Changed by His Glory

Transcription

1 1 Changed by His Glory St. Paul s United Methodist Church, Warrington, PA Second Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 62:1-5; John 2:1-11 Yr. C [Ps. 36:5-10; 1 Cor. 12:1-11] January 20, 2019 Irving Cotto, O.S.L. [Jesus] revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him -John 2:11 Introduction It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon day on September 8 th, 1979, in Manhattan, New York City. Four months ago, I had just graduated from Seminary and had been assigned to serve in Reading, Pa. And on this day, I was ready to marry my bride. Our wedding was to take place at Washington Heights UM church. Dad was the preacher; mom was the soloist. Surrounded by family, close friends, everything was well planned and organized. Even folks from Central Church in Reading accompanied us on that day. Well, a few mishaps took place! The wedding was delayed not because of the bride or the groom, our matron of honor, the spouse of the officiating pastor, was carrying her newborn baby. A few minutes before the scheduled time, he wanted to be breastfed. And so, we waited. Then, as we are standing at the altar, one of the ushers; a young man, turned pale and fainted. Then, at the reception, we noticed...a miracle...our wedding cake had changed colors from pink frosting to green frosting. The wedding was over, and we were to stay somewhere in New Jersey before heading to the Poconos the next day for our honeymoon. I could never find our reserved hotel, but luckily, we found another one of the same chain; we finally could sleep indoors. We were tired as you can imagine, and at the counter I said, for the first time, Sir, do you have a room available, my wife is very tired! My wife!!! I am actually married... wow!

2 2 Well, we will celebrate our 40 th Anniversary God-willing, next year. And we are still learning how to sustain and enrich our covenant. TS: Today s gospel involves a wedding. Jesus and his mother are present. Like everyone else, they are there to enjoy themselves and have a good time. However, Jesus and Mary are very special guests. We know that because Mary the mother of our Lord is pretty influential and vocal about the couple s needs to the point that she takes the liberty to take action the minute she learned there was a problem. There was not enough wine for all the guests. Those days a Jewish wedding involved a week or two. And wine was a central piece of the celebration. It symbolized, life, health, wealth and prosperity, a blessing from God. Not having enough wine for the guests was not only unfortunate, but it was a social embarrassment. That explains why Mary didn t hold back; she wanted to find a solution. So, she goes to Jesus, knowing he had special powers and asked him to fix the problem. Look, son, the couple ran out of wine, do you think you can spare them the embarrassment? But as you know, Jesus responded in somewhat of a seemingly cold, and rude manner, women, it is not my time! It was his way of establishing his identity not so much as a grown man, but as the only begotten Son of God, with a universal mission, tied to no one but to the Heavenly Father.

3 3 Mary, caught on rather quickly. Suddenly, she took another approach: Do as he tells you. This was now her new request. And so, when it was the appropriate time, under his own timeline, Jesus performed his first public miracle: the water was turned into wine, and there was plenty to keep the party going for many days. Mary went from appealing to her family connections, to following Jesus lead with a servant mindset. The workers at the wedding following Jesus instructions immediately filled six stone water jars with water up to the top. The wedding coordinator tasted the water and was astonished. He pulled aside the groom and told him, you know, I m impressed most people serve their best wine at the beginning and then they put out their cheap wine, You have done things quite different, bad wine at the beginning, excellent wine at the end. What happened at the end of the story is not only climatic; it is transformative. The text says, Jesus showed them his glory, and the disciples believed. This is why my sermon title is changed by his glory (v.11). The word Glory in the Bible is both shekinah and kabod. This last Hebrew word, Kabod, means: respect, honor and majesty. On the other hand, Shekinah means dwelling: the settling of the divine presence of God. Jesus revealed his majesty, and his divine presence, and it will happen at other times, particularly at the Mount of the Transfiguration; here, his followers could not remain the same. So far, where do you connect with this story? How do you respond to this story? Is there anything here that speaks to you directly?

4 4 A number of things happened on that day: wine ran out, Mary approached Jesus in a different way; the water became wine. Everyone: Mary, the wedding steward, and the wedding employees, and the disciples were all impacted by Jesus action. The disciples in particular became transformed people, their destiny in life, their vocation in life, their priorities in life, all were turned upside down. They no long were in charge of their future. Jesus became their true Lord and Master for the rest of their lives! This is what happens quite often when someone decides to follow Jesus for the first time, or who deepens their already existing commitment. Their human agenda was invaded by God s agenda. When Jesus crosses our path, we can no longer remain they same. We begin to see life in general, and our own life in a different light. Many people throughout the world who have surrendered their hearts to Christ have found a new purpose and meaning for their existence. Illust. Tomorrow we celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In him we find an example of someone who was driven by a for justice, equality, and the dismantling of racism. But his was not just a political effort but a deep heartfelt expression of his own experience with discrimination and racism. He sought to do something about it; and so, he was inspired by his love for the gospel and by his faith in Jesus as Lord,

5 5 Savior and Liberator. His faith compelled him to organize people to speak the truth to power. {Beloved community} In 1968 a day before his assassination Dr. King expressed some words that continue to resonate loudly after many years since his assassination. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [1] By seeing the glory of God in Jesus action the disciples were embraced by an opportune time. They were provoked into a fundamentally radical response: conviction, conversion, commitment. Conclusion: Regardless, of how or when God s time invades our time, it comes at the right time. Mary went into the wedding as the mother of Jesus and left the wedding as a follower of Jesus, the Son of God. The married couple assumed they had enough wine for their guests, and most certainly came to the end of their celebration having been complimented for the best wine any one could share on such an occasion. From scarcity to abundance. The disciples went to this wedding as somewhat of Jesus entourage. Initially, nothing out of the ordinary happened; but then, they left the wedding as witnesses of something extraordinary ready to pass the word around that they had seen the glory of the Son of God. Consequently, I want to believe what anyone who comes in contact with Jesus will have their lives turned around. May God, create in us such a hunger for things

6 spiritual, that we express a willingness to be touched and be transformed. When there is a human heart changed and only then, a vision emerges, a project is born, a church is on fire, and a community is impacted. Let us pray saying, Lord, show us your glory. Amen. 6