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Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
This is your word heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth. Your word is truth. Amen.
Fellow redeemed: What lesson may we take away from the wedding at Cana? We actually have an embarrassment of riches:
It is a wedding feast which Jesus first blesses. The estate of marriage, the lifelong union of a man and woman is God’s gift for our good and our blessing, the foundation of the family, and the core of all good government. Marriage is a blessing from God, and Jesus gives quite a wedding gift to the newlyweds of Cana. Marriage is God’s creation for our blessing, and not therefore subject to redefinition or dilution. It is a sin to regard it as inferior to any manmade system of devotion or religious rigor, or to deride it as profane in comparison to a life of solitude set apart for prayer or some other work. The true God we serve has not only called us to spiritual things, but has also created all the stuff of life for our good and blessing. And He has given us our daily vocation, calling us to every form of wholesome human interaction, companionship, and relation. The vocation of husband, wife, mother, father, son and daughter are blessed and to despise these is to despise the Giver of such good gifts. The Christian religion may not rightly therefore insist on such things as lifelong vows of celibacy by which marriage is forbidden. To the contrary we follow Jesus in blessing marriage, and celebrating such occasions in life as a wedding feast.
And as the Christian religion must regard, uphold, and honor marriage, and every family vocation as right and blessed, so too we must speak a clear warning to civil society, especially when common sentiment is set against the clear gift of marriage and family that this is not an institution defined, established, or created by man, that our human governments might tinker with and change it. To do such a thing would be to assume authority over God himself, who has given us marriage, and is a perversion of governmental powers. We may not call good that which God has called evil, and we may not obey any law of man which contradicts the law of God.
The virgin Mary is blessed among women; and we owe the maiden respect, who alone of all humanity contained within her body the fullness of the Church, and is an example of the Church, within which Christ may be found with His good gifts, and must hear her carefully who speaks to all who would follow in Christ as she instructs the servants at the feast “Whatever He says to you, do it.” If you would honor the blessed virgin Mother of our Lord, obey the only explicit instruction she provides in God’s Word, and pay attention to the Word of our Lord and follow it faithfully. This instruction from Saint Mary is a blessing to all who hear and heed her; for she ever and only points us to the One she bore, the Lord Jesus our Savior and our God.
We may also speak to those who regard that wine is sinful from this text and have them see that their zeal is misplaced when it sets its demands against what Jesus is plainly and graciously giving. Again we must insist that it is an error and a sin to call evil what God has provided for our good. The Scripture says that wine gladdens the heart, and we are not to rewrite or redefine what God here gives in practical terms, for that would be to pervert God’s Word, and a sin. It is true that drunkenness is a sin. But misuse does not invalidate proper use, and those who would deny the joy of God’s blessing in joyous celebration must be called upon to repent and turn from their dour, sour-faced insistence that nobody else ought to have fun either. Turning your misery into a god in this way is no less a form of wicked idolatry than those who worship statues of false gods. Your God is not a prune-faced biddy, so lighten up and enjoy the gracious gifts He provides!
There are many lessons to learn at the wedding feast in Cana. But I would especially focus finally on the instruments Jesus used to bless those who were there on that day.
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
Jesus spoke to the servants who were there. Ordinary folks whom He used according to their vocation. Through their vocation of being what we would call waiters, cooks, janitors, and so on, as might be found in a banquet facility or restaurant, Jesus did something holy. Your daily labor may not seem to be much of a big deal, but God Himself is using you to serve your neighbor and to bless them. Your work is holy. Even your companionship at a meal is God’s gift to lighten the loneliness of the one you have joined.
Jesus instructed them to take the stuff already there: stone waterpots and water. God blesses us through the things He already has given us. He is our Creator and He is the author of all that we have, and He uses these common things for our good and our blessing. When God seeks to provide His blessing to us, He uses the stuff He has already given as His conduit to bless. God works through means.
Too often we are tempted to believe the fanatics who encourage us to insist on direct acts from God, direct messages beamed supernaturally into our hearts and minds, miracles out of the blue. I warn you that you should nether expect God to work in this way, nor should you look for it. God blesses you through means. He speaks to your heart here and now through His Word which He already has given by means of His prophets and apostles who faithfully recorded it. How shall they hear God’s Word, the Scripture asks, without a preacher? And so God provides and sets men apart and charges them to speak His Word as He has given it in the Bible fully and faithfully.
And as God blesses us by His Word and speaks through it effectively now, He also employs the common stuff He has designated for our good to be His means of grace for our blessing. At the wedding Jesus used water in waterpots to provide the earthly blessing of very good wine. Today Jesus uses wine, bread, water, and word, the hands and mouths of the men He sets into His preaching office, through which He brings us forgiveness, life, and salvation. Jesus imbues and transforms what is at hand, the common things of His creation with His blessing and grace. We see this in the Means of Grace. It is common water, except that His gracious word and promise are attached. Common bread and wine convey His most holy Body and Blood. And our common language He takes and forms into His holy Word, in which God Himself breathes into us forgiveness, life, and salvation. Jesus has no need to convey His word in a special heavenly tongue, nor to come to us by some otherworldly confected stuff. He uses what He already has given, and transforms it to His good purpose for our good. He also uses as I previously mentioned, the common vocations of us all through which He provides the things we need to live each day, and by which His faithful children are also blessed to bless their neighbors, causing them to wonder at the hope that is given us so that His Word of life may be spoken to them and His Church embrace and give them life everlasting, a wine which gladdens forevermore, and a spring of living water by which the soul of man may never thirst again.
This is enough for us today. Jesus here blesses marriage, and through it all society. His mother instructs us clearly and simply to hear her Son and heed what He says. God works through means to bless and keep us all, both now and forever. And through all of these we hear God’s grace, our forgiveness, and our blessing. What more is there to say but Amen?
So the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord to life everlasting. Amen.
