Welcome to Trinity Sermons. It is great that you are here with us today. Now we at Trinity
Streetsville are a church in the city of Mississauga where we want to love Jesus, live like Jesus
and lead others to Jesus. Now this is episode 3 of our sermon series, What Makes Us Happy?
And we are excited to have Rob Hirkmans with us to teach us about the happiest person alive
and a little bit about the amazing party that he is intending to throw for us. We hope that
you enjoy the sermon today. God bless.
Good morning Trinity. Today's reading is taken from the Gospel of John chapter 2 from verse
12. 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-toned water jars, the kind used by the Jews for 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.
After this, he went down to Capanum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There
they stayed for a few days. The word of the Lord.
Well, good morning, everyone. My name is Rob and I have the great privilege of being the
minister here at Trinity Streetsville. And I want to extend my own very warm welcome
to each and every one of you this morning. Maybe you remember when you were little, you
would come across little puzzles or games like this in magazines and stuff like that.
It would say, what's wrong with this picture? And it would show you a picture. It would
say, there are seven things wrong with this picture. There are 10 things wrong with this
picture. Can you find out what is wrong? And I found this one from like an old Reader's
Digest magazine. And I think there's supposed to be something like 25 things wrong with
this picture. And I looked at it and I found, yeah, a few of them. For example, there's
a bunch of broomsticks in the refrigerator. The boy seems to have a slipper and a shoe
on and if you can't see it, but if you look at the calendar, the calendar says June, but
it has 31 days in it. So there's a lot of things wrong with this picture. Nevermind
the fact that he's sitting down reading while she's just doing all the housework. But this,
again, this is from the 70s or something like that. But I thought, hey, why don't we play
this game a little bit this morning? I'm going to show you a picture and you can tell me
what you think is wrong with it. So what's wrong with this picture? What's wrong with
this picture? Hmm. Well, you could say there's a few things possibly wrong with it. One is
Jesus seems to be fairly white and pale. And of course, Jesus was a Jewish person who grew
up in the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin and he spent his childhood growing up
in Northern Africa. So, so probably he didn't look like that. Also, so many pictures of
Jesus like this, he looks kind of thin and he looks kind of sick, which is probably not
right either because the Bible tells us that Jesus was accused of being a glutton and a
drunkard. So, so that's probably not right either. But there's one other thing about
this picture, especially that I think is just not right. Something is wrong and that is
Jesus is sad. Why are pictures of Jesus always so sad? Well, you may say, well, Rob, it's
because he suffered. He had a life of suffering. Even Isaiah 53 says that he was a man of sorrows.
He was acquainted with grief. And of course you're right. Jesus lived a human life. He
was a human being just like you and me. And he was sad and he grieved and he wept at times
and he suffered and he died. And so yes, yes, Jesus was sad surely. But I got to tell you
that that right there is not the best picture of who Jesus was and who Jesus is. So we are
in the middle of a teaching series that's called What Makes Us Happy. And last week,
no, two weeks ago, we said one thing that makes us happy or relationships, relationships
with each other, with God and with ourselves is essential to happiness. And last week we
pulled out the ancient wisdom of Psalm number one. And we learned that happiness is found
when we root our lives in the love and truth of God. But today we're going to kind of turn
the tables and we're going to say, okay, God, God, you're always talking about how we should
be happy. But is God happy or Jesus, Jesus, you apparently have the secret to happiness,
about Jesus, are you happy? Do God and Jesus practice what they preach when it comes to
happiness? Is this the right picture of Jesus? Because if this is the right picture of Jesus,
then where does Jesus get off telling me, Rob, you should be a happier person. You should
be a more joyful person. Well, today I want to tell you that the sad Jesus is not the
right picture of Jesus. You see, Jesus entered the world on a high note of celebration. The
angel that announced his birth said, I bring you good news of great joy that is going to
be for all the people. Right? And that's why at Christmas we don't sing sadness to the
world. The Lord has come. We don't sing thanks to the world. No, we sing joy to the world.
The Lord has come. That's how it started. That's how his life began. But then as his
ministry began to grow, he went into Galilee proclaiming not the bad news, not the sad
news, but proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom. And then more and more people started
to be drawn to Jesus and people love to be around Jesus. Everyone wanted to be around
you. Even kids wanted to be around Jesus. And Jesus said, let the kids come to me. Don't
stop them from coming to me. Now, do you think that the kids were drawn to Jesus because
he was sad and he was dour and he was serious? Nobody wants to be, no one's attracted to
someone who's sad. They were attracted to him because of his joy, because of the happiness
of his demeanor. He was a happy and joyful person. Even on the night before Jesus died,
when he knew that his death was imminent, you know what he told his disciples? He said,
these things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may
be full. So why are there so many sad pictures of Jesus? I'm telling you they got it wrong.
