Rejuvenating Joy: John 2:1-11 - Second Sunday after Epiphany

 ¹On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. ⁹When 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 ¹⁰and 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.” ¹¹Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (NRSV)

Artist credit: John August Swanson

There is one piece of advice I give to every couple getting married in this church: if you keep your wedding simple, you’ll spare yourself from a tremendous amount of stress. This statement is too obvious to qualify as advice, but it isn’t unheard of anymore for weddings to cost as much as a house. The more elaborate the wedding, the greater the chance that something will go wrong. However, things do go wrong even when the couples keep it simple.

I’ve seen tiered wedding cakes collapse and fall to the floor; outdoor weddings interrupted by surprise torrential downpours. Tuxedos that were two sizes too small, and the groomsmen couldn’t button their pants; ceremonies delayed by a half hour or more because someone was late. 

And on two separate occasions, when the best man toasted the couple, the champagne cork ricocheted off the ceiling and hit me in the face. I wasn’t hurt, though I nearly died laughing.

Therefore, as long as the bride and groom both say, “I do,” and no one gets hurt, I consider that wedding a success. 

Reading today’s Gospel about a wedding feast running out of wine, I’m not inclined to see this as a big deal. But it was. 

In Jesus’s day, wine was regularly consumed at meals—largely because drinkable water was not nearly as abundant as it is today. In fact, wine was added to water to make it safe to drink. Since wedding feasts lasted for several days, a large quantity of wine was needed. Typically, the bride and groom’s closest family and friends provided it. The Western Pennsylvania cookie table tradition began in a similar fashion. 

It would have been devastating to the bride and groom for their wedding feast to end abruptly due to lack of wine. This would imply that their family and friends just didn’t care. 

Wedding feasts were one of the few occasions for the average person to celebrate, have fun and enjoy the company of others. When the wine runs out, everyone goes home.

Therefore, when Mary informs Jesus that there’s no more wine, she’s not worried about lost opportunities for drunken revelry. 

Still, Jesus says to his mother, “This doesn’t concern me and you.” But then, Mary tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.” Suddenly, Jesus has a change of heart. He tells the servants to fill six stone jugs with water, then draw some out.” They do, and inside the jugs is the finest of wine—approximately 150 gallons’ worth. Now, the celebration can continue. 

Still, I find it peculiar that with so many sick and suffering people in the world, Jesus chose this to be the first of his public miracles. 

But there are solid reasons why Jesus chose to act. 

All throughout the Scriptures, wine symbolizes joy. In fact, when the prophets spoke of God’s coming kingdom, they described great feasts celebrated with the finest of wines (cf. Isaiah 25:6, Amos 9:13, Joel 3:18). By turning the water into wine, Jesus proclaims that God has fulfilled the promise. He is the messiah! Jesus transforms this wedding feast into a foretaste of the feast to come. And all throughout his ministry, Jesus will feast with people—so much so that the religious leaders will condemn him for being a glutton and a drunk. 

What they are missing is that joy and celebration are just as important to a godly life as self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love. Somewhere, along the way, we Lutherans forgot what it means to be joyful. 

Think about it: it would not be hard for our Sunday service to be more depressing than a funeral. We’re so blessed with talented musicians who are passionate about making joyful music. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with applauding after an uplifting song.  I realize our musicians aren’t looking for applause. But isn’t it a cause for applause when God comes to us in music?  Isn’t God’s goodness something to celebrate? Gratitude is an expression of joy. If there is no joy in gathering to hear God’s Word, receive the Holy Supper, and serve the neighbor, what’s the point of coming? You shouldn’t feel like you’re down in the dumps when you’re in the house of the Lord!

When Chloe was baptized, she was baptized into the joy of the Lord—and she deserves to share in that joy any time she comes to her church, be it Sunday worship or for children’s ministries. 

We all need joy because it can be very hard to come by in daily life. This was especially true for most people in Jesus’s day. As we will see in the Gospels, they suffer physical and mental illness, poverty, rejection, mistreatment, abuse, and the death of loved ones. Just like we do. And yet, joy erupts when Jesus ministers to them. Our coming together magnifies the abiding presence of Jesus. When we live together as a loving and caring community, we increase our knowledge and awareness of God’s goodness in our lives. We help each other to see that God is good all the time; and all the time God is good.

It is out of our joy that we go out into the world and share the love of Jesus. Joy is what energizes us for mission. Joy is what gives us encouragement when we inevitably face difficult days. In Christ, today’s joy is tomorrow’s hope. 

If joy is absent from your life, as it is most certainly absent from our world, then it means that we have work to do. Mary said it best: “do whatever he tells you to do.” What does Jesus tell you to do? Trust him. Obey him. Receive him. Pray to him. Serve him. Feast with him. Invite others. Bring something good to eat and drink if you can. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Be thankful that Christ, your Messiah has come into the world; that your sins are forgiven; that Jesus rose from the dead. Rejoice and be glad that God is love.