1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,460 Hello and thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:09,460 --> 00:00:13,960 This week we are continuing with our sermon series Around the Table, looking at all of 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,400 the meals that Jesus shared during his time on earth. 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:22,520 Do you know any wine connoisseurs, or have you ever seen them at work? 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:28,880 They often swirl, sniff, and sip at the wine to uncover all of its notes. 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:34,360 This week Rob shows us how we can do the same thing with scripture, slowly drinking it in 7 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,560 to uncover all that God has to show us. 8 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,880 Let's listen in. 9 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:50,100 Today's reading is from the Gospel of John chapter 2 verses 1 to 25. 10 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:55,280 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. 11 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:01,960 Jesus' mother was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 12 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:07,800 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, they have no more wine. 13 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,560 Woman, why do you involve me? 14 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:16,320 Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. 15 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:22,080 His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. 16 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:29,760 Thereby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each 17 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,200 holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 18 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:41,280 Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, so they filled them to the brim. 19 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:47,120 Then he told them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. 20 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:53,200 They did so and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into 21 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:54,760 wine. 22 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:59,160 He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water 23 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:00,160 knew. 24 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:07,200 Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings out the choice wine first 25 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:12,360 and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved 26 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,800 the best till now. 27 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,600 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he was 28 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:27,520 revealed, which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him. 29 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,480 After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. 30 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,880 There they stayed for a few days. 31 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:42,760 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 32 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:48,660 In the temple courts, he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting 33 00:02:48,660 --> 00:02:51,400 at tables exchanging money. 34 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:57,860 So he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. 35 00:02:57,860 --> 00:03:03,600 He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 36 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:08,120 To those who sold doves, he said, get these out of here. 37 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,560 Stop turning my father's house into a market. 38 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:19,440 His disciples remembered that it is written, zeal for your house will consume me. 39 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:25,520 The Jews then responded to him, what sign can you show us to prove your authority to 40 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,120 do all this? 41 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:35,680 Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. 42 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:42,880 They replied, it has taken 46 years to build this temple and you are going to raise it 43 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,480 in three days. 44 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,580 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 45 00:03:49,580 --> 00:03:54,760 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. 46 00:03:54,760 --> 00:04:00,560 Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 47 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:06,160 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover festival, many people saw the signs he was 48 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,040 performing and believed in his name. 49 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,080 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them. 50 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:18,120 We have been spending some time thinking about the various meals that people ate with Jesus 51 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:25,360 and we just keep on keeping on because Jesus just kept on eating with people. 52 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,680 Throughout the Bible there's just so many stories of Jesus eating meals with people. 53 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,440 So we're five weeks in but we're nowhere near the end just yet. 54 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:37,040 But we have been asking you to send us some of the photos of the meals that you've been 55 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:38,040 eating. 56 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,000 And so you guys have been doing that every week. 57 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,120 I really appreciate it. 58 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,600 So here's a picture of the Zadkiewicz clan. 59 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:48,640 There's John and Mary Ann and Matt and Heather having a meal together. 60 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:49,640 Here is a picture. 61 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,440 Oh, there's our reader this morning, Ali. 62 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:57,520 Ali and Rick having what I think this was an anniversary dinner with the Strasslers. 63 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:05,640 This is a picture of Molly and Elizabeth and Kathy enjoying a lunch together. 64 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,960 Here we have a picture of the Wormald Life Group, one of our life groups here at Trinity 65 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,400 all gathered around a table. 66 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,200 I think they eat every week when they get together. 67 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,620 And then here's a picture of Bill and Dale. 68 00:05:18,620 --> 00:05:23,520 They went on a motorbike ride and they stopped to get a hot dog at Easterbrook's. 69 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,400 So keep the pictures coming. 70 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,440 You can send your pictures of the meals that you're eating with people. 71 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,960 Send them to eattogetherattrinitystreetsville.org. 72 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,440 Now one thing that we have definitely learned as we've been going through this teaching 73 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:41,520 series is that whenever Jesus had a meal someone, it wasn't about the food. 74 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,400 You know, whenever Jesus ate, it was about way more than the food. 75 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:51,080 It was about healing and reconciliation and transformation and forgiveness and inclusion 76 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:52,080 and love. 77 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:53,080 No, no, no. 78 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,840 It was about way more than the food. 79 00:05:55,840 --> 00:06:02,380 And now today I think we can add to that statement that whenever Jesus had a drink with someone, 80 00:06:02,380 --> 00:06:06,840 it was about way more than the wine. 81 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,400 I don't know if there's any wine connoisseurs with us here this morning. 82 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,400 I am not a wine connoisseur. 83 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,880 Most people who go to like buy wine, they look at the label and they look at all the 84 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:28,160 things the label says, you know, oh, this is a 2020 Merlot from the Napa Valley, right? 85 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,520 They look at all this stuff and they say, oh, that's a good wine. 86 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,800 I don't usually look at the label on the bottle. 87 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,520 I look at the price tag under the bottle and I'm like, oh, $9? 88 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,800 Yes, that's sold, sold. 89 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,360 But wine connoisseurs, they really get to know their wine. 90 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:46,640 They really get to know their wine. 91 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:51,880 And the way they do this is there's these three like tests that they do to detect what's 92 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,520 going on in the wine and to get all the flavor out. 93 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,280 First of all, they swirl it. 94 00:06:56,280 --> 00:07:01,240 Have you ever seen a wine connoisseur do the swirl? 95 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:06,440 It's like they're auditioning for a part in Swan Lake, you know? 96 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,000 They got to get it just perfect. 97 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:09,000 So graceful. 98 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:10,000 There we go. 99 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:11,000 There we go. 100 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,000 So graceful. 101 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,400 And they have to get the angle, you know, just right because of course if they don't 102 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,240 get the if they don't get the angle right, then the wine police are going to show up 103 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,880 and revoke their membership from they're not allowed to drink wine anymore. 104 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,520 You didn't swirl it right. 105 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:28,000 But then after the swirl, of course, comes the sniff, right? 106 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,040 They don't just do a little of this. 107 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,680 No, wine connoisseurs, they like plunge their nose like right into the cup and they take 108 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:41,260 a deep breath like they're like like they're inhaling the meaning of life. 109 00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:49,480 They suck it in and then they say things like, oh, I detect, you know, a hint of pencil shavings. 110 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:51,200 Yes, pencil shavings. 111 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:52,200 Yes, yes. 112 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,720 And in a freshly opened can of tennis balls. 113 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:55,720 Yes, I'm detecting. 114 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:56,720 Oh, and what's that? 115 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:57,720 What's that? 116 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,600 Oh, yes, it's a it's just a subtle note of pretentiousness. 117 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:03,600 I mean, come on. 118 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:04,600 How are we? 119 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:05,700 But anyways, but that's not it. 120 00:08:05,700 --> 00:08:06,800 That's not where it ends. 121 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,040 After the swirl and after the sniff, there is, of course, the sip. 122 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,200 And when they sip it, they don't just like sip it. 123 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,640 They put it in their mouth and they let it like roll around in there like they're doing 124 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,240 gymnastics with it and then their mouth. 125 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:21,240 Right. 126 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,280 And and then this is my favorite part about the wine connoisseur. 127 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:28,240 After they after they have like done all these things, they just stare off into the distance 128 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:35,240 and they have it in their mouth and they act like the wine is telling them its life story. 129 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:41,480 Oh, bold start, bold start, troubled teenage years, right? 130 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:43,480 Smooth, smooth finish. 131 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:44,480 Right. 132 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,720 Like this is this is how wine connoisseur but listen, and it's easy to make fun of. 133 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:49,760 It's kind of a funny thing. 134 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:53,200 But really, what they're trying to do, what are they trying to do? 135 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:59,360 They are just trying to get every last note, every last bit of flavor out of that wine. 136 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:04,400 And that is actually not a bad idea to keep in mind when we come to today's reading, because 137 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:11,440 today we come across this miraculous reading of how Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding 138 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,160 in Cana of Galilee. 139 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:16,080 And don't you dare just chug this down. 140 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:17,840 Don't you dare just like, oh, this looks good. 141 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,040 Drink it down and say, that's a great story and walk away. 142 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,960 No, there is way more going on in this story than you would ever think. 143 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,000 That's why today what we are going to do is we are going to swirl it and we are going 144 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:34,320 to sniff it and we are going to sip it slow to get every last flavor and every last undertone 145 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,200 out of this story. 146 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,120 But first, before we go there, I think we have to address this. 147 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:44,560 And that is many of you will say, can we even trust a story like this? 148 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:51,000 I mean, this does seem like a very weird first miracle, we're told it was Jesus, first miracle 149 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,040 for Jesus to do. 150 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,880 Making more wine at a wedding. 151 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,200 Really, that's the opening miracle. 152 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:04,720 But actually, it's that weirdness which makes it all the more trustworthy. 153 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,960 Because think about it this way, let's imagine you were going to make up your own religion. 154 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,160 Let's say you were just going to invent it. 155 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,240 What would you have the leader of that religion do for their very first miracle? 156 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:20,480 I mean, wouldn't you have them do something like amazing and powerful, like walk on water 157 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,720 or, you know, call down fire from heaven. 158 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,560 Wouldn't that be how you'd want to get the movement going, get out of the gate with a 159 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:29,800 real, real bang, right? 160 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:31,320 That's how you would do it. 161 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,960 If you were inventing the story, that's how you would do it. 162 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:38,000 If you were inventing Christianity, you would never say, hey, I got a great idea. 163 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,960 I got a great idea for a first miracle. 164 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,920 He's at a wedding and they run out of wine. 165 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,720 And he makes a bit more wine. 166 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:52,660 I don't think that's nearly impressive enough. 167 00:10:52,660 --> 00:10:54,880 And there's no way anybody would invent that. 168 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,120 In fact, there's this guy by the name of Reynolds Price, he says, if you were inventing, if 169 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:04,240 you were making this up, a biography of Jesus Christ, who would make the inaugural event 170 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:11,200 of his career a miraculous solution to a mere social embarrassment? 171 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:17,920 So if it wasn't made up, then that means it must have happened and been recorded for us. 172 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:19,760 And that's why we can trust it. 173 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,360 So don't spiritualize this story. 174 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,240 Don't say, oh, this is a story about, this is an allegory. 175 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:27,920 Jesus didn't really turn water into wine. 176 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:32,360 What he really did is just try and teach us about his new ideas or then the new life that 177 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,280 he offers us. 178 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:35,420 Don't you dare do that. 179 00:11:35,420 --> 00:11:41,480 This story is there to tell us that God is directly involved in the events of human life, 180 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:46,120 turning real sick people into healthy people, turning real blind people into people who 181 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:53,520 can see and turning real water into really, really good wine. 182 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,720 I just want to say a side note before we really start swirling and sniffing. 