“Just
Add Water”
Texts:
John 2:1-11 (main focus); 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace to
you from the one who is and who was and who is to come, our living Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
How many of you have planned out everything
so well, to the final detail, yet something big was overlooked or forgotten?
2 ½ years ago, I was a bridesmaid in my
friend Katy’s wedding. Katy has a gift for planning and organizing, planning everything over
and over in her mind, about how things would go on the actual wedding day. Her
plan was to wear her engagement ring to the ceremony, and have her future
husband Jesse put her wedding band on her finger during the ceremony.
The
morning of the wedding, she placed the wedding bands in her clutch that she
would be carrying to the reception, figuring it was a safe place. She did tell
her mom where she put them, because she knew she had to delegate tasks to other
people or else become overwhelmed.
We were
running late, as there were some issues with the dress, and it’s easy to get
flustered by that. Before the ceremony, she didn't notice that her mom had
taken her clutch and our bridesmaids’ purses into the church office to be
locked away while the ceremony was happening.
Time
for the ceremony came, with emotions of nervousness and excitement in the air. Everything
was beautiful! After walking down the aisle and as the pastor began to speak,
Katy felt some relief that the “big part” was over. Everyone can relax a
little, right? That was until Cody, Jesse’s brother and best man, leaned over
and said something to Jesse. Then Jesse asked Katy, “Where are the rings?” Uh
oh! Katy said her stomach dropped. In the hustle and bustle of everything that
morning, she had forgotten one of the most important parts of the ceremony! She
was so worried about the little details that she forgot one big detail.
Miraculously
Jesse was able to get Katy’s mom’s attention. She left the sanctuary and
retrieved the rings, handing them to Katy’s maid of honor Nicole, who was
sitting in the pew in front of her. Nicole hadn’t realized what happened but
quickly figured it out.
From
that point on, everything went smoothly, and we can all laugh about this story
now! At the time, though, shock and a bit of panic occurred for those who knew
about it.
So,
from that wedding in Hastings, MN to the wedding in Cana…It
seems that an important detail has been forgotten: there wasn’t enough wine.
During Jesus’ time, running out of wine or having wine of poor quality at a
wedding was a social blunder. Not just inconvenient but a social disaster and
disgrace. The family would possibly live with the shame of it for quite some
time; the bride and groom might see it as bringing bad luck to their married
life; the steward who was in charge of the needs of the wedding guests might be
in trouble? Oops. And they couldn’t just jump in the car and drive over the
border to Hudson on a Sunday.
Mary shares the issue with Jesus...Did she
have unconditional confidence and trust in Jesus’ abilities? Unfortunately, we
don’t have access to “Jesus: The Missing Years” in our Bibles, so we don’t know
if Mary herself had witnessed signs of this nature before at home. His response
doesn’t curtail her belief that he can do something about it. And, he does. He
listens to his mom.
Jesus sees a need and deals with it in
unexpected ways. Did he have to do this? He says, “My hour has not yet come.”
Why does he? Not sure. But how can we be
Christ’s hands and feet today, seeing needs of others and dealing with them in
unexpected ways?
Only John’s Gospel includes this event, the
first of the seven “signs” in John’s Gospel. The term “sign” is used instead of
“miracle,” because a “sign” points to some truth about Jesus beyond this event.
In this sign, not only was there an abundance of wine (6 stone jars, each
holding 20-30 gallons…Let’s see, carry the 1…120-180 gallons!), but it was THE
best-tasting wine! Something new has appeared in the old jars. Life wouldn’t be
the same. God was doing a new thing. Jesus’ glory was revealed. This good wine
was a sign of God’s presence in the world. God in flesh has come. His first
sign was not a healing from sickness but turning water into wine, an
extravagant gift. What a wedding gift
that Jesus brings!
Jesus gives this gift of grace and
abundance; the question to ask ourselves today is, What are we doing with this gift?
