The Wedding Party

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Good morning. My name is August Fern, and I am a member of the Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, and Kensington Community Group, but we'll have to let me know.

Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 2, verses 1 through 11, as printed in your liturgy.

John 2:1–11

A reading from the Gospel according to John.

On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.

Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him,

They have no more wine.

Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied.

My hour has not yet come.

His mother said to the servants,

Do whatever he tells you.

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for a ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons.

Jesus said to the servants,

Fill the jars with water.

So they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them,

Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.

They did so.

And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.

He did not realize where it had come from,

though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

Then he called the bridegroom aside and said,

Everyone brings out the choice wine first,

and then the cheaper wine,

after the guests have had too much to drink.

But you have saved the best till now.

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory,

and his disciples believed in him.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Good morning.

I decided to wear my wine-colored sweater today.

Because it was cold and because of this text.

But, you know, if you were here on Christmas Eve,

we began that night looking at this gospel of John, the fourth gospel.

And we looked at the prologue,

which really kind of tells you everything you need to know about what's coming.

And there at the very beginning of John 1,

it says,

In the beginning was the Word.

The Word was with God.

The Word was God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

No one has ever seen God,

but the one and only Son who is himself God,

and is in closest relationship with the Father,

has made him known.

And see, John, when he begins this gospel,

he doesn't bury the lead.

Right?

He just puts it right there on the front cover,

on the top of the page,

the most important story,

the most essential news,

the most crucial information

that we need to know.

And basically what John is telling us there,

he's saying,

if you're a person who wants to know

who God is,

look at Jesus.

And further,

John says,

if you're a person who wants to know

who Jesus is,

then follow my gospel,

follow my biography of Jesus

very, very closely.

So we get another clue

about Jesus at the end of John 1.

And if you want to pick up your Bible

in the pews,

you can see where Jesus says

at the end of John 1,

he tells one of his newest disciples,

a guy named Nathaniel,

he says,

Nathaniel,

you will see heaven open,

and you'll see the angels of God

ascending and descending

on the Son of Man.

What Jesus is saying there

is that to people who are watching

with just even a little bit of faith,

you'll see that the angels of God

are actually going up

and they're coming down

at the place where Jesus is.

Wherever Jesus is,

that's where heaven is opening up.

He says that there are going to be

all these moments of

when the transforming power

of God's love

bursts into the world

where it's as if heaven

will be coming down

upon the earth.

And this wedding in Cana

is such a moment, right,

where the Word of God

made flesh shows up,

where He's present,

and wherever He goes,

He brings with Him

a different dimension of reality.

He brings that into being.

He creates new possibilities

for people to enjoy

the abundant life

that comes through Him.

And so that's what we're going to look at

with this text today.

We're going to talk about

the Lord of the Feast,

and then we're going to talk about

the hour to come,

and we'll close by talking about

the foretaste of joy.

So the Lord of the Feast,

the hour to come,

and the foretaste of joy.

But first of all,

the Lord of the Feast.

When we look at this text

starting in verse 1,

it says,

On the third day,

a wedding took place

at Cana in Galilee,

and Jesus' mother was there,

and Jesus and His disciples

had also been invited

to the wedding.

This Cana is a Jewish,

little Jewish village.

It's about eight miles northeast

of Jesus' hometown of Nazareth.

So this is the hometown,

Cana is the hometown of Nathanael,

the latest disciple

that Jesus has just called

at the end of John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

and the bride and groom

of this wedding

are part of Nathanael's

extended community,

and it seems that

Jesus' mother

is probably friends

with the parents

of the bride and the groom,

which is why she's so involved

in this story.

It's just eight miles away

from where she lives.

And it's important

to remember that,

you know,

in ancient cultures

cultures,

and in traditional cultures

today,

they emphasize the family,

they emphasize the community

over the individual

so that, you know,

your meaning in life

is not so much found

in your individual achievements,

the meaning in life

is found in being

a good husband

and a good wife,

being a good son

and daughter,

being a good mother

and father.

And the purpose of marriage

is not so much

the happiness

of the two individuals

involved in this event,

but the purpose of marriage

is to bind

the whole community together,

is to raise up

the next generation together.

And that meant

that weddings

were quite different

than the kind of weddings

that we go to today

because each wedding

was a public feast

for the entire town,

right?