183 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:57,720 And that is this. 184 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,800 I know that many people look at the story and they have all these questions about alcohol 185 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,320 and whether we should be drinking alcohol, yes or no. 186 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:05,320 Was it wine? 187 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:07,640 Was it not? 188 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:12,040 I actually think that the questions about drinking alcohol and how often we should drink 189 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:16,120 alcohol or whether Christians should drink alcohol is actually a really good conversation 190 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,820 that probably should be happening because we all know there is a ton of sorrow and suffering 191 00:12:20,820 --> 00:12:24,780 that happens in our world because of the abuse of alcohol. 192 00:12:24,780 --> 00:12:30,600 But I think we also need to acknowledge that that is not what this story is getting at. 193 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,600 That is not what this story is about. 194 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,520 No, what we're supposed to do today, what we're supposed to do with this story is we 195 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:42,560 are supposed to uncork this story and drink deeply of what is going on here, to swirl 196 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:46,680 it, sniff it, taste it carefully and pick up all the notes and flavors. 197 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:50,160 Now there's so many notes and flavors that I actually gave you some notes when you came 198 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:51,160 in today. 199 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,280 It's kind of like what a little wine connoisseurs checklist. 200 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:58,020 I would invite you to go down those with me because there's a lot to learn from this story. 201 00:12:58,020 --> 00:13:03,120 So for starters, as soon as we open the bottle, as soon as we open the bottle and start swirling 202 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:08,280 it around and sniffing it, you will start to detect hints of joy. 203 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:09,600 That's the first thing that really hits you. 204 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,160 This is a story about joy. 205 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,000 The story begins just by saying this. 206 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,240 Jesus had been invited to a wedding. 207 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:19,720 Now that tells you something right off the bat. 208 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,080 Jesus is clearly not an anti-social killjoy. 209 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:27,120 Jesus is the kind of person that gets invited to a party. 210 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:30,280 Jesus is not only the kind of person that gets invited to a party, but when the party 211 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:35,520 is running down and it's getting late, Jesus is the kind of person that keeps the party 212 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:45,520 going and keeps the wine flowing because wines and wine and weddings and joy all go together. 213 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,520 In those days, you know, if you didn't have wine at a wedding, then you didn't have joy 214 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:50,680 at a wedding. 215 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:54,720 And when Jesus saw, oh my goodness, he saw that the wine was running out. 216 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:56,400 He had to jump into action. 217 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:01,160 Now at every wedding, there is somebody who's responsible for making sure that the guests 218 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,360 continue to have fun and the joy is there. 219 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,360 And that person is the master of ceremonies, the MC. 220 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:12,800 It's their job to make sure that the joy carries on all night long. 221 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:17,420 But this master of ceremonies at this wedding had obviously screwed up his job royally. 222 00:14:17,420 --> 00:14:20,400 And now the joy is all about to evaporate from this wedding. 223 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:21,400 But guess what? 224 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:22,400 Guess who saves the day? 225 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:28,520 Jesus jumps in and actually what that ends up meaning is that Jesus is really the true 226 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,360 master of ceremonies. 227 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,080 He is the real joy giver. 228 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,680 Jesus is the one who keeps the good times rolling. 229 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:43,600 Now that's actually hard for us to believe because many of us don't associate Christianity 230 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:44,600 with joy. 231 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,200 There are a lot of people in Mississauga this morning who did not get up and go to church. 232 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,600 And if you ask them why, they might say something like this and say, well, maybe when I was 233 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,140 a kid I used to go to church. 234 00:14:53,140 --> 00:14:56,720 But when I got older, I wanted to have fun. 235 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:58,000 I wanted to have fun. 236 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,600 And they don't associate the church with fun or joy. 237 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,840 And many of us have been part of a Christian community at one point or another where it 238 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:12,980 was all about duty and it was all about service and it was all about the rules and the laws. 239 00:15:12,980 --> 00:15:16,780 But that's a problem because Jesus was the master of ceremonies. 