John 2:1-11 Epiphany 2
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
January 16, 2022
Dear Friends in Christ, At Jesus’ time, the marriage of a couple was finalized with a great celebration, a wedding party. You can probably picture the scene: Family and friends gathered to celebrate with the couple. The bride and groom would supply the food and drink, which was a big deal because these celebrations could last for days! How terrible it would be to run out of food and wine. The hosts would feel bad for miscalculating, the guests would be unhappy, and the bride and groom embarrassed because of their mistake. What was at first joyful would be tainted, less fun, and the impact and memory of that day would stick with them and all their guests. That may seem overly dramatic, but this was their culture. You can probably picture this scene: Adam and Eve, having been joined in marriage by God himself, were enjoying their perfection in a perfect world full of wonderful things put there to bring them pleasure. There were beautiful plants and trees and flowers, interesting animals to look at and interact with. There were things to do to manage God’s amazing creation. God loved this couple that he had created, and he had given them so much to enjoy. But they miscalculated. They thought they could enjoy things more by becoming like God, knowing good and evil, so they listened to the lie of Satan. They ate fruit from the tree that God told them not to eat from. Of course, afterward they felt terrible, they were unhappy, they were embarrassed before their Creator. Their existence and their world were at first joyful, but they and all of it were then tainted, and the impact and the memory of that day would stick with them and everyone else after them. A wedding just a handful of miles from Jesus’ hometown brought Jesus, his mom, his brothers, and his first disciples there to celebrate with a happy couple. It took place just a couple days after John the Baptist had pointed out to a crowd that Jesus was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, which began with that first married couple (John 1:29). That day followed his baptism and his temptation by Satan in the desert. The timing is important as we think about this account because it means that Jesus had just recently begun his public ministry, which helps to explain Jesus reaction to his mom. Today we get to consider the first recorded miracle of Jesus. As we do so, we can’t help but see that God delivers more than we ask for. We might be tempted by the idea that following God means that we will have less joy and pleasure in this world or that we should expect that to be the case! If so, we have been looking at this all wrong, because the fact is, Jesus Brings Joy & Pleasure to Life. Imagine a big, glossy, colorful balloon filled with helium and floating in the air, happily drifting here and there, going wherever it wants to. What a good life that is, if that balloon represents a person making their way through life in this world. Now imagine the knot tying the balloon closed coming undone and all the helium shooting out, and that beautiful, full balloon making an unflattering noise as it deflates into a pathetic little pile. Then there is no dancing on the wind, and taking in the beauty of the world, and receiving happy smiles from those who watch it. Now it can do nothing fun at all.