Because marriage

was about the whole community

and not just merely

this couple.

But it did involve

the couple, okay?

The couple had to be there.

And this was

the biggest event

in their personal life,

the personal life

of the bride and groom.

This is the day

when they come of age.

This is the day

when they become

full adult members

of society.

And so it's really

no surprise

that with these

ancient wedding feasts,

I mean,

they didn't just have a day.

They had a week, right?

It lasted a whole week long

worth of celebration.

And when you think

about that context,

when you think about

that background,

our text opens abruptly

on a great crisis,

right?

A massive disaster

because we assume

that there may be

one or two days

into this wedding festival

and the wine runs out.

Which essentially means

that the party

is over.

And

in an honor-shame culture

particularly,

this is a disaster, right?

This is a catastrophe.

And that's why

the mother of Jesus

comes to him

and wants him

to step in,

wants him to intervene

and to save the situation.

And so it says

in verse 3,

when the wine was gone,

Jesus' mother said to him,

they have no more wine.

And then if you look down

in verse 11,

it says,

what Jesus did here

in Cana of Galilee

was the first of the signs

through which

he revealed his glory

and his disciples

put their faith

in him.

And this is the key

to understanding

this whole text.

Right?

It's not called

merely a miracle.

It's called a sign.

And a sign

is a symbol.

A sign is a signifier.

A sign points

to something

beyond itself.

Every day

we look at signs.

Signs that say,

get on here.

Get off there.

Go into this place.

Go over there

to that place.

This signpost

at this wedding

in Cana

reveals

the glory

of Jesus.

Right?

It's this special

display of his power

that's pointing us

to a deeper reality.

It's pointing us

and saying,

this is Jesus'

true identity.

This is who he is.

This is why he came.

And we've got to remember

that this is the beginning

of Jesus' career.

Right?

It's the beginning

of his public ministry.

And so,

if you're a candidate

for public political office

or if you are an entrepreneur

and you're wanting

to launch your brand,

you know,

if you're a musician

who's releasing

a major recording,

you are going to choose

your first public presentation

with enormous care.

Some of you have done this.

Right?

Every detail

that you say,

every detail

about what you do,

it needs to convey

the message

of who you are

and why you're here,

what you offer.

Think about

Jesus

and his calling card.

Think about

the brand

that Jesus is launching.

Why would Jesus

decide to signify

that the main thing

that he's all about

is throwing

a good party?

Why?

The first of all

the miracles

he could have done,

why would this sign

that reveals

the glory

of who he is,

why would he decide

to bring a supernatural

supply

of not just

quantity wine

but quality wine

that will sustain

a wedding feast?

Why would he do that?

I mean,

does Jesus not

read the newspaper?

Is he not aware

of all the major threats

and crises

and dangers

that are facing

the human race?

Why in the world

would Jesus decide

not to do something

here about

disease?

Why isn't he doing

something right now

about hunger

or poverty

or the climate

or

death itself?

War?

All these

problems that we have.

When you look at

verse 9,

it says

that we're introduced

to this guy

who's called

the master

of the banquet

and he's having

a very bad day

by the way

because he's in charge

of making sure

that all the elements

of the celebration,

the food,

the drink,

the music,

the entertainment,

that all of these things

are ready to go

and to keep going.

His job

is to make the party

a wonderful celebration.

And so when Jesus comes

and he turns

the water

into wine

that brings salvation

to this wedding feast,

don't you see

what Jesus is saying?

He's saying,

I'm the true master

of the banquet.

I'm the real

Lord of the feast.

And if you know

your Bible,

you might say,

well, wait a minute,

I thought Jesus came

to be

the word of God

made flesh.

I thought he came

to humble himself,

to take on our sin

and our suffering

and our sorrow.

I thought he came

to be rejected

and to go to the cross

and all these

really hard things

and sad things.

And that's right,

but Jesus in this sign

is putting all of that

terrible humiliation

and all of that awful pain

into a larger

and much more wonderful context.

He's saying,

yes, I'm going to deny myself

and yes, I'm going to suffer.

Yes, I'm going to sacrificially

give my life

and all of my followers

will give something

of themselves as well.

But all that is

just a means

to a greater end.

And the end

is the banquet.

Right?

The end is the feast.

The end is the wine.

The end is the joy.

That all of the humiliation

and all the pain

that I'm going to go through

and that my people

are going to go through

is in order

to bring about resurrection.