I'm telling you, I'm telling you, Jesus isn't just a happy person, but today I want to suggest
to you that Jesus is the happiest person of all. And that's why the Bible actually says
when it speaks of Jesus, it says God has anointed you, Jesus, pouring out the oil of joy on
you and get this, say that with me, more than anyone else, more than anyone else, the oil
of joy on Jesus. If I was a Bible translator, I would translate this piece of scripture
into this. I would say God has made you, Jesus, the happiest person who ever lived. So let
look at a story from the life of Jesus and you will see that it's true. Jesus was the
happiest person who ever lived. And we read that story. Eric Hand read it for us. It's
found in John chapter two. If you have a Bible, you can take it out. If you have a Bible app,
you can turn it on and you can head over to John chapter two. And here's where it starts.
We read that on the third day, a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee and Jesus's mother
was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Right away,
that's the first thing that we notice is that Jesus is the kind of person you invite to
a party. Jesus is the kind of person you invite to a wedding. Why? It's because he's the life
of the party because he's a happy guy. I don't know, but this is probably also one reason
why you invite Jesus to a party is that when the wine was gone, Jesus's mother said to
him, Jesus, they have no more wine. I love the passive aggressive part here. It's like,
Jesus, they have no more wine. You know, whatever shall we do? Jesus. Oh, it's really too bad.
They have no more wine. And then, and then Jesus replies, woman, which actually is a
term of endearment. So don't read that wrong. Woman, why do you involve me? He replied,
my time has not yet come. Jesus says to the servants, he says, go fill these jars with
water. So they filled into the brim. Then he told them, now draw out some of that water
and take it to the master of the banquet. And I can just picture Jesus stepping back
into the corner. He's waiting for it. He's waiting for it. Waiting for it. He takes a
sip and the master of the banquet tastes the water that had been turned into wine. And
he didn't know where the wine had come from. And then he calls the bridegroom and he says,
Hey, everybody brings out the choice wine first. And they bring out the cheaper wine
after the guests have all become drunk, but you have saved the best till now. And then
we read, and this is the one sentence I really want us to pay attention to today. Then we
read this line. We read that what Jesus did was the first of his signs through which he
revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him. So to prove my point to you today
that Jesus is the happiest person who ever lived. All I need are those three points that
this was the first of his signs, that it revealed his glory and that his disciples believed
in him. So let's start with this one though. Let's start with what Jesus did. We are told
revealed his glory. Now, when you hear that, you know, that the revealed his glory, you
probably think of things like celebrity and fame and you know, Hey, hallelujah. Yay. Jesus,
give God the glory. Woo woo woo. It's, it's God. Yay. God. But when, but when the Bible
talks about glory or God's glory, it actually is referring to God's presence and God's person.
I'll give you a couple of examples. When Israel was walking through the wilderness, there
was a big cloud in front of them that was said to have guided them through the wilderness.
And it says that the, the glory of God was in the cloud. What that means that the presence
of God was in that cloud, that God's person was somehow in that cloud or, or in the temple
in Jerusalem, we are told that the glory of God filled the temple. And what that meant
was God's presence moved into the temple and took over the temple. So that where the temple
was, their God was where the cloud was there. God was. So when we read a story, therefore,
think about it, when we read a story about Jesus going to a party and turning water into
wine and we're told that this revealed his glory. Do you know what it's telling us? It's
telling us that this is what God is like. This is the kind of God we're talking about.
This is the kind of person that we're talking about. God is first of all, the kind of person
you would invite to a party. He's at the top of the list. Second of all, he's the kind
of person who says yes and actually shows up to the party. He RSVPs and says, yes, I
will be there. Third, he stays for a long time. He's not like me and goes home at 10
o'clock and says, I got church tomorrow morning. You know, he stays, he stays like late into
the night and fourth, he, he, he decides to make more wine so that the party doesn't have
to end and it gets to keep on going. And fifth, he's not making just any kind of wine here,
right? This is not Jackson Triggs that he's making, right? This is God going down into
the cellar and pulling out the bottle of the best stuff he has and bringing it up and saying,
this is what we're serving now. This is the glory of God. This is who God is. He is a
happy and joyful person who stays at the party till the end and make sure that the party
can keep on going. He's, he's not just the happiest guy at the party though. I want to
take it one step further. I want to say that he is the happiest being in the entire universe.
