Anonymous

Sermon for Sunday, January 17, 2010
Scripture: John 2:1-11 (Jesus turns water into wine)

It’s stories like this that remind me how blessed we are to have 4 Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke say nothing of Jesus’ winemaking in Cana, but thanks to John, we have the wonderful miracle story that is our Gospel lesson this morning. It shouldn’t be surprising to us, since John seems to pride himself on being the odd Gospel out, the story that’s more different than the rest. But there are things about this story that do surprise me, such as the fact that it serves as an introduction to Jesus’ ministry. The story of Jesus gracing a wedding at Cana with his presence – and his winemaking skills – is the first story John tells as the ministry of Jesus and the disciples kicks off. And what a fine story it is.

But, as tends to happen when I read scripture, I’m drawn to the lack of details that John provides. Sure, he gives us the exact number of stone jars and approximates the amount of wine for us – somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 gallons – but those details aren’t all that necessary. No, what intrigues me most about this story as we reflect on it this morning is all the details that are missing. It doesn’t take long for us to notice that the author has so carelessly neglected to mention who it is that is getting married, how many guests are there, or how far along they are in the traditional 7 day celebration.

But beyond that, John misses a chance for some real, eye-popping drama when he describes the miracle! The scene where the water is turned into wine is pretty lame, if you ask me. There is very little action that takes place. And this is surely the reason why, despite the sensational nature of turning water into wine, this story has yet to be made into a high-grossing Hollywood movie.

Open up your Bibles again and look at the story. All the dramatic moments are missing! First and foremost, the story completely skips over the actual turning of water into wine. Jesus instructs some servants to fill the jars with water, and then in the next scene, with the chief steward, the water “had become wine”! What happened? We don’t see any hand waving, mystical touching, or Greek chanting over the jars. There’s simply no “abracadabra” moment here! Jesus’ only act is to lovingly order around some poor, unsuspecting servants. Where’s the flair in that?

And for whatever reason, Jesus keeps quiet about his miracle. Not once does he take credit for his actions, nor does he insist that others recognize what he did. In fact, very few people even saw it as a miracle. Aside from the servants, the disciples, and Jesus, no one even knew a miracle had taken place. The party went on without a hiccup of any sort – no indication is ever given that the majority of the guests even realized that the wine gave out.

And I don’t know about you, but if I were Jesus I would’ve stepped up and taken credit. I mean, wasn’t he using this story to reveal his glory? According to his actions, that was not his concern at all. Think about it: The chief steward approaches the groom and commends him on his generous hospitality. Great job, son! You’ve saved the top shelf wine for late in the feast! You have provided enough wine to get the whole county drunk! Your hosting abilities speak very well of your character! And Jesus is standing there watching this whole conversation take place, the groom probably accepting the credit even though he knows he doesn’t deserve it, and Jesus says nothing! C’mon JC, get up and tell them what happened! Tell them what you did! Proclaim the miracle that took place! Reveal your glory! Well, are you going to speak up or what?!

But Jesus never says a word. So, on we go with the party, new top shelf wine flowing freely, people dancing and drinking and having a great time together, completely unaware that any divine action has taken place to allow the party to continue. This is not the grand entrance that I would have written for Jesus’ public ministry, but then again, I was not the author of the Gospel of John. Still, I just can’t get over this burning question: Why doesn’t Jesus step up? This is John’s first public appearance by Jesus, but he proclaims nothing, reveals nothing, takes credit for nothing – all he’s doing is rescuing the wedding feast of a small town in Galilee.

Like many people this week, I sat in my office on Wednesday morning, the news of the earthquake in Haiti still developing, wrestling with the question of theodicy: Why would a good God allow human suffering to take place? Why would a good God allow an earthquake ravage the poorest nation on earth, affecting the lives of millions and claiming the lives of tens of thousands?
And why, in the midst of this terrible devastation in Haiti, am I sitting here reflecting on a story about Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast? The reading of this story coinciding with the events in Haiti left me feeling conflicted. Here are millions of suffering people, and Jesus is concerned about the amount of alcohol at a wedding???

