Epiphany 2C, 2025

Text: John 2:1-12

Title: Two Weddings

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The story of our world is the story of two weddings. 

The first wedding was held when the world was only six days old.  The Lord had made light and dark, sea and sky, land and plants.  He made the sun, moon, and stars.  He made the birds and the fish.  He made all the animals.

Last of all, the Lord made human beings.

First, He made Adam, the groom.

He formed Adam from the ground and breathed into him the breath of life.  He was not just another animal, but he was made in the very image of God.

It was not good for Adam to be alone, and so the Lord made a helper for him.  He caused Adam to go into a deep sleep, and the Lord took one of his ribs, and from that made Eve, the bride.

And there in paradise, was the first wedding.

Perfect man joined to perfect woman, a union blessed by God and given the blessing to be fruitful and to multiply.

As you know, the perfection of that first wedding did not last.  Eve was tempted and sinned.  Instead of stopping her, Adam joined with her in disobedience.

In their guilt and shame they made covering for themselves, hiding themselves from one another, and then hiding from the Lord who had made them.

When the Lord asked them what they had done, Adam and Eve blamed one another, and they blamed God who had joined them together.

Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and their union.  Pain, toil, and ultimately, death flowed from that first wedding.

And so our marriages today look much like Adam and Eve’s.

We give in to temptation, and then blame one another.  We fight and bicker and squabble with our spouses.

And our sin doesn’t stop there.

Arguing can turn violent and lead to abuse.

Husbands and wives refuse to be forgiven and reconciled, and they divorce.

Desire and lust overtake some, and they who share a bed or a home without the blessing of marriage.

Even the union of two men or two women is called “good” and “celebrated” among us.

And in the end, the death that Adam and Eve brought into the world will separate husbands and wives, parents and children, as we return to the earth from whence our Lord made us.

However, the story of the world is the story of not one wedding, but two.

The second wedding takes place not at the world’s beginning but at its end.

All of the problems that flowed from the first wedding will be overcome by the second.

The second wedding will not be between two mortal humans, but God Himself will marry His people.

He will unite Himself to us in a love that will never end.

He will put an end to arguing and separation, to sinful desires and to death itself. 

And when that happens, there will be nothing but joy.  Eternal joy and celebration.  A wedding banquet more glorious that you could ever imagine.

And Jesus’ miracle today, the transformation of water into wine, is a sign of that second great wedding banquet.

Jesus came to earth as the great bridegroom. His love for you, His bride, brought Him here.

Despite your faithlessness, despite your cheating heart, He loved you fully, freely, unconditionally.

His love led Him to lay down His life for you, to shed His blood on the cross for you, to wash you clean, so that you could be presented to Him, pure and holy, wearing a wedding garment made clean by His very blood.

Like the groom at Cana, we come up short.  We fail.  He ran out of wine.  He could not take care of his guests with his own resources.

You, too, do not have what it takes to love your family and friends in the way that they deserve.  How often do you feel like a failure?  How often do you say to yourself, “I wish I could do more?”  How often do you go to the cabinet to find it empty?

That’s where Jesus steps in.  He provides for the groom and his guests. 

There are two characteristics to the way that Jesus gives:

First, He gives in secret.  Jesus does not put on a big show.  Jesus does not gather the crowd around for a demonstration of His power. The servants know.  The disciples know.  But the head of the banquet doesn’t know.  The groom doesn’t know.  They have no idea where this wine has come from.

It is the same today.  Jesus showers you with His blessings, not in big, spectacular ways, but in hidden ways.  Everything that you have is a gift from Him.  From food and clothes, house and home, to the people He has put in your life, to your very body and soul. 

Just like He used the servants at Cana, He uses other people in your life as His instruments in giving you His gifts.  You may not know or realize it, but ultimately, they come from Him.

And most especially in the sacraments Jesus uses ordinary elements to work miracles.  In mere moments, the Lord who changed water into wine will change bread and wine into His body and blood.

Next week, He will use ordinary water in this font to bring His Holy Spirit into a young person’s life.

When Jesus, the bridegroom gives, it is in hidden ways.  That’s where you find His glory.

The second way that Jesus gives is with His best.

Several years ago, Amberleigh and I were on vacation in Pennsylvania.  And we noticed that there were a few wineries in the area, and so we decided to do some wine-tasting.

We hadn’t heard of Pennsylvania wines.  And we discovered that there was a reason for that. Now we’re not wine-snobs by any stretch of the imagination, but none of the wines that we tasted seemed very good. We were polite and tried a few, but it was not good.

Finally, we came to our last stop.  After driving a ways we found ourselves in a strip mall. Which seemed to be an odd place for a winery.  We almost didn’t even bother going in, but since we had made the trip, we decided to at least give it a try.

And it’s a good thing that we did.  The wines there were incredible.  On talking to the server, we discovered that the grapes for this wine were not local, but had been grown in California.  The winemaker was from Pennsylvania, which explains why he had an outlet there. 

The point is this.  We could taste the difference.  And so could the master of the banquet.  The wine Jesus provided is the best.

Jesus doesn’t just give the bare minimum, a few bottles of two buck chuck to a bunch of partiers who will never know the difference. He gives the best, and He gives in abundance to those of us who don’t deserve it.

This gift of the best wine at Cana is a sign, is a picture of that great wedding banquet, the eternal celebration.  Your mind can’t begin to imagine how wonderful that will be, the blessings that are in store for you when Jesus Christ, your bridegroom returns.

He will come again, not in a hidden way like long ago, but in power and might and glory.  And you will be changed to be like Him.

And all the bad stuff that came as a result of that first wedding, and all that you have done in the spirit that first bride and groom, all of that will be destroyed.

And all that will be left is the joy and the celebration of the second wedding, the union of Jesus Christ the bridegroom to His church, the bride.  And wine. There will be a bit of that there, too.