And I'm not going to say that in the email. I say, Rob, that is a pretty bold statement,
but all you got to do, all you got to do is turn to page one of your Bible and you will
see a picture of a God who is singing the universe into existence. And as he creates,
he keeps singing out, it was good. It is good. He created this and it was good. He created
the land and the sea and it was good. He created the sun and the moon and it was good. He created,
you know, plants and animals and it was good again and again. God makes the wind and God
makes the flowers and God makes grand canyons and sunsets. And it's all very, very good.
When you read Genesis one, what you see is at the center of the universe, there is this
God that is overflowing with happiness and joy. He cannot contain the happiness and joy
within him and that keeps leaking out. And when it leaks out, it creates solar systems
and it creates Algonquin Park and it creates maple trees and it creates craft beer and
it creates pad thai and all the wonderful things in the world. He can't be contained.
Why? Because that's who he is and it just leaks out of him. At the center of the universe
is a God who is happy. In fact, all happiness flows from this God. All your happy moments
came from this God. If you were to close your eyes and I were to say, think back to some
of your happiest moments. Think back to that family vacation. Think back to that time with
friends. Think back to your wedding day. Think back to the birth of your first child, right?
God was there in that place with you and the happiness of God's life was overflowing and
touching your own life. So what is wrong with this picture? My goodness, what's wrong with
this picture? If the glory of God, if the person of God, if the presence of God is pure
happiness, then that's probably not the best picture of Jesus to have in our minds. God
is the happiest being ever, ever. But we can't even stop there. We can't stop there because
we also have to figure out why this party, according to Jesus, according to the gospel
writer John rather, was the first of his signs. Now what does that mean? Well, all throughout
John's gospel, again and again, Jesus does these things called signs. If you read the
gospel you'll see Jesus did a sign. He did a sign. He did a sign. And kind of just like
a road sign, what these signs mean are they are pointing towards something. And what they're
pointing toward is Jesus' signs point toward the way the world should be, the way the world
in fact will be, the way the kingdom of God actually will look like when it finally comes.
Now I know there is a lot of bad news out there in the world these days, but can you
imagine what the world would be like if the happiest being that ever existed was finally
in charge, was finally allowed to rule and be in charge? Well, Jesus says, I'll show
you what it would look like. Go get me those stone water jars, fill them up with water
and take them to the master of the banquet because when the kingdom of God comes, it
is going to look like a wedding feast. There is going to be music. There are going to be
piles of food. It's going to go on until 2 a.m. in the morning and the wine never runs out.
What does the kingdom of God look like? Jesus says it looks like an all out party. Or Jesus
says, I'll tell you again, I'll tell you what the kingdom of God looks like. There was once,
he tells a story, he says there was once a prodigal son who went and wasted all of his
money and as he was, he decided he'd finally go home and as he was walking home practicing
his apology with his head hanging low, his father came running out, running out and embraced
him and grabbed hold of him. And then the father said to the servants, he said, hey,
you know that cow that we have behind the barn? Go and kill that sucker because we are
going to have a barbecue. We're going to have a great big party because my son who was lost
has been found. My son who is dead has been brought back to life. That's what the kingdom
of God is like, Jesus says. Or Jesus one day, he's walking along the road and he comes across
this guy whose name is Zacchaeus and everybody hates Zacchaeus because he ripped off people
and he swindled people. And so Jesus said, Zacchaeus, you dirty, filthy sinner, you are
going to burn in hell forever. No, that's not what he says. It's not what he says at
all. He says, Zacchaeus, come on, we are going to go to your house and we are going to have
a party. That's what the kingdom of God looks like. This guy named Tim Chester says that
in Luke's gospel, Jesus is either going to a meal or at a meal or coming from a meal.
And that's because Jesus is a party animal. He has to party. He has to celebrate because
he has to show us what the world could look like, what the world should look like, and
in fact, what the world will look like. The kingdom of God is a party. Lots of people
when they think of parties, they think of another kind of party. They think of drugs
and booze and, you know, sex and regrets, right? And you know, that guy likes to party,
that girl likes to party. That is not the kind of party that Jesus has in mind when
he thinks of the party of the kingdom of God. That kind of party usually leaves you kind
of feeling empty, not full. That party leaves you feeling hurt, not healed. That party leaves
you regretting, not rejoicing, but Jesus is throwing a better party. It's a party that
says a world is coming where tears will be no more and diseases will be no more and oppression
will come to an end and wars will cease. And here's the best thing. Everybody is invited
to this party. Have you ever been left out of a party, not included on the guest list?
