Sermon Recap from February 4, 2024
Scripture, John 2:1-11, Mary attends a wedding that runs out of wine.
I grew up going to weddings. My parents were a part of a friend group that included five couples who had 15 kids. My older brother was the youngest of the group and then six years later I was born. When the kids were still kids the parents made a pact to go to every wedding—no matter when or where it was.
Fast forward to me from age 10-17 and there were a bunch of weddings to go to. And they were all a blast. There were road trips, hotels, pools, parties, food, dancing. I remember learning how to two-step at a wedding in Decorah, Iowa. I remember the moms dancing on the table in Milwaukee. I remember the dads dancing to YMCA. Weddings shaped my childhood with fun, celebration, and family. And I remember standing up at my brother’s wedding when I was 17 and sharing the “best man’s toast.”
I wrote about a ten-minute speech. It made people laugh and cry. Afterwards so many people told me it was the best toast they had ever heard. It was a formative moment in my life—when I no longer thought of myself as a kid, but as an adult with something to say.
Did Jesus feel the same way about the wedding he attended at Cana? In the Gospel of John this become his first public sign—the first act that revealed who he was to the world. After an enigmatic exchange with his mother, he turns water into wine. It was his “coming out,” and yet he seemed reluctant at first.
It was his mother who told him “They don’t have any wine.” While Jesus resists at first, he then goes into action, restoring the celebration with wine. Not only wine, but excellent wine, and a LOT of good wine (one commentator I read translated the amount into 1000 bottles). Jesus’ first act is one that continues the celebration. “On the third day,” John says, Jesus makes sure that the wedding party will continue.
This is what “grace upon grace” looks like. It is not a stodgy, judgmental, rule-following grace. Jesus brings a celebratory, two-stepping, dancing on the table, singing “YMCA” kind of grace.
Jesus begins his ministry because his mother knows he can. She sees something in him—like my mother who saw my writing as valuable—like my family who were astronished at my first speech. Jesus’ mother knew something. She knew the time was right, even if Jesus didn’t.
So I want to tell you—tell people they are remarkable. Tell all the people in your life (but especially the young people) what you know they can do. Tell them the time is right, even if they don’t believe you at first. Be like Mary, who understood what Jesus could do even when no one else did.
Celebrate with them. Give them joy. Give them a chance to shine. Show them grace upon grace so they can live into who God created them to be. Jesus came to bring life—even life abundant. A life with Christ empowers people to step boldly into their true self. And if you get a chance, thank the Marys in your life who got you started.
The Fat Pastor 