In order to bring about

new creation.

Where heaven and earth

finally come together.

where they intersect

and they overlap.

And in that moment,

I'm going to wipe away

all the tears

from your eyes.

Right?

In that moment,

there's going to be

no more crying.

No more pain.

No more tears.

There's going to be

no more disease

and hunger

and war

and poverty

and death.

Right?

The old order of things

is going to pass away.

The new order,

the new creation

is going to come

and when it comes,

it will bring about a joy

that will absolutely overflow

and explode your heart.

You see,

Jesus has read his Bible

very closely

leading up to this moment

and he treasures

God's word,

particularly

those places

in the Bible

that talk about

this eternal feast

of joy

when the Messiah comes.

And I'll just give you

a few examples.

This is from

Genesis 29.

First book in the Bible

and it says,

the scepter will not

depart from Judah

nor the ruler's staff

from between his feet

until he to whom

it belongs

shall come

and the obedience

of the nation

shall be his

and get this,

it says,

he will tether

his donkey to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch

and then it says,

he will wash his garments

in wine

and his robes

in the blood

of grapes.

What does it mean

if you're washing

your garments

not in water

but in wine?

What does that mean?

That is a sign

of extreme abundance.

Extreme riches

and wealth

and prosperity

and blessing, right?

I didn't wash

my clothes in water,

I washed them in wine.

Amos chapter 9

Amos 9 · chapter mention

says this,

it says,

the days are coming

declares the Lord

when the reaper

will be overtaken

by the plowman

and the planter

by the one

treading grapes

and it says,

new wine

will drip

from the mountains

and wine

will flow

from all the hills.

There will be rivers

of wine

when the Messiah comes.

This is my favorite,

Isaiah 20, 25

says this,

it says,

on this mountain

the Lord Almighty

will prepare

a feast

of rich food

for all peoples,

a banquet

of aged wine,

the best

of meats

and the finest

of wines.

It's hard to capture

that in English

but here it kind of

sounds,

it rhymes

in Hebrew.

It sounds like

a feast of filet,

a banquet

of cabernet.

Filet mignon,

cabernet sauvignon.

Right?

That's what it sounds

kind of like in Hebrew.

It says,

there will be such a feast

that the Lord Almighty

will prepare

for His people

that on this mountain

at that feast

He will destroy

the shroud

that enfolds

all the peoples,

the sheet

that covers

all the nations.

He will swallow up

death forever

and the sovereign Lord

will wipe away

the tears

from all their eyes.

and He will remove

the people's disgrace

from all the earth.

And Isaiah says,

let us rejoice

and be glad

in this salvation.

Do you see

what Jesus

is doing?

Chez panie

and French laundry

cannot hold

a candle

to the coming

Messianic feast

because it has

to do

with the

wiping away

of the tears

from our faces.

It has to do

with the destruction

of death itself.

It has to do

with the ridding

of our disgrace

and the salvation

of joy

and gladness

that only the Lord

Almighty

can accomplish.

Jesus is saying

that those who believe

in Me

can have within them

this transporting joy.

Right?

They can have within them

a deep heart fulfillment

moment that

is not only

for later

it's for right now.

That if you

trust in Me

a stream of joy

a river

of wine

will flow

within your heart.

At the end

of The Lord of the Rings

Samwise Gamgee

!

wakes up

and he

realizes

he's been rescued

from the fires

of Mount Doom

and he sees

that Gandalf

is somehow alive

and he says

Gandalf

I thought you were dead

but then I thought

I was dead

and then he says

is everything sad

going to come

untrue?

And what Jesus

is saying

is that

if I'm the master

of the banquet

who stepped out

of eternity

and into time

if I'm the Lord

of the feast

who's come down

from heaven

to earth

if I've come

to defeat

sin and death

if I've come

to be resurrected

and to launch

a new creation

then

you can be sure

that everything sad

is going to come

untrue.

You can be sure

that everything wrong

is going to be put right.

You can be sure

that

the wine

is going to flow

without ever

coming to an end.

Dostoevsky

put it like this.

I know a few of you

are reading

or would like to read

the Brothers Karamazov.