Yet, we know that just because our God is making wine in one place doesn’t mean God can’t be somewhere else at the same time. We know that God is not limited to time and space and prioritizing like we are, and that just because empty bottles of wine are a crisis doesn’t mean that a natural disaster in Haiti is not a crisis. We know that God cares just as much for the people of Haiti as he does for the wedding guests in Cana, and God cares just as much for victims of domestic abuse as he does for victims of violent crime, God cares just as much for Christians as he does for people of other faiths, and God cares just as much for those who died in the quake as for those who survived. God does not prioritize – all the needs of the world, from the most trivial to the most urgent, are God’s greatest priorities. And when we see the images of the devastation and the desperate needs in Haiti, we begin to realize that a new miracle opportunity has materialized. And already, many of us are asking what we can do to help.

In the wake of these events, we have an incredible opportunity to be miracle workers. We have a chance to be servants of Jesus Christ, doing whatever he tells us to do, whether it’s assisting in the rescue of a kickin’ party or doing what we can to help the relief efforts in the coming weeks, months, and years. Although we are separated by thousands of miles, and we cannot travel there at this time for hands-on help, there are things we can do. We can lift up in prayer the millions of affected Haitians, emergency, disaster response, and relief workers, medical workers, and all other missionaries seeking to meet the overwhelming needs. We can educate ourselves about the struggles of the nation of Haiti, whose poverty was unparalleled even before this week. And, we can contribute to relief efforts. Today, we can contribute financially out of our abundance, and in the months and years to come there will be many opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ as we seek to help in more tangible ways.

I want to take a moment to talk about the connections this congregation has with Haiti, and the opportunities we have to strengthen those connections. First, you may remember that in January of 2009, a missionary named Michael Ritter visited our congregation. Michael is a close personal friend of me and Lisa, and he works to provide sustainable clean water solutions in Haiti. When he was here last January, he showed us pictures and told us stories of the devastation there. Even before the earthquake this week, Haiti was the poorest, most destitute nation in the world, which is the main reason why this earthquake claimed so many lives. The nation was simply not wealthy enough to withstand such a natural disaster like we would be able to.

Anyway, Michael happened to be in the Port-au-Prince area when the earthquake struck. He was about 30 miles outside of Port-au-Prince, staying in the rectory of a church in a town called Baudin. On Thursday, Michael wrote on his blog about his experiences this week. I encourage you to click here and read his reflections.

Secondly, I want to talk to you about our connectedness to Haiti through the denomination of the United Methodist Church. For instance, do you know that as a congregation, we have already supported United Methodist relief efforts in Haiti? That’s right. The United Methodist Church has a relief agency called UMCOR: The United Methodist Committee on Relief. As one of the largest disaster relief organizations in the world, UMCOR was already on the ground in Haiti by Wednesday morning to begin relief efforts. As you may know, when a disaster like this happens, 100% of donations to UMCOR goes to relief efforts. Right now, not a single cent of donations for Haiti relief through UMCOR are used for administrative costs. And do you know why? Because congregations like this one pay mission share. One of the ways our monthly mission share payments are used is to cover administrative costs for UMCOR, so that our past mission share payments means that more money can be used for relief now.

Many of you have approached me this week asking about ways you can help the people of Haiti in this time of crisis. In a few moments, I’m going to ask that we take up a special offering for the people of Haiti. I encourage you to give generously, remembering that God blesses us so that we can share those blessings with others. All of the money that we receive in this offering will be donated to UMCOR’s relief efforts in Haiti, and I can assure you that 100% of it will be used on the ground in Haiti. If you are unprepared to make a donation this morning, you can also donate online to UMCOR’s Haiti relief efforts. Simply go to our church’s website, and on the home page you’ll find a link that will take you directly to the Haiti donation page for UMCOR. I urge you to give as you feel led.

I know that it is sometimes difficult to get passionate about helping in ways like this, where we receive little to no recognition or credit for our generosity. But remember, that was how Jesus began his ministry – by enacting miracles behind the scenes. The ministry of Jesus Christ still continues today, and he still wishes to enact miracles all over the world, including in Haiti. And we have a chance before us to be the servants filling the jars with water, assisting as behind-the-scenes miracle workers alongside Jesus, reaching out in love to those in need. Will we take advantage of that opportunity, giving Haitians reason to celebrate even in the midst of their crisis? Can we make some top-shelf wine for our thirsty brothers and sisters in Haiti? Can we contribute to giving the people of Haiti a cause to celebrate, as hopeless as that seems right now? Can we do our part in the continuing ministry of our Lord and Savior? Jesus is calling out to us. Will we “do whatever he tells us”? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.