It kind of sucks. It hurts, right? But not with Jesus, not the party he's throwing. Everybody
is included. Jesus says the orphan, the widow, the lame, the blind, the sick, the lepers,
bring them in. All the people that the world say shouldn't be invited, they're invited.
All the people that the religious establishment out there says shouldn't be invited, they
too are invited. Whosoever will, let them come, Jesus says. I tell you, if you're going
through a hard time right now, if there's pain or sickness or if there's just feelings
of defeat in you, be of good cheer. Jesus says a party is coming. God is the happiest
being in the universe and he is planning a party and nothing is going to stop that from
happening. In fact, Jesus says, I'm even going to start this party now. That's what these
signs I'm giving you are all about. That's what the water turning into wine is all about.
It's a sign. It's a taste of what is to come. So is this the best picture of Jesus? Is this
a picture? No, no, no, because what's God like? He's the happiest person who ever lived.
What's the kingdom of God like? It is a wedding feast. It's like one gigantic party and it's
happening. So what's wrong with this picture? It just doesn't capture. It doesn't capture
the happiness of God. It doesn't capture the celebration of the kingdom and it does not
capture the joy of Jesus. But there's one more thing we have to talk about. At that
wedding, Jesus revealed his glory, we're told, and we now know that means revealed his presence.
This is who God really is. And at that wedding, he gave us a sign, which means he shows us
where the world is going. But we're also told that when he did this, his disciples believed
in him. There was something about the happiness of Jesus, something about the joy of the kingdom
that made people want to be part of it. And more and more people joined Jesus. And this
thing started to be formed, which we now call the church, the church and get this, the tractor
beam, the magnetic pole that was pulling people into this church was this hope, was this happiness,
was this joy that they saw these people experiencing his church, our church, the church was birthed
out of happiness and the church should still be the happiest place on earth. I mean, think
of it this way. God is the life of the party and Jesus came to get the party started. And
that means the job of the church is to keep the party going. Our lives as followers of
Jesus should be marked by a magnetic kind of celebration and joy and happiness. But
the problem is for so many people, the last thing they think of when they think of happiness
is the church. And the last person you'd want to invite to a party is a church person. You
know, go to some churches and yes, there they are. They're mouthing the words, they're going
through the motions, they're singing about joy and happiness. But when you look at their
faces, they don't seem to be particularly happy about it. In fact, they kind of look
downright miserable from time to time. It is sad to say, but for many church people and
for too many religious people, this picture is actually pretty accurate. They think of,
you know, Dana Carvey's disapproving church lady, or they think of, you know, Ned Flanders
and his straight laced kind of Christianity, right? Party poopers, maybe, but not a party.
So you know what? We need to change that picture. If God's the happiest person to ever live,
then the church cannot look like that. And if the kingdom of God is a party, then the
church cannot feel like that. And if that's how we look, if that's how we feel, then yes,
there is something wrong with that picture. Tony Campolo, who is a sociologist, he's an
author, he's a speaker. He actually spoke here at Trinity years ago. He once told a
story of something that happened to him that shows us what it would look like if the church
were to embrace this joyful mission that we've been given. I want you to hear what he had
to say.
If you go to Honolulu from the East Coast, those of you who have been there know that
you wake up like at three o'clock in the morning and you can't get back to sleep. And I'm hungry.
And I went looking for something to eat. And even at that wee hour in the morning in a
bustling city like Honolulu, you can't find a place that's open. But up the side street,
I did find a place. I went in, sat down on the stool. It was a greasy spoon, no booze,
just a row of stools in front of the counter. And this fat guy with a dirty, filthy, greasy
apron came out, pulled his cigar out, put it down, said, what do you want? I didn't
touch the menu. It was one of those plastic menus that grease had piled up on it. And
I knew that if I opened it, something extraterrestrial would fall out. So I'd like a cup of coffee
and a donut. So he poured the coffee and then he did this. And he picked up the donut. I
hate that. So I'm sitting here, 3.30 in the morning, drinking my coffee and eating his
dirty donut. Into the room come about eight or nine prostitutes and they sat down on either
side of me. And I tried to disappear. And the one on my immediate right said, tomorrow's
my birthday, she said to her friend. I'm going to be 39. Her friend said, so what do you
want me to do? Sing happy birthday? You want a cake? What should we do? Have a party for
you? You're going to be 39? First woman said, look, I'm not expecting anything. I just,
why do you have to put me down? And then she said, with a cracking voice, I've never had
a birthday party in my whole life. I don't expect to have one now. That did it. I waited
till, you know, till they all left. And I was the only one left. I called Harry over.
