The
Third Sunday after The Epiphany.
The
Collect.
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LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers
and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle
Romans 12:16-21
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E not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man
evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be
possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved,
avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,
Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy
hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good.
The Gospel
St. John 2:1-11
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ND the third day there was a marriage in Cana of
Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his
disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus
saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet
come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you,
do it. And there were set there six water-pots of stone, after the manner of
the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith
unto them, Fill the water-pots with water. And
they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.
And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was
made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water
knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him,
Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well
drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth
his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and
saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom
is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that
Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael
answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King
of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because
I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see
greater things than these.
(John 1:47-50)
I consider the lectionary texts today to be of stellar importance. They
represent the beginning of the ministry of Jesus at Cana. The ancient Prayer of
Collect opens with a petition for the provision of safety and necessity from
the Hand of the Lord. It further appeals for mercies on our common
frailty in life. If we remembered to pray this prayer first each morning, it
would suffice for our daily bread. Whether by profound miracle, or by the
common miracles of God’s nature, our daily needs are all provided by the right
hand of God.
The following selection from the day’s Epistle has profound meaning for the
Christian professor: 17 “Recompense to no man evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be
possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is
written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Some hearers today will not know, or remember, the term ‘hickory stick’ due to
the fact that its memory has not been indelibly etched on the hide of their
legs, but I remember! It was the punishment of choice in the mountain country
in which I was raised. The mention of it would strike terror into the hearts of
its victims. If I, or my sisters, or brother, misbehaved, we could expect
mother or father to go outside and break a thin, limber limb from the hickory
tree. This became a sort of whip that was used to evoke repentance for deeds of
disobedience. It was not possible to outrun the persistent lashing of the
‘hickory stick.’ Once after an argument with my younger brother of five years
of age, I told my mother on him for some secret misdeed. Mother said, “Jerry,
go outside and find me a hickory stick.” Gleeful at the opportunity for maximum
revenge, I sought out the prickliest limb I could find, and adorned with
especially hateful spurs. When I handed the branch to my mother, she took one
look at the dreadful instrument of torture and said, “OK, Jerry, YOU are
FIRST!” I will never forget that lesson of willful revenge on my part. I
believe God teaches us the same lesson. “Rejoice not when thine enemy
falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see
it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” (Prov
24:17-18)
Now we come to the glorious Gospel, so full of Light and Hidden Manna for the
early riser – for Manna comes with the mist of the morning. “O God, thou
art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see
thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.”
(Psalms 63:1-2)
The text describes a marriage celebration in Cana of Galilee to which Jesus and
His disciples have been invited. The event is heralded as Jesus’ first miracle
among a host of miracles. Of course, the text is referring to those profound
suspensions of natural law that Jesus evoked by the power of His Word. But we
must not forget that the pre-Incarnate Christ was the agent of First Cause in
the Creation of the world, the heavenly bodies, and all life. (John 1:1-03) The
changing of the elements of pure water into wind demonstrates our Lord’s
eternal sovereignty over the Creation which He has made. It was sensational and
stunning to man who deals more commonly in the physical realities of life;
however, I will suggest that this is the second recorded miracle of the Gospel
of John. In fact, I will claim that all of the life of Jesus was an ongoing
miracle of eternal proportions. Remember Nathaniel in the first chapter of
John? “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and
said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when
thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and
saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw
thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than
these.” (John 1:47-50)
Please observe that the Hidden Miracle here is one of the Spirit and
not of the elements of the physical world. It is this miracle that supersedes
all others. So what is the profundity of this miracle? It is summarized
by a comment by the Rev. Matthew Davis of Rhode Island yesterday on the AOC
Forum: “Matthew 16:17 ‘And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath
not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’
Unless God first reveals Himself they will never understand the
truths of the Creed or His Word.” The Rev. Davis got it right. First of
all, it is a miracle that God loves us. Secondly, that He deigns to reveal
Himself to us by way of His Word and the natural world. An anonymous love
letter, addressed to no one in particular, may be beautiful for thought and
prose, but it bears little meaning unless revealed to its intended beloved. The
most difficult challenge to the modern Christian is to see that God’s
personality and truth are just as clearly intended for his heart as it was for
the hearers two or three thousand years ago. Only God can bring that revelation
to the heart.
In reading the Gospel text, we see that those who are followers (disciples) of
Christ share in the courtesies to which He is invited. They were ALSO invited
to attend this, presumable, friends and family event. If we are in Christ, we
are accounted a part of His family and circle of friends. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the
servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all
things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
(John 15:15) Christ is all in all to us. He is first, a Friend; but more than a
Friend, He is our elder Brother in the family of God; and more than a Brother,
He is our Lord and Sovereign. He is a “Friend that sticketh closer than a
brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) If He is the second Adam (which clearly He
is), He becomes literally the Father of all who are quickened in the Spirit to
eternal life.
