O Lord open the ears of our hearts. That we may hear your message to us today. Amen.
A wedding. What joy!
A whole week of celebration and reconnecting with family and friends, neighbours and distant cousins.
Oh yes, a whole week. In first century Palestine, a wedding was a major event, spread over several days, and involving the whole village, people from neighbouring places, and tons of food and wine.
The wedding in Cana is a joyful occasion – everybody is here, the disciples, Mary – and in fact, it’s so joyful that that the wine is gone in no time at all. Disgrace! Social disaster! Running out of wine was much more than real embarrassment, it would have reflected badly on the family, their reputation would have been in tatters, marred forever by what would be perceived as a lack of generosity. The shame would have lasted a long time, and both the bride and the groom would have regarded it as a source of bad luck on their whole marriage.
Very aware of the tragedy, the first one to act with compassion is the mother of Jesus. Some would argue it was natural for a woman to go to her husband or her son for advice, but I think there is much more at stake here. Mary knows her son. And he is now a man… isn’t it time for a first sign? Jesus does not seem to think so. ‘My hour has not yet come,’ he tells his mother, and there is definitely tension in their conversation. However, even reluctantly, he does the bidding of his mother. And Mary who believes in him asks the servants to obey him. Jesus shows his glory in honouring others. He honours ordinary people like his mother and his disciples, quietly, wondrously tending to them. He honours the bridegroom whom he saves from social disgrace. He honours the lowly servants who become the only real witnesses to the miracle. Jesus even honours creation, by doing his miraculous work with very basic elements: stone, in the shape of jars, and water.
What extraordinary gifts! The miracle of the wedding in Cana is even more than water turned into wine. It is even more than the best vintage wine kept for last. The glory of the presence of God made flesh is in his extravagant generosity.
Funnily enough, I was preaching on this passage here in Madingley a year ago. And I shared with you the numbers of this miracle, because they are significant and symbolic. Let’s look at them again: we have six stone jars of water ready for use in the Jewish purification rites. Why so many, we do not know, but each holds twenty or thirty gallons filled to the brim – 2 or 3 ‘metretes’ is the Greek word – so we are looking at 120 gallons. Jesus has blessed the wedding reception with no less than 120 gallons of wine, the equivalent of 605 bottles of the very best wine.
God among us honours humankind with unbridled exuberance. God honours us by giving us gifts! Let us move from the gifts in Cana to the spiritual gifts from God. And these are no less significant. Peter and Paul are brilliant at telling us about the gifts of the Spirit. Peter says ‘Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms … so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.’ And Paul details the gifts of the Spirit. In the first letter to the Corinthians that we heard today, there is wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, even miraculous powers. Elsewhere, in the letter to the Romans, we hear of the gifts of teaching, serving, encouragement, giving, leading, showing mercy.
So not only God honours us with his extravagant love, but God equips us to thrive. Not only individually, but together, in a society where living out the gifts of the Spirit can be a real challenge. Society in Corinth was no better than ours today. Corinth was a major cosmopolitan port and trade centre. It was also filled with idolatry and immorality. The Christians in Corinth were struggling with their environment, they were surrounded by corruption and every conceivable sin, and they felt the pressure to adapt by joining in. But they were like us, they also knew that as followers of Christ, they had received new life. Paul explained to them the freedom of following Jesus. It was not merely an escape from the moral decay surrounding them but an invitation to embrace a radical transformation.
We often hear Paul speak of shedding our old selves and embracing the new. For him, the freedom of following Christ is an embrace of the divine love, an acceptance of a new identity rooted in Christ. It means shedding the old ways of selfish ambition, envy, and materialistic pursuits, and stepping into a life of service, humility, and compassion. And that is the freedom to live authentically, to be the best versions of ourselves as intended by God, reflecting His love and grace in our daily lives. And notice that every time Paul speaks of the gifts of God, he speaks of the body of Christ. Because we are called together to live out our gifts, to build the church, to support and encourage one another in the faith, each of us playing our part. United as the body of Christ, each of us, gifted uniquely, contributes to the growth and nurturing of the whole community. Paul says: ‘To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.’
Paul calls people to accept the gifts and to surrender their will to God’s, their desires to His purposes. In this surrender, there is deeper joy and peace to be found, and fulfilment that the world can never offer.
Do we surrender our will to God’s? Are we aware of our own gifts, given by God? How do we use them? Are we aware of the gifts in others? And I hear those who might think ‘but I have no gifts, I serve no purpose’, perhaps because of their age or their circumstances. But they have the gift of presence. And by allowing their brothers and sisters to serve them, they perpetuate the circle of love that mirrors the love of God for the whole of humanity. They are the gift. Remember the song: Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be like Christ to you…
So how will we encourage one another in the faith and in nurturing each other in the weeks and months to come? Perhaps we can start with prayer.
Let us pray. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, In Cana you showed your love to all your children by honouring them beyond measure. In Corinth you spoke through Paul about your many gifts to us. Your love for us knows no bounds. As we reflect on your immense generosity, make us joyful followers, keen to encourage each other, and to invite others to share in your glory. This we ask in Jesus’ name, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
M L-R