John 2:1-11
Epiphany 2

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

On the surface it would seem that the problems we have with marriage and sexuality in our day are completely different than the ones that Martin Luther was dealing with in his day, at the end of the Middle Ages. After all, back then celibacy was something that was publicly honored. The people who were held up as being examples of leading the best possible life were monks and nuns. By deciding not to get married and instead devote themselves to meritorious good deeds, they were the ones who supposedly pleased God the most. In our day, on the other hand, chastity is something of a joke. Waiting until you're married is considered weird, and living together before marriage (if you get married at all) is considered perfectly normal, even among some Christians who should know better, who should know that all sex outside of marriage is sin, plain and simple.

But I would suggest that the fundamental problem, both then and now, is basically the same. In both cases, God's gift of marriage is rejected and despised. In both cases, people think they've figured out a better way than what God has given and designed. The results may be on opposite ends of the spectrum–in one case, sexuality is completely repressed in an effort to achieve some supposedly higher holiness; in the other case, it's indulged in a worldly way. But at the end of the day the result is the same. God's good gift of marriage, where He gives a man and a woman to each other, is belittled and even trampled on.

How often do we hear marriage talked about as the gift from God that it is and that it's intended to be, the life-long self-giving union of a man and a woman? How much do we do to promote that to our children and grandchildren? Certainly there are crosses to bear within this vocation, as in every vocation, but that's part of what it means to love. Instead, the usual messages that are heard are largely negative–the old ball and chain. It's no wonder that people feel free to walk away from their commitments and promises whenever they don't "feel in love" anymore–as though feelings are something any relationship could ever be built on. Our own failures in this regard, in regard to sexuality and marriage–our own failure to trust in God and receive His gifts as He gives them, is something for which we must all repent.

So in the context of all this, it very much worth noting where our Lord is in today's Gospel. He is present at a wedding feast. There He reaffirms and gives His blessing to marriage. He who created it in the beginning holds it before our eyes as something that is still good. If it weren't good, He certainly would not have attended this event, nor blessed it with wine for the celebration.

But, of course, this Gospel is about more than marriage. It's about how marriage and all creation has been redeemed and made new by Christ, our divine Groom. It's about our being restored and forgiven by His grace so that we will forever be His beloved people. We know that is true because, when Mary asks for help when the wine runs short, Jesus says to her, "My hour has not yet come." Whenever Jesus says that, "My hour has not yet come," He's always referring to His impending death on the cross. So we know right from the start that what's about to happen is connected to Jesus' death and resurrection.
Part of the connection, I believe, is revealed in the word used here to say that the wine failed and ran short. It's the very same word in Greek that is used in Romans 3, where St. Paul writes, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The reason that the things of this creation fail us and run short is because we ourselves have failed and come up short in keeping God's Law and living according to it. This has not only brought mortal judgment on us; it has brought a curse on all things. Even the blessings of God's good creation are temporary. Sooner or later all of our stuff will fail us. The Scriptures say that the world in its present form is in bondage to decay and is passing away.

So, when the wine ran out, that drew attention to the hour of Christ's suffering and dying in order to redeem His failing creation. Jesus reminds His mother that if she is going to appeal to him for a miracle, she must also deal with his death. Miracles don't come cheaply. They all are anchored in the cross and point there.

Through this first miracle of our Lord, then, the changing of water into wine, Jesus was beginning to redeem and restore creation, which would come to fulfillment on Good Friday and Easter. For He was reversing the draining force of sin so that there was abundance and joy once more.

You see, in order for this creation to be made new again, the curse on it had to be removed. And that curse was broken through the flesh of Christ sacrificed on Calvary. Galatians 3 declares, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'" Jesus took the curse into Himself so that by His death sin's crippling domination over us and over creation would be undone. All that brings deterioration and degeneration He has subdued and destroyed. His holy cross conquered and did away with the temporariness and the impermanence of this old order of things.

As this miracle in Cana occurred on the third day, so the body of Christ, raised on the third day, is the beginning of the new order of things. Through Jesus creation is renewed and revitalized. That renewal we can perceive now only by faith. But we see signs of it in miracles such as this. For it was prophesied of the Messiah's kingdom in the Old Testament that there would be an abundance of wine. Amos said, "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when . . . sweet wine will drip from the mountains and flow from the hills." And Isaiah foretold a day when the Lord would swallow up death forever. "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." In this miracle, then, we begin to see the very kingdom of God and the new creation breaking in, which will be revealed in all its glory on the Last Day.

The water pots were filled to the brim. For the fullness of time has now come. Jesus fulfills all that was written in Moses and the Prophets. Out of the water of the Old Testament promises we draw the finest wine of Jesus Himself.

In fact, just as Jesus used six stone jars in this miracle, so also it was on the sixth day of the week, Good Friday, when He broke sin's curse. And just as in the beginning the creation of man took place on the sixth day of the week, so now man is recreated by the water and the blood that came forth from Christ's holy side at Calvary. Do you see what the water and the wine are signs of at Cana? They are nothing else than the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which flow to us from the cross of Jesus. This Gospel tells us that the six jars were used for ritual washing and cleansing. And don't the Scriptures say that Baptism is a washing of regeneration? Likewise, is it not written that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin? Our Lord renewed the gifts of creation at Cana's wedding feast, and now He renews us through His sacramental gifts in water and wine, so that we might be restored to the sweetness of life with God. You know that verse of Scripture, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!"

You must learn to see and believe, then, that the miracle of Cana still goes on; the wedding banquet continues. The heavenly groom, Jesus Christ, comes in the Divine Service to you, His bride, the church, to celebrate your everlasting marriage with Him and to comfort you with His love. By water and the Word He has made you His own. And in Holy Communion you become one with Christ as He gives you His life and all that He is. He who showed Himself to be Lord of the elements at Cana now shows Himself to be Lord of the elements on the altar. He causes His blood and body to be present under the wine and the bread, and through this miracle He recreates you in Himself. These elements of creation won't fail you; for they deliver to you the Lord Himself who will never fail you or leave you. His grace doesn't run out; there is always enough and more. That is why the Scriptures say, "As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." "Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she should be holy and without blemish."

Dear bride of Christ, the Lord here gives you a vintage sign: at Cana, at Calvary, and on the altar–a sign of His glory, glory revealed in His love for you. As always, He has saved the choice wine for last. He has given His best; and it is all for you. Come, then, in faith to His table, that you may partake in the great wedding feast when He returns. For it is written in Revelation 19, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit