Sunday, January 17, 2016 Sermon Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11 “For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent.” An often overlooked name that is significant. Jeruslam, Jeru-shalom, means city of peace. God is the God of peace and the world is constantly at war, against God and sinful humans one against the other. The new Jerusalem, the city of God, is referred to as Zion throughout Scripture. It is the place of the remnant. Hear clearly that our Lord will firmly and unalterably pursue those who are and will be in Him. He is the lover who will not rest until His beloved is safely in His arms. He is more than faithful and has planned all things for the sake of those who will be with Him in Zion forever. What does this mean in light of where we are and the things we see before us? Knowing that God will not rest in His pursuit of us, should we rest and be indifferent? What attracted me to you, what allured me to come into your midst was the love of the Lord you demonstrated for the world and for each other. My prayer, my goal, my hope is that this love may continuously be made more real with each passing day. (Holding up a sheet of blank paper) You see this page? It is empty, for it is the story that shall be written of our time together. What gets written remains to be seen. I pray it will be of wonderful things that the Lord does in our midst. But I know it will contain stories of heartache, hurt and disappointment too. Such is the world we live in. The pastor may (but not always) be a scribe who writes down the story. Mine is a part no greater, nor less than your part. But what is my job is to do all I can to make sure we remain on the same page telling the story together. That’s where a pastor has to be a sheepdog, sometimes nipping at the heels to keep the flock together. Jesus has told us that a house divided against itself cannot stand. So we know what the wicked one will try to do. Jesus unites and the devil divides. So ignore the devil and pay attention to Jesus. Great and amazing things have been done by you, but the adventure has just begun. My first warning is not to fall into the trap of “Whew, the pastor is here so I can go back to life as normal.” That you must not do, for the Lord did not call me here to take on your job, but to the job He has in mind specifically for me. Only together in Christ are we the church. And in this, the sheepdog turns into a cheer leader. Y’all rock! Together, we have been called to God’s building of a neighborhood in Zion. On the one hand, each one of us are sinful people in need of God’s grace. On the other hand, we are called as the redeemed to dwell in the house of the Lord now and forever. What this means is that we will need grace for one another always while simultaneously being firm in what is good, right and fitting. How this works is wonderfully demonstrated with Jesus and His mother at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. I’m not sure where it came from, but this notion that being in Christ means being staid, stern and non-jovial is something I just don’t see. Okay, Scripture does not say that Jesus laughed. All the other emotions, yes, but not laughter. I have a drawing that will hang on my office wall that is of the laughing Jesus. He was, after all, fully human, so of course He laughed. In fact, I have often heard Him chuckle as I make plans. That’s why I love that picture. It reminds me that God has a sense of humor too. Laughter is good for the soul. We’re going to make mistakes together and things will not always go the way we planned. Not that we set out that way, that’s just a reality in this life. When we do, let us pledge to confess it, learn and move on. Mistakes happen. So it was at the wedding. I’ve married two of my children in the past few years. You plan and plan, but there are always glitches. Well, Jesus was at the wedding and they ran out of wine. Not grape juice, but wine. I know, that produces a frown on some of our brothers and sisters. But our Lord has given us all things, but the things should not rule us. If you can’t handle wine, then don’t drink it. But if it doesn’t handle you, well then, it is a gift of God. This is true of all things. The Lord teaches us moderation in all things. This is the true meaning of temperance. Keeping a balance in your life. The truth is, without Christ, we’re never in balance, but through the Spirit which He has given us, He teaches us true temperance, which is balance. But I detract from the point. Jesus was at a wedding and they ran out of wine. Mary comes up to Jesus and says to Him, “They have no wine.” Stop for a moment. You have mothers. I don’t know about you, but boy can I see this moment clearly. “Seriously mother? We are in the middle of the party and you want me to do something about running out of wine?” I can hear the M.....O.....MMM!?! But then, there is the fourth commandment that tells us to honor our parents. I suspect Mary is the only one who ever got away with telling God what to do. (Smile) Jesus gently rebukes Mary by telling her that this issue is not their concern, “what concern is that to you and me?” Again, just like my mom, she turns and tells the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” And you wonder where the true statement, “Yes dear,” came from. Yes gentlemen, it is Scriptural, although I suspect Jesus did not roll His eyes at His mother as I have been guilty of doing with my wife (okay, never in front of her!). Look and see the humor of this story. Scripture sometimes gets translated to tidy things up a bit. Israel did not have paved roads, but dusty trails upon which everyone walked. Most weddings try to have that air of formality, with all the cultural pomp and circumstance put on top of it. It was no different in Jesus day. Indeed weddings are a celebration of one of God’s fundamental gifts. The Jewish rite of purification pots were wash water. In the home of one who was wealthy, it was the lowest servant who was given the job of washing the feet of the traveler who came into the home. (This is why Jesus washing the disciple’s feet is so significant, the greater doing for the lesser.) This foot washing water was held in the large pots that Jesus pointed to. Can you see the servants thinking Jesus crazy? I like to imagine them as they drew out the dirty foot water and took it to the head steward. How many servants over the years have known something the ones they were serving didn’t? They’re just doing what they have been told. Keep that in mind, for the third part of the Great Commission is the “learning to obey” part. We all are those servants who sometimes think one thing when the Lord is doing something else. Are you really surprised that our Lord takes what is dirty and makes it into the best? Is that not what He does with all whom He redeems. As St. Paul says, all that we do or are, are as filthy rags compared to the surpassing glory of our Father in heaven. But Christ lifts us up to be like Him. The dirt in our veins becomes the flowing blood of Christ Himself as He dwells in us and we in Him. Here is perhaps one of the best part of the story. In this world, filled with its pretense, people put on the airs and show off the best first. God does just the opposite and the best is last. Though you and I struggle in this life, the best is yet to come. Some are impressed that Jesus turned water into wine. With God, all things are possible. The greater miracle is taking us sinners and making us into saints. Jesus is the One who does this. You and I will go where we go, but it is the Lord in us who does the saving, the changing and produces one who is just like Him. This is the story within the story, for our Lord is always up to things we do not see, nor necessarily even understand. Be clear about this, for it is important. You are who you are. You have the abilities God has given you. It doesn’t matter that you were the glass of wine from the top or bottom. It’s all excellent. It doesn’t matter which pot you were drawn out of. The Lord has a purpose for each one of us.