A God Who Comes to Parties

Printed and highlighted sermon from 1995. OCR has been used to create a text version, as well. The OCR thought that God was Cod, which I found funny.

Sermon text listed as John 2:1-11, for The Second Sunday of Epiphany C. The sermon mentions a visitor from a member of their sister synod, The Western Diocese of Southern Africa.

1/15/95

Jn.2:1-11

A GOD WHO COMES TO PARTIES 2EpiphC

Dear friends in Christ….grace & peace….

Does God go to parties? Does God get invited to parties? There is some disagreement about those questions. Some folks think of Jesus as a dour, finger-pointing fellow who delights in saying “Don’t do that!” In fact, some people try to make Christianity a ‘don’t do’ religion. How different is the picture John paints of Jesus. He was at a party; in fact, he was invited to the party. Not only was he invited, but his disciples were welcome, too. Here is no finger-pointing party-pooper, but a man people wanted to be around, and delighted in his company, and wanted to hear what he had to say. All of life went better–even parties–when Jesus was there.

As pastors, we sometimes swap stories about wedding disasters. My story is of the time ten minutes before walking down the aisle when the groom looked in the mirror and realized that he had forgotten to shave. Luckily, a quick trip next door to the parsonage to get my electric razor fixed that. Well, this party that Jesus attended had a major disaster! The wine ran out. In the East, even today, hospitality is a sacred duty. What a calamity to run out of food or drink to offer a guest. TO run out of wine would have been a major embarrassment for the host family. When the wine fails, who do you turn to? Well, Mary turns to Jesus.

But Jesus was no ‘magic button’ to push for a solution to the problem. He says, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come?! Sometimes Jesus asks the same question of us: ‘Are you seeking me for some quick fix, or do you want to be in relationship with me?! Well, Mary doesn’t give up, she is confident that her relationship with Jesus would lead to good things. With explicit trust in Jesus she says to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ She did her part and left the future to him. And the best was yet to Come.

Into what parts of our lives do we invite Jesus? To our holy times…our worship, our prayers, at funerals…only to our times of need? Or do we invite him into all of life, including our parties? Many details of this story are a mystery, but one thing is clear….If Jesus had not been invited to this party, the disaster would not have been turned into a blessing. If we invite Jesus into the parties of our lives, our joys, our happy times, into the very day-to-day fabric of live, then he is there already when disaster strikes, is present when life turns painful, and within reach when the future begins to look bleak.

Epiphany is a time when we are reminded that Christ is our light. We are called to see not only Jesus in a new way, not only to see God in a new light but also to see life transformed when Christ is invited in. How do we explain this great wine in abundance at a wedding when everyone has probably already had enough? John tells us what it means. He says: ‘Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.’ Jesus reveals his glory in the abundance of blessings to us. The wine is a symbol of the joy that God brings to us in Jesus.

The old ways bring us something less than joy. When Jesus looks around the wedding hall, he sees six huge stone jars for the rites of purification. He says, ‘Fill them with water’. Those jars are symbols of the old ways…special washings to fulfil the law. But like the wine, those old ways were failing. God has sent his Son to be among us, to be invited into the party, to bring us blessings beyond measure. Jesus tells us later in John’s gospel: “These things I tell you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Epiphany teaches us that we have a God of surprises….a God who goes to parties? Why?….in order that we might know the joy of his presence and of his grace. This doesn’t mean that life is only a bed of roses….but it does mean that we are not alone. God is with is, invited into the party, to give us what we need……and much more…..even at time ten and twenty and a hundred timew or needs (like 150 gallons of wine at the wedding feast).

All it takes is for us to put ourselves at God’s disposal. Like the servants that day, we need to hear Mary’s voice say: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Suddenly, everything becomes a part of the party that Jesus attends. Our time, our treasures, our talents (like those big old jars) need to be put at our Lord’s disposal. Then our extravagant God can bless these old things we turn over to Him. Extravagance is what Epiphany is about. As a church we need to reflect that extravagance of God, at least once in a while. I think of the huge cathedrals. …in a way, they are silly and not sensible at all. Why have those huge pillars and tall ceilings. How can those thousands of cubic feet ever be heated (usually aren’t)? But you know if you have ever entered one, that a cathedral is an extravagant gesture of thanksgiving for the extravagant kindness of God. They are bigger than anyone needs, long and high and costly. But a cathedral is also a great song of thanksgiving for an abundance of wine, for bushels of quail and manna, for a flask of oil that does not fail, and for our daily blessing so large in number and great in meaning.

I hope you have experienced extravagant blessings at some time in your life. It is a great hint of the grace and love of God in Christ. I remember getting a call from a parishioner asking if I liked beans. I said, “Sure.” In ten minutes the door bell rang and we had five shopping bags of beautiful green beans. Joyce and I got the food processor and canner going and for months we had a pleasant reminder of extravagant blessing.

Today we are privileged to have Donna here to expand our horizons and to remind us of God’s extravagant blessings to our sister synod in South Africa. These people are living in a time when the old ways have failed, and God is bringing extravagant blessings to them. It is a scary time for them, not knowing where God’s grace will lead. If we are willing to risk having God lead us in new ways, it will be scary for us, too. But how rich are the blessings that await those who see the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ. LET JESUS IN to the parties of your life. Live each day knowing the blessings that await us if we put everything in Christ’s hands. The extravagant blessings of Christ come to us as we find meaning in his presence and his grace.