240 00:15:16,780 --> 00:15:18,020 He was the joy giver. 241 00:15:18,020 --> 00:15:19,600 He was the one who kept the joy flowing. 242 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:21,500 So you can reject Jesus if you want. 243 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:22,500 That's fine. 244 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:25,480 But don't you dare call him a drag. 245 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:30,240 Jesus loved a party and he was the one who kept the joy going. 246 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:31,240 So you smell that? 247 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,580 There are major, major hints of joy in this drink. 248 00:15:35,580 --> 00:15:42,720 But if you keep sniffing and you keep swirling, you're also going to detect overtones of prayer 249 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,240 in this story. 250 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:46,240 Here's why. 251 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,640 Because you see, part of prayer, not all of prayer, is coming to God with our requests. 252 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,880 Many of us struggle with asking God for help. 253 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,700 We don't really know how to ask God for the things we need. 254 00:15:56,700 --> 00:15:59,680 We think that maybe God's only interested in the big things and not interested in the 255 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:00,880 little things in my life. 256 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,260 Or we think that if I do come to God and ask him for something, I better get the words 257 00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:06,480 right or I better say it in the right way. 258 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,880 Otherwise, God is not going to answer my prayer. 259 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,540 But look at Mary in this story. 260 00:16:13,540 --> 00:16:17,040 When she realizes there's a problem at the wedding and some people actually think that 261 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,120 maybe Mary had a hand in helping plan the wedding, what does she do? 262 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,580 She simply says five words. 263 00:16:23,580 --> 00:16:27,400 They have no more wine. 264 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:32,000 No flowery language, no groveling, no deal making. 265 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,440 She just lets Jesus know that there is a problem. 266 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,180 And that is a beautiful picture of prayer. 267 00:16:39,180 --> 00:16:43,580 When we pray, all we have to do is lay our needs before God. 268 00:16:43,580 --> 00:16:44,840 We don't need special words. 269 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,160 We don't need even to tell God how to solve the problem. 270 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:53,920 We just need to lay the problem before him and trust that he will solve it as he will. 271 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,480 I mean, what if our prayers sounded more like this? 272 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,560 God, they have no money. 273 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:02,880 Amen. 274 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,120 Jesus, she has no cure. 275 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:09,480 Father, he has no friends. 276 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:14,280 Lord, I have no strength. 277 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:18,320 Mary didn't know how Jesus was going to solve this problem, answer this prayer. 278 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:19,400 Neither did we. 279 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,440 She didn't know how to turn water into wine. 280 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:22,720 Neither do we. 281 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:27,720 But what Mary does and what we can do, and sometimes the only thing that we can do is 282 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,120 we say, God, there is a need here. 283 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:31,120 Right? 284 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:32,120 Jesus, we're in trouble. 285 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:33,600 They have no wine. 286 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:34,600 Okay? 287 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:36,280 That's another hint. 288 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,880 As we sniff and swirl this, we detect, yes, hints of joy. 289 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:46,360 Yes, we detect these undertones telling us what it means to lay our needs before God 290 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:47,480 in prayer. 291 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:55,960 But related to those undertones of prayer, we also detect distinct notes of discipleship. 292 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:56,960 Discipleship. 293 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:04,200 You see, right after Mary's request, the next thing she says is this word of obedience. 294 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:05,240 Right? 295 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:11,640 His mother, she turns to the servants and she says, do what he tells you. 296 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,720 Do you guys know what a disciple of Jesus is? 297 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:21,520 A disciple is someone who not only learns from Jesus, but then does what Jesus says 298 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:22,800 to do. 299 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,680 Obeys what Jesus commands. 300 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:36,760 So if you pray to Jesus, but you do not have a willingness to obey Jesus, then it's like 301 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:40,480 saying, you know, I believe in God, but I just want to do the things that God says to 302 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:41,480 do. 303 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:42,480 Or I'm a citizen of this country. 