The joyous celebration was able to continue
due to the abundance and graciousness of Jesus’ gift. We, too, can celebrate this
gift. We are loved so abundantly and graciously that Jesus would give his life
for us. Words cannot even begin to describe how awesome that is! Just as the
best wine was saved for last, Jesus saves the best for last: after his death,
he rose again. Death has been conquered! We, too, can have this joyous new wine,
this everlasting life. Just as Jesus saved the married couple, the family, and
the steward, Jesus saves us: from death, ourselves, our mistakes. And, we’re
free to receive extraordinary gifts that this sign offers.
What is Jesus’ solution? “Just add water.” He
says, “Fill the jars with water.” At
Wednesday morning’s Bible study, Corrine Petersen mentioned a new commercial,
which is actually for Target’s Everyday Collection. There’s a woman with a fire
hose, and the only words are, “Just Add Water,” as it’s for oatmeal. Water is
such a life-giving element. Our bodies are made up mostly of water, as is the
earth. Helen Lind thought of me with the following cartoon on Facebook this
week: “Water is the most essential
element of life, because without water, you can’t make coffee.” And it’s true! “Just
add water…”
Last week, Pastor Dan talked
about baptism…Water and the Word. Together. We are washed anew. We are adopted
into God’s family. We’re family. Transformation occurred in those jars, water
and the Word, water and Jesus. When we are baptized, we are transformed. Martin
Luther writes in the Small Catechism,
“Water by itself is only water, but with the Word of God it is a life-giving
water which by grace gives the new birth through the Holy Spirit.” God’s Word
through the work of the Holy Spirit creates faith and trust in us. “Just add
water…”
Water turning into wine…Wine
being a part of Holy Communion, which we will receive and share in just a
little bit. We are assured we receive forgiveness of sins. Our faith that comes
from the Holy Spirit is nurtured. We are called into action as a partner in the
work of God. Called and sent into a world in need of good news, light, grace,
and abundance.
Jesus gives this gift
of grace and abundance; What are we doing with this gift? Have
we tried to return the gift? Maybe you don’t want any part of it. With all of
the hurt in the world, you wonder how things like this are allowed to happen.
Please know that God also hurts. When we don’t get along or try to hurt one
another, God grieves for all His children. ALL. God walks with us, comforts us.
The beauty of the gift is that it’s always extended, ready for you. God loves
you so much and wants you to have it. Receive it. It’s free. 100% guarantee.
Are we allowing the
gift to sit on a shelf somewhere, hiding under dust bunnies? If it’s not used,
it may rust or cease to work due to inactivity. It may spoil or go bad, losing
its freshness. Then, what good is it? Like a muscle that’s not used, it gets
weaker. When used, it stays strong.
We are to share this gift with others. Thanks
to the Holy Spirit, we are given faith, and as it says in our 1 Corinthians
reading, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”
(verse 7). ALL of us, brothers and sisters, in faith. The Spirit works in and
through us, and we can serve here at church and in the world.
Now, a whole other sermon could be done on
the spiritual gifts themselves. What we
need to realize is that we all have THE main gift, but we all have different gifts.
“For one is given this, and to another that…” NO ONE has ALL the gifts. This is
why we all need each other. One person cannot do ALL the work of ministry by
oneself. In a sense, we’re ALL ministers. God even exists in Three
Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Community. Together.
These gifts are not to divide
us. No gift is better than the other. We are to work together. “Activated by
one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit
chooses” (verse 11). The calling comes from God and not us.
Do we know what our gifts
are? Are we using them? One way to find out is to get involved in an area
of ministry that may peak your interest. Try something! Singer and actress Reba
McEntire is on the cover of the latest AARP
magazine. No, I don’t have a subscription to AARP. I may have a couple of gray hairs that I cover with hair dye.
My parents receive it. Anyway, in the article, Reba says this about her appearance in Broadway's “Annie Get Your Gun” in 2001, “People
said, ‘Weren't you scared you were going to fail?’ I'm not afraid of failure. I
just want to try things. If they don't work out, I'll do something else.” Try
something…After all, how do you
discover something if you don’t explore? Maybe it’s being involved in visiting
our homebound members, for which we’re having a training session for this
Tuesday night; or leading a Bible study, like Lynn Johnson’s on Jonah; or
music, worship coordinator, council, altar guild. Now, someone who doesn’t like
children probably shouldn’t try teaching Sunday school or help in the nursery.
