“This, the first
of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His
disciples put their faith in Him.” (John 2:11)
Water into wine, and wine of the highest quality: it was a miracle. But when you come right down to it, this wasn’t much of a miracle, as miracles go. Jesus certainly performed many other miracles that seem to have been more important. Running out of wine at a wedding party just doesn’t seem to be the end of the world, after all. Yet there is comfort in the fact that Jesus chose to reveal His extraordinary power for the very first time in a very ordinary situation. There comes a time for each of us, after all, when the wine runs out. Our problems are not necessarily all earth-shaking events or matters of life and death. Once in a while, as we juggle all our responsibilities, life starts to unravel, and our neat little world starts coming unglued. Like the time the wine ran out in Cana.
Mary knew what to do. She went to her Son. What He was going to do, she had no idea. But He would do something; she was absolutely convinced. I wonder if we have that kind of confidence, to bring our most common and ordinary frustrations and lay them before the Lord in utter simplicity. What do you do when the wine runs out in your life? Complain? Fret? Or do you turn to the One who can do something about it? Mary told the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” She knew Jesus well enough to know that whatever He commands is right. Whatever He says is true.
Still, how hard it is to do whatever Jesus tells us! When we come to Him with our problems, we would like to hear Him say, “Have it your way.” But instead, Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus tells us to repent and to believe the Gospel, but we are so proud in our sin that we would rather believe only in ourselves. “Do whatever He tells you,” Mary said. That’s good advice for the servants at the wedding feast and good advice for us too: “Do whatever He tells you.” Though it makes no sense to our natural mind, we believe His Holy Word. In the word of His absolution, in the washing of His Baptism, and in His Holy Supper, we receive His pardon and peace. There is life in that Word.
It’s no different today than it was in Cana. Jesus speaks His Word. And we do whatever He tells us. Come what may; in thick or thin; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; He has pledged us His faithfulness. He will never part from us. His love surrounds us; His compassion supports us. Like the wine in Cana, His gift, His miracle, is the best. And He saves the best for last. On the Last Day, He will raise us all from our graves and give everyone who believes in Him the life that has no end. And that will be the best of all!
To God be the Glory,
Pastor Ray
Water into wine, and wine of the highest quality: it was a miracle. But when you come right down to it, this wasn’t much of a miracle, as miracles go. Jesus certainly performed many other miracles that seem to have been more important. Running out of wine at a wedding party just doesn’t seem to be the end of the world, after all. Yet there is comfort in the fact that Jesus chose to reveal His extraordinary power for the very first time in a very ordinary situation. There comes a time for each of us, after all, when the wine runs out. Our problems are not necessarily all earth-shaking events or matters of life and death. Once in a while, as we juggle all our responsibilities, life starts to unravel, and our neat little world starts coming unglued. Like the time the wine ran out in Cana.
Mary knew what to do. She went to her Son. What He was going to do, she had no idea. But He would do something; she was absolutely convinced. I wonder if we have that kind of confidence, to bring our most common and ordinary frustrations and lay them before the Lord in utter simplicity. What do you do when the wine runs out in your life? Complain? Fret? Or do you turn to the One who can do something about it? Mary told the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” She knew Jesus well enough to know that whatever He commands is right. Whatever He says is true.
Still, how hard it is to do whatever Jesus tells us! When we come to Him with our problems, we would like to hear Him say, “Have it your way.” But instead, Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus tells us to repent and to believe the Gospel, but we are so proud in our sin that we would rather believe only in ourselves. “Do whatever He tells you,” Mary said. That’s good advice for the servants at the wedding feast and good advice for us too: “Do whatever He tells you.” Though it makes no sense to our natural mind, we believe His Holy Word. In the word of His absolution, in the washing of His Baptism, and in His Holy Supper, we receive His pardon and peace. There is life in that Word.
It’s no different today than it was in Cana. Jesus speaks His Word. And we do whatever He tells us. Come what may; in thick or thin; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; He has pledged us His faithfulness. He will never part from us. His love surrounds us; His compassion supports us. Like the wine in Cana, His gift, His miracle, is the best. And He saves the best for last. On the Last Day, He will raise us all from our graves and give everyone who believes in Him the life that has no end. And that will be the best of all!
To God be the Glory,
Pastor Ray