Dostoevsky says

I believe like a child

that suffering

will be healed

and made up for

that all the humiliating

absurdity

of human contradictions

will vanish

like a pitiful mirage

like the despicable

fabrication

of the impotent

and infinitely small

Euclidean mind

of man

that in the world's finale

at the moment

of eternal harmony

something so precious

will come to pass

that it will suffice

for all hearts

for the comforting

of all resentments

for the atonement

of all the crimes

of humanity

for all the blood

that they've shed

that it will make it

not only possible

to forgive

but to justify

all that has happened.

I want to encourage

us not to sentimentalize

this wedding

at Cana

to think that

Jesus has just come

to save this family

from social shame

or to think that

he's just come

to make this little

Jewish community

happy for a few more days

of wedding celebrations

because what Jesus

is saying

is that I am

the Lord

of the feast

that's my calling card

that is my brand

my first sign

to reveal

my glory

is that I've come

to bring joy

to the whole world

and I've come

to take this

sad and miserable world

and set everybody

laughing again

that's what I've come

to do

so that's point number one

the Lord of the feast

point number two

is the hour to come

the hour to come

you know

Jesus adorns

the institution

of marriage

with his presence

with his action

at this wedding

as if to say

and I think he's

very intentional

in doing what he did

where he did it

as if to say

that the creator

God's original design

and direction

for male-female

relationships

and for families

at the beginning

is very very good

Jesus is going

to go on

and he's going

to elevate

our vision

of marriage

and our vision

of singleness

in the kingdom

of God

but the main point

of our text

is not so much

about our marriages

in our extended families

the main point

of our text

is about the marriage

covenant

between God

and his people

throughout the Old Testament

we hear about

God as the bridegroom

and his people

as the bride

that God is such

that he wants

a love relationship

with us

like a husband

and a wife

have with each other

he wants that profound

permanent union

and intimacy

and joy

of bride and groom

and this is why

when Jesus comes

he refers to himself

over and over

as the bridegroom

he says in Matthew 22

the kingdom of heaven

is like a king

who prepared a wedding

banquet for his son

the apostles

pick this up

in Ephesians 5

Paul talks about

Jesus being the husband

who gives himself up

for his bride

the church

and the very end

of the Bible

carries this image

all the way

to the end

it says there's going

to be a great

heavenly wedding feast

that's prepared

at the end of time

it's called

the marriage supper

of the lamb

and it says

that the people

of God

will be like a bride

that's dressed

for her husband

and the question

when you look

at that whole

arc of scripture

the question is

how will that be

like how will that

happen

how will Jesus

come

and bring about

the wedding

of God

and humanity

how will he bring

about the marriage

of union

and intimacy

and joy

between God

and his people

and that's what

brings us to this

tense and somewhat

awkward conversation

that Jesus has

with his mother

because she comes

and she tells Jesus

she says the wine

has run out

and Jesus says

woman why do you

involve me

and that seems

a little strange

right

it seems kind of

cold

and insensitive

like the fifth

commandment

of the ten commandments

is honor your mother

honor your father

and I went

and I looked

for like more

nuanced and softer

translations of this

and I couldn't

find any

they all basically

say the same thing

but we know

that in the gospels

Jesus is not

easily irritated

right

we know that

he never says

things that he regrets

and has to come back

and say I'm sorry

for that

we know that even

when he was tortured

he didn't say harsh

and angry words

so what in the world

is going on here

well something

something's weighing

heavily upon Jesus

at this wedding

it says in verse 4

woman why do you

involve me

Jesus replied

my hour has not

yet come

and if you read

the gospel of John

closely

Jesus refers to this

hour many times

and every time

he's speaking about

the coming hour

of his death

right

his hour

is the moment

of his death

on the cross

now how does this

make any sense

his mother Mary

says help

there's a disaster

they've run out of

wine

and Jesus says

why are you telling me

this

I'm not ready

for my hour of death

I'm not ready to die

and it just seems

like a non sequitur

what is Jesus

thinking at this moment

what he's thinking

is I'm about

to perform

a powerful sign

of what I've come

to do

and what is needed

what is needed

