John 2:1-11
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
our creator, our protector, our wellspring of life.
Amen.
Trusting that God receives our words and the meditations of our hearts, let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Merciful God,
you speak blessing and compassion into the world.
Forgive us for the ways we act with judgment, cruelty, or indifference.
We ignore the needs of our neighbors.
We resist your call to oppose injustice.
We give in to scarcity and fear.
We assume the worst about one another.
Cleanse us from our faults and release us from their grasp.
Show us your lovingkindness.
Restore our hearts and repair your world, that we may live in Christ’s ways.
Amen.
God proclaims these words of assurance:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name. You are mine.”
In ☩ Christ, we are forgiven.
In the Spirit, we are made free.
Refreshed by the waters of mercy, live anew as beloved children of God.
Amen.
Gathering Song:
Bind Us Together
Prayer of the Day
Lord God, source of every blessing, you showed forth your glory and led many to faith by the works of your Son, who brought gladness and salvation to his people. Transform us by the Spirit of his love, that we may find our life together in him, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm: 36:5-10
5 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep;
you save humankind and animals, O Lord.
7 How priceless is your love, O God!
All people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast upon the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the well of life,
and in your light we see light.
10 Continue your lovingkindness to those who know you,
and your favor to those who are true of heart.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Jesus revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. Alleluia. (John 2:11)
The Holy Gospel according to John
Glory to You O Lord
Gospel: 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.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to You O Christ
In the ancient culture of our story a wedding feast lasted many days.
- During which an abundance of wine was a necessity.
- Running out of wine early would have brought great embarrassment along with some dishonor to the host family.
In today’s wedding at Cana story…
- Jesus is the young spiritual teacher who has been invited to this wedding feast…
- Together with his mother and his closest disciples.
The setting would be very much like a wedding reception today:
- With music…dancing…laughter…feasting and of course…an open bar.
- At this gathering there are farmers and tradesmen drinking together…
- No doubt telling spicy stories.
- And the women?
- They probably were telling their racy stories too.
- The whole atmosphere may have verged on something that would have caused some of us to faint dead away.
- It seems obvious that the people at the wedding felt comfortable with Jesus.
- Jesus seems to have mixed well with all classes and groups within his own society.
The Lord be with you
Now…Jesus was being asked to help keep the party going…turning 150 gal of water into wine…
- And to this day…many of his followers would not want to think of him doing this.
- But this shows us where the Son of God is often to be found.
- Not at the head table but in the larder…the storage room.
- Back in the kitchen with the women and servants and empty wine casks needing to be refilled.
But the situation now points to a crisis of large proportions.
- Mary makes a subtle observation directing her comments privately to her son.
- Maybe the hosts are special friends of Mary.
- Because she seems to have some kind of investment in the situation.
And when the wine ran out his mother asked him for help.
- Perhaps hardly anyone in the crowd knew how critical the wine supply now was.
- So…only a few would be privy to Jesus’ evolving miracle.
- The servants and host might have observed the miracle…
- And yet…kept a lid on the whole thing.
When the steward says to the host:
- “You have saved the best for last”…we could call this the perfect punch line for a divine joke.
- Well…what is the humor here?
- It is that…in the world…the best always comes first with all the tinsel…glitter…thrills…and promises.
- Then it gives out.
- Like the first wine in our story.
The trick of the world is to give us nothing after having promised us everything.
- On the other hand…
- The “trick” of God is to offer us a cross…
- A lot of challenges…self-effacement…
- And then to give us a Master and Lord who identifies himself with the poor…
- The helpless…
- And lavishes all of God’s best on them!
Our Lord does not stand before us with a golden crown on his head conferring huge favors.
- Our Lord is most at ease if we can accept him as someone standing next to us on a corner waiting for a bus.
- Or standing next to us at a wedding at the open bar.
- He is someone we befriend.
- And someone who befriends us.
There is no foothold for pride and attainment here.
