“Signs and Wonders: Water Into Wine” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – July 10, 2016
Introduction
We are starting a new series looking at the Signs and Wonders of Jesus – primarily in the Gospel of John. And as we go through this series, I think it’s easy to know that Jesus was doing incredible things while he walked the earth. And we generally know that the Holy Spirit kept the good times rolling after Jesus ascended to heaven, because the early church had their own batch of miracles. But do we see the miracles in our midst today? Was that something that God only did way back in the day? Was there some arbitrary cut-off point where miracles stopped happening? Or do they continue even now?
As we see what Jesus did personally, also consider what Jesus is doing today.
John 2:1-11
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
What Is a Miracle?
Well I usually try to hide this fact, since its implications are huge. You may not look at me the same once you know this. I have a miraculous ability. I can time travel. It’s true. I’m not lying. I’m not joking. I can time travel. I did it this morning. I don’t need a machine or a device. It’s just something I can do. Of course there are some limitations. Two key limitations, actually. I can only travel through time in one direction – forwards. And it only happens at one speed – normal speed. But I’m still a time traveler!
It doesn’t seem so miraculous anymore, does it? We’re all traveling through time! Similarly, we can replicate Jesus’ miracle of water into wine. We just need some grapes, some presses, some containers, and some time. No big deal, Jesus, you just did it a little faster and with a few less raw materials. Kind of like MacGyver.
Where am I going with this? Well I wonder how we define a miracle. If it’s something everyone can do, it’s not a miracle. Sorry fellow time travelers. What about if it’s performed with technology or know-how? Flying would have been a miracle back then, but it’s just an everyday occurrence now. I doubt we’d classify a Boeing 747 as a miracle anymore. So the definition of a miracle changes as our abilities and knowledge change. To remain a miracle, it seems like it has to remain inexplicable or unattainable in some way. Maybe, like with the water into wine, it happens with impossible speed, or appears out of nowhere. Maybe, like with healings, it happens when other methods fail and there seems to be no hope.
How do you define a miracle? What are the traits of a miracle?
Does a miracle have to be physical? Is it possible to have miraculous calm? Is it possible to experience miraculous peace? Is it possible to experience miraculous love for an enemy? Is it possible to have a moment of miraculous insight into the truth? Can a miracle be emotional, or psychological, or spiritual in nature? How do you define a miracle?
Can a miracle be something NOT happening? Is it a miracle when a child almost gets hurt very badly, but instead they’re OK by a few millimeters? Is it a miracle when we almost fall, almost forget something huge, almost run into another car on the highway? Our intern Joshua had a tire blowout on his drive down here, and he spun around three times on the highway and wound up facing oncoming traffic, but luckily he made it to the shoulder and no one was hurt. Is that a miracle? How do you define a miracle?
One of the most fascinating aspects of our text today is that the bride and groom have no clue. The wine was stored near the women’s quarters, so some of the women – like Jesus’ mother – find out first that the wine has run out. But everyone else doesn’t know yet. And the bride and groom don’t know that they’re about to have a huge problem on their hands. In the culture at the time, this wouldn’t have been a minor embarrassment, it would have been a failure to live up to their basic obligations. Think of it as violating a contract or ruining their credit or filing for bankruptcy today – not the end of the world, but a big deal. And they have no clue.
They have no clue about the problem AND they have no clue about the solution. Only Mary, Jesus, Jesus’ disciples, and the servants who carried the jars know about the miracle. This bride and groom are playing host to Jesus’ first public miracle, and they have no clue!
I believe we are often the same. We have no clue how much God is doing. We have no clue about the impending disaster. We have no clue about the last-second solution. We miss the miracles around us every day. I do not believe God just made the world, invented some rules, and then let us have at it. I see God’s presence and activity around us every day. But we miss it.