to turn the misery

and the sadness

of this world

into joy

what is needed

to bring

God

and his people

together

like bride

and groom

what is going

to have to happen

for that to transpire

and Jesus is thinking

it's the coming hour

of my death

and we don't know

how much Mary

understood this

in the moment

but she understood

enough to say

in verse 5

she tells the servants

do whatever

he tells you

I know enough

to say

do whatever

Jesus tells you

to do next

and it says

in verse 6

nearby stood

six stone water jars

the kind used

by the Jews

for ceremonial washing

each holding

from 20 to 30 gallons

and Jesus said

to the servants

fill the jars

with water

so they filled

them to the brim

and then he told

them now draw out

some and take it

to the master

of the banquet

why would Jesus

create new wine

in jars

that are used

by Israel

for ceremonial washing

why use jars

for ceremonial cleansing

and purification

is this a total accident

is this complete coincidence

no what Jesus

is communicating here

is that

what the hour

of my death

is all about

is the kind

of washing

that will make

possible

the union

of God

and his people

in intimacy

and love

and joy

and if you know

your Old Testament

like Jesus did

you know it contains

many many rights

and regulations

of purification

that

what was required

were many

and various courses

of cleansing

that point

us to our

most basic

spiritual need

right

these washings

vividly got across

the idea

that God

is holy

God is righteous

God is perfect

that we

are stained

we're polluted

we're deeply

flawed

and that

in order to even

come in contact

with him

much less

become his spouse

become his bride

there needs to be

some kind of

cleansing

some kind

of purification

right

some kind

of atonement

and pardon

we cannot

just

walk right

into the presence

of a holy

God

as we are

and so Israel

had these many

purification rights

that led up

to their blood

sacrifices

and that's what

these jars

are normally

used for

and by

employing

these jars

that are used

for ceremonial

washing

Jesus is saying

that he's come

into the world

to accomplish

in the hour

of his death

once and for all

what all the

ceremonial

and sacrificial

laws of the

Old Testament

are pointing to

that we can't

really understand

the wedding

feast of

marital union

and intimacy

and joy

with God

that Jesus

came to bring

without the hour

of his death

and the way

that his death

was to deal

with our sin

you see

instead of

Jesus telling us

that sin

doesn't really

exist

and you're all

pretty much

okay the way

you are

Jesus

in his entire

ministry

his entire

teaching

he's telling us

you're defiled

by sin

you need to be

rescued and

purified

from sin

and there's

this interesting

statement at the

end of

John chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

he says

it says

many people

believed in his

name but Jesus

would not entrust

himself to them

for he knew

what was in

them

what does

Jesus know

about what's

in us

what is in

us

it's this

capacity for

self-centeredness

it's in all

that we think

and all that we

say and all that

we do

to serve

ourselves

it's this dark

power that causes

us to love

ourselves more

than we love

God

to love

ourselves

more than

we love

our neighbor

and the

consequence

of all that

is that we

are alienated

from God

and we're

enslaved to

ourselves

and we're

in conflict

with each

other

and so when

Jesus says

to his mother

my hour

has not yet

come

he's saying

he's saying

woman

I can bring

the wine

I can bring

the joy

of the great

wedding feast

to this world

and I can unite

God as the

bridegroom

with his people

as the bride

in a relationship

of loyal love

I can cleanse

them from their

sin and their

selfishness

and their guilt

and their shame

but oh dear

woman

I'm going to

have to die

to do it

he says

mother

for my

people to

drink the

cup of

wedded love

and marital

joy

with God

I'm going to

have to drink

the cup

of their

sin and

their death

how does

Jesus bring

us joy

by losing

his joy

by going

to the cross

and dying

in our

place

friends

Jesus

at this

moment

of great

joy

in the

midst

of a

wedding

feast

he's

thinking

about

his

death

which means

that he's

thinking about

his death

all the

time

every

moment

of every

day

Jesus

has not

come

to be

a good

teacher

or a

moral

exemplar

or a

social

reformer

he came

to die

he came

he came

for the

hour

of his

death

to shed

his blood

to take

that cup

of God's

justice

and his

punishment

so that we

could raise

the cup

of God's

love

and God's

joy

it's the

greatest love

story ever

told

the bridegroom

came

to win the

heart

of his

bride

by giving