JESUS
CARES FOR THE COMMON NEEDS OF ALL HUMANITY:
So the marriage celebration at Cana reveals the Glory of His All-Sufficient
Grace to us in all conditions, big and small, of our lives. It places an exclamation
mark on the Institution which was God’s first in the Garden at Eden. Marriage
is so illustrative of the union that exists between Christ and His Church that
Jesus uses the occasion to demonstrate its importance by performing His first
material miracle. I love the beauty and reverence provided in the Book of
Common Prayer for the Solemnization of Matrimony that reflects this truth:
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EARLY beloved, we are gathered together here in the
sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this Man and this Woman in
holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God, signifying
unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church: which holy
estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence and first miracle that he
wrought in Cana of Galilee, and is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men: and
therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently,
discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate
these two persons present come
now to be joined. If any man can show just cause,
why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else
hereafter for ever hold his peace.
3 “And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
They have no wine.” The Greek term used here for ‘wanted’
is: uJsterevw (Hustereo) which means to fall behind or lack an
essential something for a particular need. The need may not be a profound
necessity, but it is a necessity for the conditions of the present moment – in
this case, wine, the lack of which would have been a signal embarrassment to
the family of the couple getting married. To the consternation of many of our
Baptist brethren, this wine is not unfermented grape juice, but the real deal.
The warmth and comfort of the fruit of the vine is illustrative of the same
which is granted, in a more marked degree, by the Holy Ghost. But the issue of
wine is not the focus of this event, but the revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ in His role as Creator and Sovereign over all powers – even His natural
law. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth.” (John
1:14)
JESUS
DESIRES US TO COME IN PRAYER TO HIM FOR ALL OUR NEEDS:
Another interesting point in this comment of Mary to her Son is the
familiarity which family associations breed. When we are part of the family of
Christ, we can approach Him with even mundane requests. Our every ‘want’ may
not be always supplied, but we have the privilege to seek it out and understand
His will in the matter. You will observe that Mary did not make ANY overt
request but only expressed a need. He knows our every need and will supply
according to His will. If we express our need in prayer, He will be more
acutely keen to satisfy that need if He deems it beneficial to us.
The miracles of Jesus are not to be regarded as the most prominent proof of His
Lordship, but as secondary revelations of His power and grace. The greater
revelation is in His revealing Himself to us as He did to Nathaniel, to
Nicodemus, and to Peter. The modern church that seeks signs and wonders is not
a church of faith and holiness: “An evil and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to
it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three
nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in
judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at
the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”
(Matt
12:39-41) Jonah was three days
and nights in the belly of the whale. Jesus was three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth. But Jonah came up from the whale’s belly, and Christ
was the first born of all the family of God in His resurrection. Is this not
enough iron on which to hang our faith? Why do we insist on God constantly
proving Himself? Should the case not be reversed?
THE KEY TO
GAINING THE BEST FROM THE MASTER’S HAND IS OBEDIENCE:
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine
hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he
saith unto you, do it.” Jesus’ response is not unimportant
to us. He seems to hesitate in His response to His mother, but she perseveres
and counts her prayer as already answered. She knows the nature of her
Son to provide all necessary wants. So she says to the servants (as well as to
you and me): “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” Has
the modern church done this? Have you done this in your personal walk of faith?
Remember, ‘WHATSOEVER’ covers every Word of Scripture revealed to
us. Of course, the greatest ‘WHATSOEVER’ that Jesus has commanded
is that we “Love one another.” “A
new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are
my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)
How many Christians fail of this commandment? How many churches?
Notice that Jesus commands authority – even among those who may not know Him. 6 And
there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying
of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto
them, Fill the waterpots with water. And
they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.
And they bare it. No one had ever issued such an unbelievable
command to these servants before, yet they obeyed immediately and without
question. When Christ calls us into unknown paths, we do not stammer and
falter, but rise immediately in obedience. If we hesitate, He may send His
“Hounds of Heaven” on our trail until we do obey.
OBEDIENCE
RESULTS IN THE BEST ALWAYS BEING AHEAD:
Do you truly LOVE God? Love
possesses a sacrificial quality. It foregoes self and exalts the object of its
affection. We have no means of loving the unlovely, but Christ is LOVELY. In
fact, “we love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) If
we obey and keep His Commandments, we shall always have the best to which to
look forward. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for
the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1 Cor
2:9-10) Who are we to enjoy such blessings! Do you desire the BEST, or do you
prefer the sordid leftovers of the world? “If ye be willing and
obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. (Isaiah 1:19)
This great truth is made certain in these verses: 9 “When the
ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence
it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast
called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the
beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that
which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
This is absolutely true. The world sets forth its shiniest and best false
pleasures before us first of all, but the blessings and benefits of God are
ever increasing in splendor and beauty.
Regardless of the victories and reverses of your life heretofore, the Lord can
make those victories and benefits pale in comparison to what He has to offer
those who love Him and are obedient to His Word.