But, there is a place for that person. There is a place for each one of you.
We also take our gifts into a
world in need…Tomorrow is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Dr. King stood
against injustice. Here is a quote from him in 1961: “As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be
rich, even if I possess a billion dollars. As long as millions of people are
inflicted with debilitating diseases and cannot expect to live more than 35
years, I can never be totally healthy even if I receive a perfect bill of
health from Mayo Clinic. Strangely enough, I can never be what I ought to be
until you are what you ought to be…and you can never be what you ought to be
until I am what I ought to be. This is the way the world is made. I didn’t make
it that way. You didn’t make it that way…All this is simply to say that all
life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality;
tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all
indirectly.” We need to stand up for one another.
I want to leave you with a
story…Michael Garcia is a waiter at Laurenzo’s Restaurant in Houston, Texas.
His regular customers are like family to him, especially 5-year-old Milo
Castillo and his parents. Milo was born with Down Syndrome.
On Wednesday, another diner moved
his family away from Milo’s table and said that “special needs children need to
be special somewhere else.” Garcia then confronted the diner and told him that
he wouldn’t be able to serve him. The diner threatened to leave. Garcia
responded, “How could you say that about a beautiful 5-year-old angel?” The man
and his family left.
Milo’s parents didn’t know
anything about the incident until another waiter told them. His mother Kim was
really impressed that Michael would stand up for Milo. She said, “He doesn’t
really know us…he stood up for Milo just because it was the right thing to do.”
She was afraid that he might lose his job, but the restaurant stood behind his
decision.
We need to stand up and stand
together. Or are we overlooking the biggest detail? At the wedding in Cana,
throughout his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus gives this gift
of grace and abundance; What are we doing with this gift? Are we sharing
it with others? Just like the water in those old jars, once encountering Jesus,
our lives are never the same. Are we living that? Are we like water into the
finest wine? Savored? Or are we stale, stagnant water ready to be dumped?
And now may the peace of God that surpasses
all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Caroline Harthun
House of Prayer Lutheran Church
8:30am and 10:45am
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Children’s
Message: All for One, and One for All
Good morning, guys! How
are you this morning? Great!
Today I brought with me
different types of shoes that I own. Do you guys have different pairs of shoes
that you wear at different times? For example, right now I am wearing these
boots, because it’s a little cold outside, huh? Brrr! Although, it looks like I
could use a new pair, huh? I will be accepting donations later.
I also have a pair of
sneakers that I wear for work, because I stand on my feet for about 6-to-7
hours. I also have a pair of running shoes that I strictly wear for running.
This is a pair of dressier shoes. And I have a pair of sandals that I wear in
the summertime.
Now, what would happen
if I wore my dressy shoes to work? My feet would hurt, wouldn’t they? What if I
wore these boots when I went running? That would also hurt my feet, and I
wouldn’t run very fast, would I? What if I wore my sandals outside today after
church, without socks on, as socks are not meant to be worn with sandals? My
feet would freeze, exactly!
Even though these are
all different types of shoes, what do they have in common? They are all shoes,
exactly! And they all belong to me, right?
In our reading from 1
Corinthians, we’re going to hear about different gifts that God gives each of
us. ALL of the gifts come from God, and they are all different, but they are
ALL gifts! One is not better than the other, and each one serves a special
purpose. To serve God and help others.
What are things that
you like to do? Or that you’re good at? Wonderful…God places these gifts in
each of us. No one has ALL the gifts. That’s why we need each other and to work
together.
Just like my shoes,
they are different types, but they’re ALL shoes! May we use our gifts today to
serve God and help others. Let us pray:
Dear God, thank you for
the gifts that you have given each one of us. Show us what our gifts are and
help us to use these gifts to reflect you and to help any person who is in need
of help. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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