And for some, when they realized their resources would not sustain them, they desperately turned to God. In the movie, a priest gathered a group of passengers as the ship went down. He led them in prayer, reciting the 23rd Psalm, turning to God, and seeking comfort and hope when human efforts to save them failed. In the face of tragedy, a mother prayed with her children as the ship sank. What the people had relied on was no longer sufficient. So now, some of them were turning to Jesus for safety and comfort at their time of certain death.  

While not a life and death tragedy, as was in the Titanic, it’s in the story of the Wedding in Cana where we also see that what people had relied on was no longer sufficient, so they turned to Jesus. Weddings in Jesus’ time often lasted a week. Along with the wedding ceremony, the days were filled with feasts of food and wine, music, and dancing. Jesus is there with his disciples and his mother. There is laughing, singing, joking, children are playing and people are dancing in celebration. There is plenty of food to eat and wine to drink. Everyone is satisfied.   

But then, the unimaginable happens. There is no more wine. This wedding festival, which is not yet over, has run out of wine. For a Jewish feast, wine was essential. Imagine the humiliation of the bride and groom, of their families, if there was no more wine. Mary does to Jesus for help. She had no idea how, when, where, or what could be done, but she knew who. She knew who to go to. She tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” When Jesus tells the steward to taste the water sitting in the stone jars, the steward tastes what is now wine, and he says it is good. In fact, this new wine was better than the old wine they had been serving earlier at the wedding.   

This was the first of Jesus’ miracles. While at the wedding celebration, no one sought Jesus out…that is until they needed him. No one looked to Jesus until the wine was gone. The old wine was enough for them. The old wine was perfect and sufficient…that is until it was gone. The old wine was just enough to keep them from seeking Jesus.  

Many of us today put our trust in our comforts, achievements, or stability…in what we know. We pursue careers and accomplishments, thinking they will satisfy us and make us secure, that those things are enough for us. And there is nothing wrong with pursuing those things. We need things to sustain us. We need to have a sense of security. But often, we live like the passengers who boarded the Titanic. We live as if our “ship” is unsinkable. We rely on human effort and material success to get us through our day-to-day lives. It’s when these things fail, through a loss, a broken relationship, or an unexpected crisis, that we realize their insufficiency. Many times, it’s not until then that we turn to Jesus. We live our lives like the guests at the wedding. We think that what we have now, our old attitudes and habits, are more than good enough. It’s not until things fail us that we realize their insufficiency, and our wine of life runs out. We live content with what we have, unaware of their limitations. But when the wine of life runs out—when our resources fail, or a crisis strikes—we turn to confront our need for something greater. Our desire for Jesus to step in.  

The guests were content until the old wine ran out. When Mary pointed to Jesus, it was then that the people received far better than they had before. In Titanic, it wasn’t until people were confronted with the insufficiency of their earthly security that they recognized their need for divine help.  

What would our lives look like if we didn’t solely rely on the old wine or if we didn’t wait for the old wine to run out? What an abundant life we would have if we had the new wine now.  It’s not something that always comes naturally to us – to put all our trust in a promise. It takes a leap of faith that can be very uncomfortable. Even though Mary didn’t understand or know what Jesus would do, how he would do it, or when he would do it, she trusted and believed in him. She had faith and trust and was willing to wait for him to do whatever he would do, in his own time. 

Jesus turned six waterpots of water into waterpots of wine. Each pot probably held twenty to thirty gallons of water. No wedding party could have drunk that much wine during the entire week-long celebration. The miracle at Cana was not just an opportunity for Jesus to help out his fellow friends and to get them out of a bind. The miracle was an act to demonstrate his mission and his power to provide abundantly and to show his overflowing grace -- always. The miracle shows us that Jesus doesn’t just replenish what’s lost; he offers something far better and much more. This gospel story invites us to stop trusting in only what we can achieve. We are not supposed to wait until the wine runs out in our lives before we turn to Jesus and trust that he will provide. Jesus wants us to experience the abundance now.  

Just as Mary pointed the servants to Jesus at the wedding, we also are called to help others recognize their need for him. Be the one who, like Mary, points others to Jesus and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus is still turning water into wine, transforming our lives and the lives of others with his grace.  

Amen