We are on our third week of looking at the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus, that is learning to recognize what God is up to by how Jesus reveals God’s glory. Last week we looked at Jesus’ baptism which pointed to our baptisms and God’s righteousness for us. Today that glory extends to the revelation of God’s grace. And we learn that by looking at this passage from the gospel of John.

Now if you recall, John is known to be the last gospel written. In other words, the author believes you have already read or heard  Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s account of Jesus, and so when you read John there is more allegorical writings. For instance, we recall that the gospel starts with these words:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 

 ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

John basically is preparing us for what we will continue to read in his gospel about Jesus, who has made God known to us. So there is no manger in the stable, nor visits of shepherds or magi, rather there is affirmation of John the Baptist preparing the way, and Jesus calling his followers. Then we come to the wedding in Cana.

We don’t know how many people were invited to the wedding that day. Artists even vary to what they think. But We do know some of the guests: Mary, Jesus, and his new followers. And we also know that they ran out of wine. The customs of ancient Middle East were when it came to weddings you always served wine. Generally, the more expensive wine was served first, when the palate was fresh, then if you ran out of that, the cheaper wine was brought out later, because the taste buds really wouldn’t care. However, to run out of all the wine, that would bring public humiliation against the hosting family, and the bride and groom.

Jesus’ mother, Mary finds out about the lack of wine, and she is concerned. Scholars tend to think Mary might have been related to someone in the wedding since she became so concerned for the hosting party. Her concern led her to ask Jesus to help the family save this celebration. But we sense Jesus is hesitant as he gives this response to his mother’s request: “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” Meaning, he is not sure this the time to begin to reveal God’s works through him.

Now here’s an interesting tidbit we pick up on as we read John’s gospel, and that is Jesus has a habit of first refusing and then fulfilling requests. At the start of chapter 7 Jesus tells his brothers that he will not go to Jerusalem, but then he goes “in secret.” At the start of chapter 11 Mary and Martha ask Jesus to come and heal Lazarus (or at least come to be with them during this difficult time), but he waits for two days before leaving for their home. In this text, Jesus seems to resist the request of his mother before addressing the situation. In this pattern of behavior, refusing and then fulfilling, Jesus is distancing himself from any kind of authority his family or friends might have over him. What the author John is pointing out is that the ministry Jesus shares, the miracles and signs he reveals, are not due to social or family pressures. Rather, those signs and miracles are revealed as a matter of God’s glory. Jesus secret journey to Jerusalem leads to declaring about the cross. And his arrival after Lazarus died leads to the revelation of the resurrection. So, what is Jesus revealing here at the wedding? It’s like I said before, its grace, and the act of God’s overflowing abundance of grace for all.

Consider, he created 120 gallons of additional wine, this is after the guests have had a good deal to drink already (verse 10 tells us). I’m sure even Mary was surprised by that amount. And yet the result of Jesus’ works is not that the wedding is filled with marveling crowds like swifties at a Taylor Swift concert, rather the result is what Jesus knew God wanted, and that is the disciples believe in Jesus (verse 11). Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. The event became, for them, the first “sign,” a revelation of Jesus’ glory, because it points to God’s glorious grace. A grace foretold in prophetic texts.

You see, the wedding is a rich image in Jewish tradition, pointing to the time of God’s deliverance and blessing for Israel.There are various examples in scripture, but one we heard earlier is our Isaiah text:

Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight “and “The Bride of God,” for the Lord delights in you 

and will claim you as his bride. ⁵ Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

Jesus’ act of blessing this wedding, points to the rejoicing of God over Israel. It points to God’s delight in God’s children. And the abundant wine points to the celebration of this renewal in relationship. The glory John mentions in the opening chapter of his gospel was revealed at the wedding in Cana, which turned out to be a revelation of God’s promise to claim Israel as God’s bride. The result is Jesus’ new followers believed. The time had come, God had taken the bride.

So what about us? What deeper reality is Jesus revealing to us, his followers of today? I believe the glory of God Jesus reveals is a call to service, in community and in grace. Today is Human Relations Day in the United Methodist Church. It is a special Sunday that focuses on fostering better relationships and supporting community and youth outreach. For over 50 years, United Methodists have observed this special Sunday to honor the message Jesus lived out: that every one of God's children matters. And the United Methodist church believes together, we can accomplish far more than we could on our own. This of course connects well with the national holiday that celebrates the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, because he certainly was all about better relationships in community, and he encouraged it with grace upon grace, not violence, nor hatred.  Grace between races, ethnicities, genders, and ages. Further he believed in grace between socio economic differences. Those who have, should share with those who have not.

So, church, here’s my suggestion. Last week, we spoke about God’s glory being revealed in our baptisms when we take seriously the vows to reject and resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. What would it look like for us to reveal God’s glory in such a way that those who have, will pour an abundance of grace upon those who have not? You have a history of doing this. And if you need a reminder, here’s a recent one.

  One Sunday morning I stood before you and announced that we needed snacks for the Afterschool program. A ministry for working parents and children who need cared for after school. That Sunday evening, you had brought so many snacks that they towered over our one After school teacher, Nicole Gearhart (picture). Granted, Nicole is not the tallest person around, but what a great image of an abundance of grace, all within 8 hours of announcing.

In your bulletin you have been given an insert that lists some needs that I believe you and I, could meet.

Hershey Food Bank

• 12 oz cans of chicken 
• 8 oz cans of vegetables (any type),
• ramen noodles,
• mushrooms,
• bags of dried beans
• dishwashing liquid.
• Peanut butter Collection from our District Superintendent (last year challenged to bring in 200 jars of peanut butter that we sent do the local food banks. It could be sunflower butter, or coconut butter, but this let’s see if we can bring in 300.)

Collection for Mission Central

We will be collecting the following items to help Mission Central make new flood buckets:

• 24-ct roll of heavy-duty trash bags (33–45-gallon size) – Remove from packaging 
• Scrub brush with or without handles
• 18-ct reusable cleaning wipes (no terrycloth, microfiber, or paper towels) – Remove from packaging.

We made this list into an insert so you can take it with you when you go to the store. Or, if you are like me, and will more than likely forget the list, take a picture of it, and that way when you are at a store, you can have it in front of you. Then we will bring the items here and place in the food bank donations in the grocery cart by the welcome center or the mission central collection in its designated bin.

Here’s the thing, just as the disciples came to believe in Jesus that day in Cana, so have you and I, and the glory he reveals, because as John states in chapter one, “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (1:16). We have. We are blessed with grace upon grace. If you doubt that, try taking up a gratitude journal for one week where you write 3 things you are grateful for that day. I guarantee you will feel blessed.

Friends, we are blessed with grace, therefore may we reveal the glory of God in Jesus to those in need, with an offering of grace upon grace for the Hershey Food Bank, and Mission Central.

Let us pray: Gracious God, open our arms to embrace one another, to carry each other’s burdens, and to build bridges of understanding. Point us toward your light so that we may more clearly understand your desires and vision for all humankind. We pray that in this new year we may remove the barriers that block us from seeing your glory in one another; that divide rather that unite, and that keep us as strangers rather than neighbors. Make yours miraculous and generous grace known through us as you have made it known to us through Jesus Christ who taught us to pray, saying….

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us
our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is
the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.