Epiphany 2 2019

John 2:1-11

January 20, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Our Gospel reading for today, the story of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine is unique to the Gospel according to St. John. The wedding at Cana is the first of Jesus’ signs and it begins His public ministry. As we hear this account at Cana and the sign Jesus did there manifesting His glory, we come off of hearing about the Baptism of Jesus last week, witnessing the Christian baptism of a baby. Serves to create and sustain faith in Christ, faith that is delivered and sustained in the people of God by means of the Word and Sacraments.

The story at Cana extols the virtue of marriage. The Lord was invited to the wedding, and His presence and first miracle blesses this estate of one man and one woman joined together into a one flesh union, as God created. Because of sin many crosses have been laid upon this holy estate of marriage, nevertheless our gracious Father in heaven does not forsake His people, but blesses that which He established as holy and acceptable to Him.  Earthly marriages reflect a heavenly reality. St. Paul expounds on this in our Epistle.

Weddings were occasions of great joy, of family peace and unity. Throughout the Old Testament, marriage became a central prophetic symbol for the peace and prosperity that God’s salvation brings. In the union of husband and wife we see an earthly picture of the union between God and Israel, between Christ and His bride, the Church.  Peace and unity where the hallmarks of this marriage.  This is part of why traditional, Biblical marriage is so important, both to society and to the church, and why sexual immorality, that is to say, sexual activity outside of the lifelong marriage of one man and one woman, is so devastating especially when the sinfulness is willingly committed by Christians.  The way we live publicly confesses who we believe Christ is, and who we are as His children. All too often we fail in this regard. We turn a blind eye to cohabitation, we divorce without biblical cause, we adulterate ourselves by failing to live with chastity and holiness.

Repent of the lust in your heart, the wandering of your mind, your self-justification, your neglect to the fact that you are not your own, you do not belong to yourself, and your body is not yours to do with you as you please. You have been created by the Father, redeemed by the blood of Christ, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. You belong to your heavenly Groom, body and soul. 

This sinfulness is nothing new. It has gone on since Adam and Eve.  The early church frequently interpreted Christian baptism as a nuptial in which Christ weds an unworthy bride. Unworthy you are.  You do not deserve God’s love. You do not deserve His devotion. You do not deserve His commitment. Yet this is the mystery revealed to us by faith, that Christ weds Himself to sinners, He joins you to Himself, to present you not as you are in your sin, but without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that you might be holy and without blemish, cleansed by the washing of water with the word. Here, in the miracle of Cana we see that this marriage is begun.

The changing of water into wine, water that was used for rites of purification, shows that the purification is being replaced by another, different, and greater purification. The water in the stone jars is symbolic of the baptism of John with water only.  His baptism stands within the context of the old covenant that is concluded and fulfilled in Christ.  The wine of Cana is a symbol of Christian baptism, which is a baptism in which water with the word, made effective through the blood of Christ, cleanses from sin and bestows eternal life through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In 1 John 1:7 the evangelist writes that the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.  In Hebrews 10 the blood of Jesus is associated with the purifying actions of Baptism, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:19-25).  Jesus’ death is sanctifying purification applied through the washing of Christian baptism.

This is what St. Paul was talking about in Ephesians. The bridegroom Himself prepares His bride, pure and holy. In part, this is the reason why white is the traditional color of the bride’s wedding dress; it connects us back to the Baptism, to being dressed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all our sin, draped over us when we united with Him in the holy matrimony of this blessed baptism. You are not sinless, but through faith you are forgiven, presented pure and holy and righteous in the sight of God.  

Water and wine are just the start. Jesus changes everything.  Once we were destitute, empty, used up, and He changes us filling us with His Spirit all the way to the brim so that our cup overflows. He weds us to Himself, undeserved, unworthy, and all too often adulterous people. He changes we who are as sinners into the beloved bride of Christ, washed and purified in the blood of the Lamb. And then He provides for us.  

What was done at Cana is a type of all Christ’s working and of the final victory over sin, the devil, and the world. When we gather together in His name and receive the body and blood of Christ, He is given us as a foretaste of the feast to come. We pray after receiving the Lord’s Supper that God would keep us firm in the true faith until as His immanent coming, we with all His saints celebrate the marriage feast of the lamb in His kingdom which has no end.

The fine wine which the divine Bridegroom has reserved to the last directs us to His blood, shed in His passion and death, for in the death of Christ the works of salvation has reached its conclusion. By bringing this fine wine, Jesus manifested His glory, pointing to the glory of the cross. From this miracle Jesus’ disciples recognize Him as the Son of God and the promised Messiah in whom they place their faith and hope. It is in these signs that we see and believe Jesus to be the Lord.

From this we learn that all miracles of Christ relate to and call for faith. From the Word of God and His promises we come to know His gracious will, and from His miracles we come know His divine power and the purpose for He uses it: a lifelong, an eternal, union with Christ. May the Lord keep us in this faith, in our baptismal grace, and filled to the brim with His love.