I said, do they come in here every night? He said, yeah. I said, the one next to me,
said, Agnes. I said, tomorrow's her birthday. What do you say we decorate the place? And
when she comes in tomorrow, we have a birthday party for her because I heard her say she's
never had a birthday party in her whole life. He said, mister, that's brilliant. That is
brilliant. Jane, he called his wife out of the back room. She did the cooking. He wants
to throw a birthday party for Agnes. I thought, this is great. She comes out, she grabs my
plate. She says, mister, you wouldn't understand this because of what she does, you know, but
she's one of the kind people in this town. She's one of the caring people in this town.
I said, look, can I decorate the place? She said, to your heart's content. I said, I'm
going to bring a birthday cake. Harry said, oh no, the cake's my thing. I thought, oh,
geez. So I got there the next morning. I got there the next morning at about 2.30. I had
bought crepe paper at the Kmart, strung it across the place, made a big sign that said,
happy birthday, Agnes. Put it on the mirror behind the counter. I had the place spruced.
Jane who does the cooking got the word out on the street so that by 3.15, every prostitute
in Honolulu was squeezed into this place. I mean, people, it was wall to wall prostitutes
and me. 3.30 in the morning, the door opens. In comes Agnes and her friends. I got everybody
poised, everybody ready. The minute she walked through the door, we yelled, happy birthday,
Agnes, and all start cheering like mad. I've never seen anybody so stunned in my life.
Her knees buckled. They steadied her in gutter and sat her down on a chair. We started singing
happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, dear Agnes. And when they brought out the
cake, she lost it and started to cry. Henry just stood there with the cake and finally
he said, all right, Agnes, knock it off. Blow out the candles, Agnes. Come on, blow out
the candles. She tried and she couldn't so he blew out the candles and handed her the
knife and said, now cut the cake. Come on now, cut the cake. She sat there for a long
moment and then she said to me, is it all right if I don't cut the cake? She said, what
I'd really like to do is take the cake home and show it to my mother. I said, it's your
cake. She stood up. I said, do you have to do it now? She said, I have two doors down.
Let me take the cake home. I'll bring it right back. I promise. She picked up the cake. She
pushed through the crowd and out the door and as the door swung slowly shut, dead silence.
The whole group was stunned. I didn't know what to say. Finally, after a few uneasy moments,
I said, what do you say we pray? It's weird looking back on it now. A sociologist leading
a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes at 3.30 in the morning in a diner in Honolulu
is the right thing to do and I prayed that God would deliver her from what dirty filthy
men had done to her. Usually starting like it when they're about 12 or 13 and then they're
ruined and hurt. When I finished praying that God would make her new, that God would give
her back everything that had been taken from her. I said amen and lifted my eyes and Harry
was right in my face. He said, Hey Camp Paulo, you told me you were a sociologist. You're
no sociologist. You're a preacher. What kind of church you belong to? And one of those
moments when you come up with just the right words, I said, I belong to a church that throws
birthday parties for whores at 3.30 in the morning. I thought that was a clever answer.
I'll never forget his response. He looked back and he said, No, you don't. No, you don't.
He said I would join a church like that. Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all join
a church like that? And I got news for you. That's exactly the kind of church that Jesus
came to create. It's exactly what he calls us to, to go out into this world and create
a church that is filled with everybody. Everybody is invited and bringing celebration into the
lives of all those who might feel they have absolutely nothing to celebrate. That's what
we're called to do. That's who we are called to be. So just in wrapping up, remember Jesus
is the happiest person alive. God is the happiest being who ever existed. The kingdom of God
is the happiest place you can imagine. And the church, that's you and me, we're called
to be agents of God's happiness, bringing love and joy into what is often a loveless
and joyless world. That's the right picture. Let's make sure everybody sees that picture.
And let's speak to God. Amen.
Thank you so much for joining us today for our sermon here at Trinity. If you enjoyed
the sermon, please take a minute to rate and review our podcast so we can continue to spread
the good news with others. And please come back next week as we continue our sermon series,
What Makes Us Happy. Today's sermon was taken from the October 1st, 2023 service at Trinity
Church, Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario.