The Greatest Gift

January 20, 2013 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Year C “The Greatest Gift” Pastor turns water into wine One day a young girl was helping out in service, as a communion steward. The pastor got ready to wash his hands, so he called the young girl over. As he was washing his hands, he saw that the liquid was purple. He whispers to the little girl, I thought I told you bring me water, this is wine. It was water when I bought it to you…replied the little girl. The inaugural event of Jesus Today we can celebrate that this is the official inauguration of the 57th president of the united States. This is a new day for him, a new day for us. We can only anticipate the good things ahead for the next 4 years. This familiar story of Jesus turning water into wine, is in many ways, the inauguration of jesus as the messiah. The first demonstration of his power. What is the meaning of this story? John does not give a whole lot of explanation of why he was at this party, why his mother thought it was so important for him to help out, it does not even tell us how he was able to turn water into wine. Maybe John feels that this story does not need any explanation – the story is a point within itself. From this story, we learn that Jesus likes to party. He likes to have fun and to celebrate. We see that God is a God of joy and of celebration. But we also see that God is also a God of mercy – who will supply our needs and who will help us when we ask. John the Baptist speaks of a God of justice who judged, but he is also a God of mercy who helps. When we give what we have, God gives us more – that is the point of my sermon today. God doesn’t come to us in extraordinary ways, but in the simple ways in our life. Most of the times in places where we are not expecting anything great to happen. Sign vs. miracle If you read the other gospels, there are 35 miracles that Jesus performs during his ministry on earth. But interestingly enough – John is not concerned about miracles. In the book of John there are seven signs of Jesus power – this is the inaugural sign. I am trying to get you all out of here early, so that the district superintendent can come. Every time I say that I am going to give just a short sermon – more and more good things that you need to know come up. I don’t want to give you a list of all seven signs in the book of John – but if you need to know ask me I have them listed. 1. Water into wine – chapter 2 2. Healing of the officer’s son – chapter 4 3. Healing of the cripple – chapter 5 4. Feeding the multitude – chapter 6 5. Walking on water – chapter 6 6. Healing of a man born blind – chapter 9 7. Raising of Lazurus – chapter 11 Sign is God coming into your life in a meaningful way The point for john is that God is not always in the unusual – but the usual. We don’t have to look up in the sky and look for money to fall out of the sky - God does not usually work that way – God works within our lives. Speaking of money falling out of the sky – this is a true story A knowledge of the Bible can be rewarding, as any Bible college professor can attest. Especially Richard McNeely of Biola College in suburban Los Angeles. Somehow he got picked as a contestant on the television game show “50 Grand Slam.” The show is based on the contestants’ knowledge of the given topic of the day. On McNeely’s day, the topic was the Bible. When it was over he had won the top prize of $50,000. God usually works within the confines of our lives. A sign is a act of our everyday lives that brings wonder and meaning to the event. Something that happens in your life, and you know that only God could make that happen. A sign of God’s presence is not a quick fix, not a big thing but a bunch of little things, a sign is not always in the estatic – but in the purposeful. Paul does not want us to be ignorant Speaking of knowing the difference between a sign and a miracle. I thought it was interesting that the first line of the scripture in 1 Corinthians says – now concerning spiritual gifts, I don’t want you to be uninformed. The King James says it better – I don’t want you to be ignorant. Now, let me pause for a moment to point out something interesting . . . Paul used that particular phrase--“I do not want you to be ignorant”—six times in his letters. . . twice in reference to the Jewish people, whose disobedience brought judgment, once in reference to his plans to visit the church at Rome, once regarding the sufferings he and his team had endured throughout Asia, once in reference to the end times and the resurrection of the dead, and here, where he says “I do not want you to be ignorant” about spiritual gifts. Excitement not necessarily a sign of God As I was researching this sermon, many people were saying that in Paul’s time there were a lot of charismatic people. People who believed that their excitement and charisma meant that they were holy. And Paul wanted new Christians to understand that excitement and charisma was not always from God. Sometimes their water is just that – water and not wine. There excitement is not infused with the presence of the holy spirit. Charismata – excitement and meaning That is why he says that no one speaking by the spirit of god ever says Let Jesus be cursed. If their actions don’t demonstrate the love of Jesus – then it is not from God. Then he goes on to talk about spiritual gifts. Or charismata as they are called. Along with excitement, there has to be meaning and understanding – the two have to go hand in hand. Paul goes on to give a list of spiritual gifts – once again this is a sermon within itself. I just want to say that it is not an exhaustive list – it is just a list of sign in your life that the holy spirit is present with you. Gift from the common good Paul says that to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. Gifts are given to you for the good of the community, not just for you. When people say that god gave them a gift, you ask and what are you doing to help others with it? Gift is not a talent A spiritual gift is not a talent. A spiritual gift is not really what you do – it is why you do it. Does what you do glorify God? Scripture says that we all have talent – we don’t all realize where that talent came from or why we were given it. How do you get a spiritual gift? – through prayer and through practice, but most of all honoring the grace of God. Discernment How do you know if your gift is from God, or man or the devil? The community has the gift of discernment. God gives us joy and excitement, but he also