January 19, 2025 – The Second Sunday after Ephiphany
Fr. Cal Calhoun
In the Name of God, the God who loves a wedding, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
So, I love this story. Weddings are a special time of celebration for families and friends. We celebrate the couple, and the family, and we celebrate the mystery of love, which might just be God’s most precious gift. And weddings are accidents waiting to happen. When I do premarital counseling with couples, especially the younger, first wedding folks, I point out that there are so many details that must come together for a wedding, that something will go wrong, maybe, God forbid, more than one thing. I encourage them to accept that now, and relax. And know that 97+% of the time, no one but a few of you will ever know that the groom’s corsage was the wrong one, or the tablecloths were dangerously late arriving.
There are so many interesting aspects to this story: like what is going on with Mary and Jesus? Mary is the one who reports to Jesus the problem about running out of wine.
It goes like this:
Mary: They are out of wine.
Jesus: How is that your problem or mine?
Mary (to the servants): Do whatever he tells you.
Jesus (to the servants): Fill these jars with water.
I’m not sure if we would call that passive aggressive or manipulation, I don’t know; I’m not an expert on these things. But it is anything but straightforward description of the problem and planning a solution. Six stone water jars which, we are told, are for the Jewish rites of purification. These are not empty wine casks. The rights of purification involved bathing, one probably didn’t typically drink from those jars. So often in the Gospels, Jesus was healing on the Sabbath or eating with wrong kinds of people, similarly, Jesus was probably breaking some purity code here. But, how better to make the wine holy, sacred, than to make it in and serve it from the purification jars.
Now weddings, in those days, were celebrated not with a honeymoon, but with a 7-day wedding feast at the groom’s home. Honeymoon actually sounds cheaper! And this party is running of wine. The situation is a crisis, a crisis of hospitality, which is taken very seriously in the Middle East. Mary notices the problem and provides the leadership for a solution.
This event reminds us that God does not just desire happiness and joy for us, but is willing to contribute to that joy. God puts joy into life and is not opposed to people celebrating people. God does not want our religion to be too holy to be happy in. Or said another way, “holy” isn’t only about “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not.” God is in the laughter and the joy, and the celebration. Laughter might be the most holy of expression. Love and joy is why God created us.
AND, I think it is important to say, this is a miracle of celebration and joy. The miracle is not about the wine. There are plenty of our fellow Christians who abstain from alcohol. Is alcohol a sin? Yes… for some people. I think the best definition of sin is that which separates you from God. We all know people whose lives and/or relationships have been hurt or ruined by alcohol. If you have seen that, you should have a healthy fear and respect for alcohol. Does alcohol, or other substances, interfere with your relationship with God? Your relationships with others? Do you have celebrations and activities that bring you joy that don’t involve alcohol? I sure hope so. I remind people, including my children, you need things in your life that being you joy that don’t involve alcohol.
Scripture gives us both the good and the bad of alcohol. Ever been to a Seder dinner? In the Old Testament tradition, all those blessings begin with “Behold! The fruit of the vine.” In the New Testament, we have this example today and others of Jesus and his followers enjoying feasting together. AND in Proverbs and in Paul’s letters, we have the warnings, be careful with the wine, it can become the main thing.
The main thing, is to keep the main thing, the main thing. In case you are wondering, the main thing is God. God wants us to celebrate life, to celebrate each other, to live, laugh, and love. To experience joy and happiness, to be our best selves.
Grab that Prayer Book in front of you and turn to page 836, page 836.
Pray with me:
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
Year C – The Second Sunday after Epiphany – January 19, 2025 – The Rev. Cal Calhoun