- There is only this relationship that has very humble and quiet beginnings.
- The “joyful joke” is that this friendship we have with Jesus does not run dry.
- It keeps flowing…getting better…
- Like the best wine at the wedding feast.
- It comes to us while we are totally unaware…
- And out of control of the situation we find ourselves in.
- And this is what makes it so delightful and gracious.
Think of the finest wine imaginable flowing by the gallon from earthen jars at a party…
- Where most of the guests are too drunk to even appreciate it!
- If we allow ourselves to move beyond the obvious offense in this part of the story…
- We will find ourselves in the presence of a profound revelation.
Paul puts it like this:
- When we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly.
- One will scarcely die even for a righteous person…
- Though for such a person one might be willing to die.
- But God shows his love for us in this…
- That while we were yet sinners…
- Christ died for the ungodly.
To the pious this may all seem like a great waste…
- As must the finest wine have been considered a waste by the wine steward when the guests were too drunk to recognize it.
But God’s love and grace are like this miracle of Jesus at Cana:
- Seemingly wasted on revelers and partygoers…
- Who could never recognize the quality of love that went to death for us.
It is God’s joke on the self-righteous…
- That God wastes his best…
- His only Son on a world of sinners when it seems too late to save anyone.
- Amazing Grace…how sweet the sound…that saved a wretch like me!
Our Lord comes to us offering a paradoxical solution to our greatest need.
- In the cross God trades our worst for God’s best.
- God takes our sin and offers us God’s full redemption.
- And often we are not even aware of our need when God comes to us.
In the end Jesus gives us everything and that is the joke on us.
- It is God’s holy prank and cannot be duplicated anywhere else because only God can do this.
Our Lord is most at ease when we accept him as friend and co-celebrant at a feast.
- Let us pray to be with God and Jesus celebrating life here on earth and in heaven.
- Did you ever run out of hope wondering if you would ever get a refill?
- And then did a new supply come from an unexpected and overlooked source?
Song of the Day
For by Grace You Have been Saved
Prayers of Intercession
With the Spirit of Christ shining upon us, let us boldly pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
Giver of gifts, you form each member of the church to serve. Inspire us to boldly use gifts of welcome and healing, service and teaching, leading and preaching, for the sake of your work in the world. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Refuge of creatures, you place all the living under the shadow of your wings. Lead us in ways that tend to the needs of wild and domestic animals, creatures threatened by extinction, and the environment we share. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Voice of the oppressed, you call prophets throughout time. We remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a voice for racial and economic justice and for peace. Guide our nation in continuing to heed your prophetic call. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
God of steadfast love, as Jesus celebrated at Cana, nurture marriages and relationships in mutual care; in times of separation or divorce hold tenderly broken hearts and broken dreams. Be present to all who are sick, grieving or in any need especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan, Lisa (Bob & Doris’s daughter. Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Vicki Salzgeber, John Satino (June’s son’s dad), David Wilfong (Esther Gustason’s son-in-law), Clinton Nelson, Clementine, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Betty Hurley, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender, the family of Andrea Shultz, Don Bevers. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Spirit of peace, celebrating this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we pray for neighboring congregations and ministry sites especially: Church of God – Pastor Troy…SDA – Pastor Ralph…Bay Point Christian – Pastor Randall…St. Barts – Father Ethan… Blessed Trinity…St. Matthew…DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Nurture our shared commitment to embody Jesus’ love, justice, and healing. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Wellspring of life, in living and dying we trust in you. We give thanks for the saints. (Jimmy Carter) Guide us in our living until, at last, we rest in you. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We entrust our prayers to you, O God, in the sure and certain hope that your promise is revealed among the people.
Amen.
Pray with me:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Blessing
The Spirit of the triune God
☩ bless us with joy,
anoint us with compassion,
and send us in love.
Amen.
Sending Song:
What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine
Dismissal
Go in peace. Live in hope.
Thanks be to God.