Epiphany II, Cycle C

"If You're Having a Wedding, Don't Forget to Invite Jesus"

January 17, 2010

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs

Lessons: Isaiah 62:1-5; I Corinthians 12:1-11; St. John 2:1-11

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Years ago when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight year old boy. The boy was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coal mine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it seemed natural to ask him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?" "Last week," the boy replied, "our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." The audience chuckled, while Johnny tried to keep a straight face. Then Johnny said, "And what did you learn from that story?" The boy seemed a bit uncomfortable, because he obviously wasn't prepared to answer that question. But, after thinking for moment, the boy looked up, and said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!" And wasn't the little boy onto something?

As we hear, today, about Jesus going to a wedding and turning water into wine, we learn many things. We learn about Jewish wedding customs, where the celebration goes on so long that the wine might run out. In fact, Jewish weddings in the time of Jesus normally lasted 7 days, and were a time of great feasting as weddings were one of the few times in life when work stopped, and people had cause for joy and celebration. We also learn from this account that there were always large jars of water nearby for the ritual washing ceremonies, in which both people and utensils were cleansed according to elaborate rabbinic laws—laws which required lots and lots of water to effectively fulfill the regulations. But even more, from this report of Jesus at a wedding, we see that Jesus was no prude or gloomy Gus, but that He, and His disciples would come to a wedding party, where they would participate in the customs of the people, celebrating with the bride and groom and families and friends, taking part as members of the community. And, providing wine for the feasting, when the wine ran out! There are those Christians who suggest that Jesus wouldn't drink real wine, with alcohol, claiming that what Jesus used at the Last Supper was simply grape juice—for of course, Jesus would be a teetotaller. But what about the Cana wedding? Surely they weren't using grape juice here, for such a joyful occasion! Truly, the wine that was used had strong alcoholic content, for it was the alcohol in the wine that caused the party-ers to relax, and sing and laugh, as was fitting for a wedding feast. The rabbis taught, "without wine, there is no joy in life"! And we have no reason to think Jesus felt differently. In fact, for the wine to run out at a wedding banquet would've been such a social embarrassment that in this instance, Mary comes to her son, Jesus, to ask Him to do something about the wine shortage, so that the family could save face and not be ashamed that they hadn't provided enough drink to last throughout the entire celebration. And far from criticizing the family, far from proclaiming that it would be a better party without wine, far from using the opportunity to strike a blow on behalf of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus might tell them to do, and Jesus uses the jars of water for the purification rites, to create wine—and not just any old wine, but the best! And I think we would all agree, if you're going to have a wedding, be sure to invite Jesus! And yet, what does that mean, in real life—in our lives today?

First, we might conclude in the most practical terms, that when you get married, be sure to invite Jesus into your relationship. I continue to be shocked and amazed at how many couples preparing for marriage, admit they haven't really talked about faith, religion, or church. Oh, they talk about the date, and the place, and the cost, and the family tensions and difficulties, but young couples, when asked about their belief in God, and how they plan to live out their beliefs, most often respond with a blank stare, caught off-guard, as if such a question is out-of-bounds, or irrelevant, and utter something like, "well, we figure that will work itself out as time goes on." WRONG! This ought to be the first thing young couples talk about and work out as they prepare for marriage. Because assuming it will work itself out, means it may never work out, and the couple may end up with no faith practice, no shared belief in God, and no spiritual grounding that they agree upon as they establish their household. And even though they may be getting married in a church, it doesn't mean they're inviting Jesus into their relationship. And if you think about it, isn't Jesus the most important guest to be invited? Inviting Jesus to your marriage, and into your relationship means that when the wine runs out—and it will run out in time, Jesus will be there to renew and refresh your relationship, providing joy that is even better than before, so that when it seems the party is over, your marriage can be re-created, and deepened and strengthened, by the presence of Jesus in your home and family. That's the first thing it means, practically, to invite Jesus to your wedding.

And second, it means that when you invite Jesus into, not just your marriage, but into your life, and into your every human relationship, you are to be prepared to, as Mary said, "do whatever He tells you." That's the problem in life, isn't it—that when we encounter trials and difficulties and challenges in life, we may ask Jesus for guidance and help—but we hesitate to do what He tells us to! The Gospels are full of Jesus' teachings about how we are to live, how we are to relate to others, how we are to love, and forgive, and be faithful, so as to live the Christ-like life. Trouble is, we just don't do it. It seems too hard, or too demanding, or too restrictive to do all that Jesus commands us.so all too often, we go our own way, choose our own path, and end up in more of a mess than when we started. Mary said to the servants, "do whatever He tells you", and isn't Mary giving us that instruction as well—speaking to us when, in our lives, it seems that the wine has run out, our lives are in a downward spiral, and we don't know how we're going to turn things around. Then, Mary says to you and to me, "do what He tells you"—because truly, that's how to have our joy restored in life; that's how things will turn around in life—by doing what Jesus tells us. For it avails us little, if we invite Jesus into our lives, but then ignore Him along the way. That's the second thing that may be said about welcoming Jesus into our lives.

And thirdly, and finally, what may be said is that Jesus' presence in our marriages, our relationships and our lives, isn't intended to be a burden, isn't intended to weigh us down with requirements or rules or regulations, but to free us for lives of joy and happiness! It's no coincidence that the jars Jesus had filled with water, that He turned into wine, were the very jars used for the Jewish purification rites. If you look at the Gospel of John, you see that this wedding at Cana comes at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, perhaps coming even earlier than Jesus intended, as He tells his mother, "my time is not yet come." And yet, Jesus doesn't just perform a miracle, a supernatural parlor trick meant to impress the audience, rather it is a sign—a sign of the Kingdom of God breaking into the world, in Jesus. And Jesus is here to turn things around! Jesus is here to take the old oppressive rites and rituals and legalistic practices of Judaism, and change them from burdensome, heavy requirements that stifle true religion and faith, and transform them into life-giving, joy-filled wine—jars that cause God's children to be free, and ready to enter into heart-felt relationship with Him, not as a fulfillment of religious regulations, but as a response to God-with-us, in Jesus! The sign that Jesus performs is a sign that the old is being made new, in Jesus—that the plain old water for Jewish rites and rituals, is being changed, into new wine, that will bring happiness, and celebration, and hope and promise for the future—not because we have fulfilled rules and requirements, but because we have been in the very presence of Jesus Christ, who, by His presence, gives new life to the world! That's the third and final thing we'd like to say about inviting Jesus into your life, today—that as you receive Him, today—as you open you're your hands to invite Him, to welcome Him into your heart and life, in Word and Sacrament today, you do so ready, yourself, to be changed, transformed, turned from water, into wine—to experience real happiness and joy in your life—to bring happiness and joy to others in your life, because Jesus is present in you. May you and I, and each of us today, be changed, transformed, by the real presence of Jesus Christ at this marriage feast, from water into wine, so that the feast of our lives, may continue!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.