Epiphany 2 C And His Disciples Believed in Him

 Epiphany 2 C And His Disciples Believed in Him

January 20, 1980

By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell

Jesus’ mother knew that there was something special and holy about her son. His disciples knew

that there was something special and holy about their master. It was expected of Holy Men and

Shamans to possess special divine powers to perform miracles. The miracles gave their teaching

authority and were, in the minds of their disciples, the necessary credentials of divine authority.

A certain beer advertises that…when you’re out of “their brand” …you are out of beer. At the

wedding in Cana, when they ran out of wine, the party was over. In a compassionate response to

this embarrassing miscalculation, Mary turns to her son to save the day. Our Lord’s response to

His mother, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” Makes it sound

like Jesus had not discussed with His mother the strategy of timing in His ministry, but none the

less, He chooses to accommodate her, and save the host from certain humiliation. That raises an

often-debated question – dare we ask God to accommodate us in our hour of need? This story

suggests that the answer to that question is…yes!

Those are the facts of the story, and like most of the Gospel miracles, we are left to draw our own

conclusions. In a very ordinary home, at a very ordinary wedding (the bride and groom are not

even mentioned), Jesus changes 120 or 180 gallons of water into wine.

Scholars are hard pressed to discover any predictable criteria of expectation to the miracles of

Jesus. He healed lepers…but undoubtably there were many lepers that were not healed. His

disciples were miraculously freed from prison… while John the Baptist was held in chains until

his death. Jesus fed thousands…. but refused to turn stones into bread that might have fed the

world.

His miracles seemed to fall into three categories; healings, cleansings (the exercising of demons),

and feeding. None of His miracles provided any personal gain. The ‘miracles’ of His

counterparts (on the other hand) promised to produce; riches, power, and sexual potency. These

incidentally are the same category of ‘miracles’ promised by the hucksters of Madison Avenue.

And, as we know, generate millions of those clever enough to sell us a better mouth wash.

Our Lord’s miracles, pointed like a sign, to His divine connection. They gave His teaching

divine credibility; they build up His disciple’s faith to trust and obey Him.

There were some who dogged Jesus for yet another, and then another miracle. They were like

children goading their daddy to do one more feat of strength. Long after He had proved His

physical prowess. Jesus delivered more miracles than any of His contemporaries, but the crowds

were still not quite sure. They followed with a coy faith. Several times Jesus admonished them

for their obsession for miracles, and then turned His back. They sought Him out after the miracle

of the loaves and fishes…. for yet another sign, and Jesus turns to them and says, “You’re here

because of the bread!”

Even a superficial study of Christ’s ministry is enough to appreciate the symbolic poetry of His

life. His actions were living symbols of His meaning and purpose. To really enjoy Christ means

to read His life like a poem. What is the symbolic significance of a wedding? A wedding; a

union of opposite, a meeting of differences, an extension of family, a new creative potential.

When we meet in Christ our vision is extended into another dimension of hope. To say that

something is humanly impossible become the old way of thinking in Christ. Wine is the symbol

of spiritual transcendence. The Disciples spiritual excitement at Pentecost caused onlookers to

accuse them of being drunk. Wine becomes the symbol of God’s grace. God’s fee gift of love. It

later becomes the symbol of Christ’s blood poured out for all mankind, that by God’s grace we

might be free from the destructive power of sin. Both our sin and the burden of other people’s

sins on us.

There is the poetry of Christ in an ordinary wedding in Cana of Galilee. In Christ we have new

creative potential (Wedding)….and grace to cope with life by the grace of god’s loving Spirit

within us. Through the sacrament of bread and wine.

Well, as I said at the beginning, we are only given the facts of the story, and left to draw our own

conclusions. For me, the best line the story is the last. His disciples saw the difference Jesus

made in the joy of that wedding…they saw the difference Jesus made in the lives of people

hurting…and they saw the difference Jesus made in their lives…. here’s the line…. “And they

believed in Him!”

His disciples put their faith in HIM!

Our lives are surrounded by miracles of God’s love. They happen to ordinary people in ordinary

places, every day. I would dare to say that everyone here has been the direct beneficiary of God’s

personal loving touch.

We can of course question that statement…we can be coy about our faith, or we can, like His

disciples (the men who turned the world upside down) …. BELIEVE IN HIM!

A lot of people would like to see some new potential for their lives…they would like to

experience God’s loving grace in their hurt, and they can…we can…we can believe in Him.

Jesus said, “Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, I will be with you.”