304 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,720 I just don't follow the rules of this country. 305 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,760 But Jesus, when you say Jesus is my Lord, Jesus is my master, what you're saying is 306 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,520 I'm going to listen to him and I'm going to do what he says to do. 307 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:59,120 In fact, one of the last things that Jesus said before he left this earth, he said, go 308 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:04,720 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them like we did this morning with Finn in 309 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:10,240 the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, and then teaching them to obey everything 310 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,520 I have commanded you. 311 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,080 And so as you can see, there's so much in here. 312 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:20,360 This wine, I mean, we're just going to keep on going, but we've got these hints of joy, 313 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:21,800 these overtones of prayer. 314 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:25,680 And now we've got these notes of obedience and discipleship. 315 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:31,960 But just as we're getting started, this wine, we swirl it a bit, maybe take a sip. 316 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,040 There's another nuance here you can't miss. 317 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:38,520 And that is the nuance of family. 318 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:45,160 Did you notice how Jesus, do you notice how Jesus responded to his mother? 319 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:46,560 It's surprising in two ways. 320 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,040 First he addresses her as woman. 321 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:50,960 And then he says, why do you involve me? 322 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:55,200 Now the first part, woman, isn't as bad as it sounds. 323 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,280 It sounds kind of harsh. 324 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:01,680 But actually, it's funny, in John's gospel, he never refers to Mary by her first name. 325 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:03,960 For some reason, he always refers to Mary as woman. 326 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,720 And actually some translations translate it as dear woman. 327 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,640 So that can actually be a bit of a term of affection. 328 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,680 But that second part, why do you involve me? 329 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,360 I think it does have a little bit of a harshness to it. 330 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:20,040 You know, Jesus, that's not how you talk to your mother. 331 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,440 Jesus, what are you doing? 332 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:22,440 What is going on here? 333 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:23,440 Here's what's going on here. 334 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:28,920 Jesus is creating new relationships, if you will. 335 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:34,960 Because after being known as Mary's boy for 30 years of his life, there's this shift happening. 336 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,060 Jesus' relationship to Mary is changing. 337 00:20:38,060 --> 00:20:40,720 He's always been part of Mary's family, always been part of Joseph's family. 338 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,760 He's got brothers and he's got sisters. 339 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:47,620 But now, but now relationships are changing because he has this sense that God has given 340 00:20:47,620 --> 00:20:48,740 him a new mission. 341 00:20:48,740 --> 00:20:54,880 And that mission is to create a brand new family, a family that has nothing to do with 342 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:55,880 blood. 343 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,080 We welcomed Finn into that family this morning. 344 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:03,360 Jesus is creating a new family and it's a family that has everything to do with faith 345 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:05,120 and not a lot to do with blood. 346 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:10,140 And he's prioritizing, re-prioritizing his own relationships as a result. 347 00:21:10,140 --> 00:21:15,280 It's almost like, did you notice, when Mary treats Jesus as her little boy, son, they 348 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:16,540 have no more wine. 349 00:21:16,540 --> 00:21:18,520 Her request gets denied. 350 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:25,480 But when she treats Jesus as a disciple, as a follower, do what he tells you, well then 351 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,400 her faith is honored by Jesus. 352 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,000 Relationships are changing here. 353 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,500 We're seeing them change. 354 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:36,600 And this may feel like really sad news for Mary to have this relationship change for 355 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,760 her, but it's really good news for us. 356 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,200 Because it means that we are invited into God's family. 357 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:48,280 Not by blood, but because we've been adopted into God's family. 358 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:53,040 It's not our ethnic background that brings us into the family, but it's our faith in 359 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:54,320 Jesus. 360 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,640 And I don't know, I mean, maybe you've got great relationships in your life or bad ones 361 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:02,160 or great relationships with your family or not, but you take a sniff of this story and 362 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:06,320 you will realize that Jesus is making a brand new family. 