Jan 20, 2019                        Wine of God’s Forgiveness                         

         It had not been the greatest of weddings, and now, the reception wasn’t going all that well either. The bride was off in the bathroom, and the groom was over by the bar with his buddies, not sure what to do. And the families of the couple, had changed most of the name cards on the tables, so that they could all sit with their own family. The dance floor served as neutral territory between them.

         It had all started months earlier, when the couple announced their engagement to one another, their parents seemed to be happy for them, but they seemed so young, and from two very different backgrounds. Over the next few months, the parents met each other, and for whatever reason, took a disliking to one another. Since this was the first marriage for both families, there were a lot of demands made on the couple, about which church should provide the ceremony, which venue should host the reception, who should be bridesmaids and groomsman, and so on down the list.

         The rehearsal didn’t go all that well, one of the bridesmaids kept questioning the priest about the order of the service. The parents hardly said a word to each other, and a third of the wedding party, didn’t get their until the rehearsal was just about over. But, somehow the wedding went off without a hitch the next day, but there was a definite chill in the air, and when the bride and groom got to the reception, well, things weren’t much better.

         It was at this point, that the father of the bride got up, went to the bar and got a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He walked across the dance floor to the father of the groom and asked it they could have a drink together. They both sat down and began to talk, and as they talked, they both realized they loved their kids, and if this marriage was going to work, they had to lay aside the slights and hurts and differences between them, and become one family. By the time they finished the bottle, they were telling stories and family histories to one another, and the mothers of the bride and groom were sharing pictures.

         No, it wasn’t the greatest wedding ever, but the reception ended up going quite well.

         Now I have never had a wedding completely like this, I kind of borrowed bits and pieces from about a dozen of my more troubled weddings. But at a couple of them, I did see the fathers of the bride and groom, or the mothers of the bride and groom, or at least, members of the family, realize that they had to make an effort to get along, and be a family, for the sake of their kids. And part of that effort, was to practice forgiveness, and seek reconciliation.

         There are a lot of things to focus on in our gospel lesson this morning, but one of the main themes in the passage is about the forgiveness of sins. Those six jars that are mentioned in the passage are jars of purification, for the washing away of sin, in preparation for the meal. It is from these jars that the wine comes, to wash away the sins of those gathered for the celebration so that they may enter into a new relationship, a new family through the work of Jesus Christ. Finally, Jesus speaks to his mother about this not being the moment of his glory. That glory of course being when his body is broken in love for us on the cross, and his blood is poured out for our forgiveness.

         Now as I mentioned in our confession of sin this morning, the world considers forgiveness to be some form of weakness. And so we are called by the world to be unforgiving, to never give in, and in doing so, we continue to create trouble for ourselves and divisions all around us. Without forgiveness, sin in our lives grows and grows into an unending cycle of chaos, and violence. So it is fitting, that in his first miracle, in the gospel of John, Jesus goes straight to the heart of the problem, our inability to forgive one another, and shares with those at the Wedding of Cana, the wine of God’s forgiveness, that can make all things new, and gather us all together as a part of God’s family.

         And through faith in Jesus Christ, He can do all that for you in your life as well. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.