gives us knowledge of right and wrong in the scriptures. Remember Paul says I do not want you to be ignorant. – He makes important statement that the most important gift that we can have is to be able to say that Jesus Is Lord. We can only say that if the holy Spirit is present amongst us. True faith – is to be like Jesus mother Mary – to have faith in Jesus to complete the task. Faith produces results Faith calls forth the presence of the holy True faith is from God Whatever we do, whatever our gift (and we all have one) – we have to be faithful in our service to God. Whole town bought water There was a town, who had a tradition that whenever there was a wedding, you were supposed to bring a jug of wine from home, and put in the collective pot – so that there would be enough wine for everyone. Well times have gotten tough for this one particular family – and they decided that instead fo bringing wine to the wedding, that they would bring a jug of water. Their little jug of water would not make a difference in the collective pot of wine – so they thought. It turns out every family felt the same way – everyone bought water instead of wine. In community our gifts matter Paul’s point for us – is that in community all of our gifts really do matter, and that God has given us all a gift or two. But they are only useful when we are faithful to Jesus as the Christ. Jesus is the wine of our celebration! Jesus us the life of our party! Jesus is the source of our faith! This week as we celebrate the contributions of Martin Luther King, as we celebrate the second inauguration of our President. Let us also celebrate our faith in Jesus Christ – be in service to the world, but be in all that you do, be in faithful service to God! Let us pray…… Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant (1 Corinthians 12:1, NIV). Why do we bring Christ into the wedding ceremony? Because if we would only bring Christ into our marriages, we would have better marriages! A few years back psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers was quoted as saying that for about half of all American couples, marriage is a “quiet hell.” Many other marriages have degenerated into a “tired friendship,” as someone put it. I submit to you that this is a tragedy, and in order to prevent such tragedies, we ought to take the traditional marriage ritual seriously and invite Christ to be a guest at our weddings, just as He was invited to the wedding at Cana in Galilee. Above all, in this quaint and lovely little story, John is proclaiming the Good News that Jesus Christ is the Life of every party, that he is the one who livens things up, brings life abundant for all, even anonymous brides and bridegrooms in an out-of-the-way peasant village located somewhere (where, we are not sure) in the Galilee. As William Barclay put it in his commentary on this passage: “...whenever Jesus comes into our lives there enters a quality which is like turning water into wine. The trouble with life is that we get bored with it. Pleasure loses its thrill. There is a vague dissatisfaction about everything. But when Jesus enters our lives there comes a new exhilaration!” Nearly one hundred years ago, there was an American inventor named Louis Enricht who announced that he had discovered a cheap additive that would turn ordinary tap water into automotive fuel. At the time World War I was raging in Europe and gasoline was enormously expensive. Enricht claimed that his new additive would bring the per gallon cost down to a single penny. That certainly got everyone’s attention. Enricht even gave a demonstration to a crowd of reporters. He had the reporters check that his jug was full of ordinary tap water, then poured in a small amount of greenish liquid, stirred it up, and invited everyone to test this miraculous mixture in their own vehicles. They did and it worked! Enricht’s demonstrations were so convincing that even the world famous automaker Henry Ford offered him millions to buy the rights for his additive. And no wonder. We’re still looking for such a cure to our energy ills today. Actually, Enricht had merely discovered that if you add a very cheap chemical called acetone to water it will run an engine for a while. Then it will destroy it. But before anyone found that out, Enricht had managed to convince not only Henry Ford, but several other famous American businessmen who should have known better, to give him millions of dollars for his worthless invention. Enricht was a scam artist. His invention looked convincing, but ultimately it destroyed the engine it was supposed to power. The power of Christ, on the other hand, took that which was inferior ordinary well water and made it rich and full and delightful. Anything Christ touches is going to be improved by that touch. The water was not only going to be transformed to wine. It would be the best wine possible. In this he was but reflecting the nature of God. God is a giving God. The God who has given us a beautiful and a bountiful world does so because that is God’s nature. Andreas Schroeder, Scams, True Stories from the Edge (Buffalo. NY: Annick Press Ltd., 2004), p. 1., adapted by King Duncan,www.Sermons.com A Whole New Era What about the underlying meaning? What did this strange first miracle signify? In a departure from custom, John fails to interpret for us the miraculous "sign," which for him almost always means a symbol, a kind of acted parable. Some commentators see in it a preview of the last Supper, when Jesus transforms not water into wind but wine into blood, his blood shed for all humanity. Maybe. But, I think not. I prefer a more whimsical interpretation. Tellingly, John notes that the wine came from huge thirty-gallon jugs that stood full of water at the front of the house, vessels that were used by observant Jews to fulfill the rules on ceremonial washing. Even a wedding feast had to honor the burdensome rituals of cleansing. Jesus, perhaps with a twinkle in his eye, transformed those jugs, ponderous symbols of the old way, into wineskins, harbingers of the new. From purified water of the Pharisees came the choice new wine of a whole new era. The time for ritual cleansing had passed; the time for celebration had begun. Prophets like John the Baptist preached judgment. Jesus' first miracle, though, was one of tender mercy. The lesson was not lost on the disciples who joined him at the wedding that night in Cana. Don't let it be lost on you! Adapted from Phillip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, Grand Rapids: Zondervan 1995, p. 168.