363 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:08,840 And you can pick up the hints even here. 364 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:09,840 Okay. 365 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,360 Now, I mentioned, we're keeping on going. 366 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:14,040 I hope you're keeping up. 367 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:15,040 We keep on going here. 368 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,520 I mentioned that Mary would have felt a little sad at all this, but there is actually more 369 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:20,520 sorrow. 370 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:26,240 There are actually deeper accents of sorrow going on in this story than we might think. 371 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,480 Now, you might say, well, how is that possible, Rob? 372 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:32,160 You're talking about this being having hints of joy and now you're telling us it has accents 373 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:33,160 of sorrow. 374 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,820 How do both of those happen in the same bottle of wine? 375 00:22:36,820 --> 00:22:38,120 But it's there. 376 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:39,680 If you read that story, it's there. 377 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:44,600 And even the amateur Bible connoisseur can pick up these notes. 378 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:49,720 Look, when Mary asks for help with the wine problem, Jesus says something strange. 379 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:50,720 Did you notice it? 380 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:56,200 He says, my hour has not yet come. 381 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:57,420 What is he talking about? 382 00:22:57,420 --> 00:22:59,360 That seems like a non sequitur. 383 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:01,200 It seems like his head is somewhere else. 384 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,480 It's like he's thinking about something else. 385 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:05,120 He's a million miles away. 386 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:08,600 It actually makes me feel like he's sad. 387 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,560 My hour has not yet come. 388 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,400 You know what, I wonder if he's thinking about his own wedding. 389 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,880 You know, most people who go to a wedding, they think about their own wedding. 390 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,520 They think about, you know, when will it be my turn or what will my wedding look like? 391 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,000 But you know, Jesus was never going to have a wedding like this. 392 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,840 And he knew that. 393 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:33,760 The Bible tells us that Jesus would be a bridegroom one day, but at a very different wedding. 394 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:38,560 Because you see, we're the ones that Jesus loves. 395 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,640 We are his bride, the Bible says. 396 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:48,560 And the sad part is showing his love to us, coming together with us, it wasn't going to 397 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:56,400 happen at a joyful banquet hall, but it was going to happen on a painful cross. 398 00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:01,460 Is Jesus thinking about his own death at this wedding? 399 00:24:01,460 --> 00:24:03,560 I think so. 400 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:09,040 Jesus's wedding day will be the day that he dies for his bride. 401 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:13,240 When he says, my hour has not yet come, do you know that the only time the word hour 402 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:19,120 is ever mentioned in John's gospel is referring to the hour of his death? 403 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:21,280 And so here it is, here is Jesus. 404 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:26,480 He's sitting at a party and he's being asked to provide wine for this couple's wedding 405 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:27,480 celebration. 406 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:32,400 Meanwhile, he knows what it will take, what it will cost to provide the wine at his own 407 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,580 wedding celebration. 408 00:24:34,580 --> 00:24:38,040 The real wine Jesus gives is his blood. 409 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,000 And he sees that hour coming. 410 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:47,640 So even as he sits there in the midst of that joyful feast, he's sipping a cup of sorrel. 411 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,920 He's sipping the suffering and the pain. 412 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:52,240 You can feel it coming through. 413 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,000 You can taste it there. 414 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,360 It's all there. 415 00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:59,860 But if you have a really keen nose, you will know that there's actually something else 416 00:24:59,860 --> 00:25:01,400 there too. 417 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:06,260 You will detect this other more beautiful, more unmistakable aroma. 418 00:25:06,260 --> 00:25:10,480 And that is the aroma of a hopeful future. 419 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:14,360 You see, in Jesus' day, more than anything else, you know what people wanted to happen. 420 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:19,520 They wanted the kingdom of God to fully come in their lives. 421 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:23,000 And if you asked anyone, what does the kingdom of God look like when it comes, they would 422 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:24,560 say, oh, it'll be amazing. 423 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:29,080 It'll be a day when God fully reigns, when wars are over, when peace is supreme, when 424 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:33,400 everyone is healed, where wrongs are made right, where the poor are taken care of. 425 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,500 This future age, they look forward to this future age when it would dawn. 426 00:25:37,500 --> 00:25:38,720 And again and again and again. 