his life

up for

her

and every

love story

that you

enjoy

it's just

a hint

it's a whisper

it's a sign

post

to this

love story

and the

hour

that Jesus

knows

is coming

to win

the love

of his

bride

so we

talked about

the Lord

of the

feast

we talked

about the

hour to

come

and I

want to

just close

briefly

talking about

the foretaste

of joy

the foretaste

of joy

our text

says that

the wine

is gone

the wine

ran out

the wine

was no

more

and that's

the one

thing that you

can be sure

about in this

life that

no matter how

secure you

feel

no matter how

healthy you

are

no matter how

much wealth

you've accumulated

no matter the

successes you've

had

no matter the

relationships

that you

enjoy

the wine

will eventually

run out

every joy

will be

gone

every celebration

will come

to an end

it will not

last just as

the wine

at this

wedding

failed

but the

message of the

gospel is that

with Jesus

there's a

different

reality

he says

they filled

the jars

to the

brim

this is

180

gallons

which is

about

a thousand

bottles

of wine

that is a

ridiculous

amount

of wine

that's way

more wine

than they

were going

to drink

that's way

more wine

than they

needed

and it

indicates

to us

the overflowing

nature

of God's

generosity

toward us

the inexhaustible

bounty

and the

abundant

life

that Jesus

wants

to pour

out on his

people

for us

to enjoy

if we'll

just trust

and obey

that he

can do

it

and we

notice in

the story

that the

majority

of the

guests

they're

clueless

the guests

are here

they're enjoying

the best

wine

that they've

ever had

the best

wine

that they

could ever

imagine

drinking

but they

have no

idea

where it's

come from

they don't

even know

who to

thank

only the

servants

who obeyed

the command

of Jesus

only the

disciples

they're the

only ones

who know

the secret

and it says

in verse

11

that through

the sign

Jesus

revealed

his glory

and his

disciples

put their

faith

in him

that's the

pattern

the disciples

behold the

sign

and they

believe in

Jesus

this is the

invitation

and the

challenge

to all

who would

read this

gospel

behold the

signs of

Jesus

believe in

the person

of Jesus

pay attention

to the

wonderful

works of

Jesus

and then

put the

full weight

of your

trust

on

Jesus

and it

poses

this

question

to us

as we

close

are you

a wedding

guest

who does

not know

the glory

of Jesus

and does

not believe

in Jesus

or are you

a servant

and a

disciple

who wholeheartedly

entrusts

yourself

to Jesus

and if you

consider yourself

a disciple

I want to

encourage you

as we

close to

think about

the wine

of holy

communion

for a

moment

this table

we're about

to come

to

Jesus

the one

thing he

gave us

to keep

remembering

him by

is this

feast

where we're

to keep

coming to

him

our living

Lord

we're

to keep

taking the

blood

of the

true

vine

we're

to keep

drinking

the wine

of his

joy

we're

to keep

abiding

in him

whose

blood

of the

new

covenant

he

poured

out

to give

life

to the

whole

world

and as

we come

to this

feast

we've

got to

remember

that

in the

midst

of the

joy

of that

that

wedding

feast

in Cana

right

when

everybody

is

enjoying

themselves

while

everybody's

having

the best

wine

of their

life

Jesus

in that

moment

he's

tasting

the coming

hour

of his

death

that lays

before him

but we

don't have

to do

that

right

Jesus

sat

amidst

all

the

joy

of that

wedding

feast

and he

was

sipping

the

coming

sorrow

so that

today

you and

I

who

believe

in

Jesus

we

can

sit

amidst

all

the

world's

sorrow

and there's

so much

sorrow

but we

can be

sipping

the

coming

joy

every

time we

come to

the

Lord's

supper

by faith

we get

a foretaste

of that

coming

feast

and that

coming

joy

so that

even

those of

us

who

right

now

are in

the

midst

of

some

deep

sorrow

some

terrible

suffering

you can

come to

Jesus

and you

can sip

the wine

of the joy

that's coming

for you

and if you

know that

if that's

the thing

that you

possess

today

that will

enable you

to go

out

and put

into

practice

these

very

simple

words

of

Jesus

mother

when she

says

in

verse

five

do

whatever

he

tells

you

to

do

and

that's

the

question

as we

come

to

this

feast

is the

attitude

and the

heart

by which

you

approach

the

Lord

at

his

table

are

you

saying

to

Jesus

I'm

listening

to

everything

you're

telling

me

everything

you're

saying

in

your

word

I'm

listening

and

whatever

you

tell

me

to

do

that's

what

I

want

to

do

right

your

wish

is

my

command

I'm

going

to

trust

you

I'm

going

to

obey

you

whatever

you

tell

me

to

do

is

that