Earlier this year National Public Radio did an interview with Bob Ebeling, one of the engineers who tried to call off the Challenger space shuttle launch that exploded. He had carried a burden of guilt his entire life. Even at age 89, here’s what he said: “I think that was one of the mistakes that God made. He shouldn’t have picked me for the job. But next time I talk to him, I’m gonna ask him, ‘Why me. You picked a loser.’” The letters and phone calls started pouring in trying to encourage him. Another engineer wrote, “Your efforts [to stop the launch] show that your care for people comes first for you. You did all that you could do. God didn’t pick a loser. He picked Bob Ebeling.” Many of the people who ignored Ebeling’s warning called and wrote him as well. NPR followed up and asked him, “What would you like to say to all the people who have written you?” And he replied, “Thank you. You helped bring my worrisome mind to ease.” And then he smiled, raised his hands above his head, and clapped. His daughter called that, you guessed it, a miracle. Is it a miracle when an entire nation is finally able to help an old man release his self-guilt? I think so. Especially the timing. He was interviewed in January. He found peace in February. He passed away in March. I think that’s a miracle.
How do you define a miracle? Have you experienced or seen a miracle? Or, like the bride and groom, did you miss it?
God Sightings Will Change Your Life
Noticing the Holy Spirit’s miraculous presence around you will change your life. I was just reading an article out of Harvard Medical School that talked about all the ways thankfulness and gratitude affect your health. Regularly noticing or writing down reasons to be grateful made people more optimistic, they felt better about their lives, they had fewer doctor visits, they exercised more. Married couples who expressed gratitude to their spouse improved their marriages. Managers who expressed gratitude to their employees saw increased productivity and commitment from those employees. Now Harvard Medical School sees many of these reasons to be grateful as positive coincidences. We, as people of faith, can notice the Holy Spirit in it. Noticing the Holy Spirit’s miraculous presence around you will change your life. Telling others why you’re grateful to God or grateful to them will change THEIR lives.
Or, like the bride and groom in our text today, we can miss the miracle in our own house. Actually, I love how this text starts out. V1 starts off, “on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee.” This isn’t some huge day. This isn’t Passover or the Festival of Booths. This isn’t the Ides of March. It’s just the third day. It’s just a random Wednesday. And it wasn’t in Jerusalem, the Holy City of God. It was in Cana of Galilee – a place we aren’t even 100% sure where it was. Nothing special. Pretty regular. And yet on this random Wednesday in this unknown town there was a miracle. Can we notice the miracles on our random Wednesdays in our own town?
What has God done in your life? How has Jesus made a difference? Where has the Holy Spirit been present and transformed something? What reasons do you have to notice the Holy Spirit’s activity and be grateful? Where have there been miracles around you? Noticing the Holy Spirit’s miraculous presence around you will change your life. Even on a random Wednesday. Maybe this Wednesday!
Challenge: Gratefulness Journal
In fact, that’s my challenge for all of us this week. Let’s be intentional about noticing the Holy Spirit’s miraculous presence around us. Maybe that’s something from the past. Maybe that’s something in the present. Our challenge is to spend time each day this week noticing the random Wednesday miracles. Maybe that’s writing down your reasons to be grateful. Maybe that’s starting your prayers this week with thankfulness, not your requests. Maybe that’s telling your spouse or your friend or your child why you’re thankful today. Notice God this week. If you want to, you can email me your random Wednesday miracles. I’d love to hear them!
There are a thousand random Wednesday miracles that led me here – God’s impeccable timing, God’s shoulder tap to notice the position online, the incredible people on the team. There are a thousand random Wednesday miracles that connected me with Becca and led to our marriage, not the least of which was bringing a Michigander to Texas for an internship at the church I attended. There are a thousand random Wednesday miracles with our sons.
What random Wednesday miracles have been in your life? What random Wednesday miracles have been in the lives of those you know? What random Wednesday miracle might be in store for you this week?
I encourage all of us to notice the random Wednesday miracles this week. It’s a chance to be grateful. Noticing the Holy Spirit’s miraculous presence around you will change your life. And telling others why you’re grateful to God or grateful to them will change THEIR lives.
So sisters and brothers, let’s change our lives for the better. It doesn’t have to be the Ides of March or the Passover or the Festival of Booths. It can happen on a random Wednesday. Maybe this Wednesday. Thanks be to God. Amen.