427 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:45,200 You know what image the Bible uses to refer to that great day? 428 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,060 It's the image of a wedding feast. 429 00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:54,120 From Matthew to Revelation, when the kingdom finally comes, it's going to look like a wedding 430 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:55,120 feast. 431 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:57,920 And I think we need to pay attention to this. 432 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:02,200 I think you need to pay attention when John uses the phrase on the third day. 433 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,360 Do you know that God met with the Israelites on Mount Sinai on the third day? 434 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:09,520 Do you know that Jonah came out of the belly of the fish on the third day? 435 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,360 Do you know that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day? 436 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:17,120 The third day is a symbol of God's arrival. 437 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:19,400 It's a symbol of God's deliverance. 438 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:25,000 And so as Jesus sits at this wedding banquet, we are left to conclude something pretty radical. 439 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:31,800 And that is that the kingdom of God is actually really near, or the kingdom of God is actually 440 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:33,880 already here. 441 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:40,120 Is it possible that in Jesus, that heavenly banquet is already beginning? 442 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:43,080 Because we tend to think of heaven as this thing that happens at the end of our life. 443 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:48,660 And after we die, you know, in some Never Never Land, that's what we think heaven is. 444 00:26:48,660 --> 00:26:51,560 And we think that it's only when we die that we step into that heavenly future. 445 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:56,940 But Jesus seems to be pulling that heavenly banquet from the future and planting it firmly 446 00:26:56,940 --> 00:26:58,180 in the present. 447 00:26:58,180 --> 00:27:06,380 And so this story, smell it, it gives the aroma of the coming age, or it might even 448 00:27:06,380 --> 00:27:11,580 be saying that the coming age, the kingdom of God is already here in Jesus. 449 00:27:11,580 --> 00:27:15,560 The water of the old age is replaced by the wine of the new age. 450 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,920 And if that's true, guys, if that's true, the future is already here and the kingdom 451 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:20,920 is already here. 452 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,160 And then you don't need to wait around for peace. 453 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,520 And you don't need to wait around for reconciliation and healing. 454 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:30,120 You can get out there and you could start making those things happen right now with 455 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:33,840 every meal that you eat, with every guest you invite, with every feast, with every glass 456 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:41,180 of wine, the kingdom of God can break in right here and right now. 457 00:27:41,180 --> 00:27:42,180 So here we have it. 458 00:27:42,180 --> 00:27:43,800 We're almost done. 459 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:44,960 We have swirled it. 460 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:46,220 We have sniffed it. 461 00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:47,220 We have sifted. 462 00:27:47,220 --> 00:27:49,000 I haven't sifted, but there's a good reason for that. 463 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:56,200 As any wine connoisseur will tell you, the last thing a wine leaves with you is the finish, 464 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:57,200 right? 465 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:58,200 Oh, it's oaky. 466 00:27:58,200 --> 00:27:59,200 It's spicy. 467 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:00,200 It's smoky. 468 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,000 It's, you know, complex. 469 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:03,000 That's my favorite one. 470 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:04,000 It's complex. 471 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,080 I don't know what it is. 472 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,080 It's complex, right? 473 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:13,800 But when you drink deeply of this story, you realize that you are being invited to take 474 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:15,800 a step of faith. 475 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:21,700 Guys, do you know why the Bible uses the image of a kingdom or the image of feasting and 476 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:24,440 drinking to talk about God's kingdom? 477 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,000 It wants to make it a sensory experience for you. 478 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,680 In other words, we're not just supposed to know in our head that God is good, but we 479 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:38,000 are supposed to taste and see that God is good. 480 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,400 You could be sitting here today, some of you are, and you're saying, I know God loves me. 481 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,160 I know God is good, but have you tasted it? 482 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,600 Have you really felt it? 483 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:48,640 Have you experienced it? 484 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,160 It's not just enough to know it. 485 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,120 It's not just enough to know that honey is sweet. 486 00:28:53,120 --> 00:29:01,720 You have to taste the honey to experience the sweetness and Jesus must be experienced. 487 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,540 It's one thing to believe in God, but do you hunger for God? 488 00:29:05,540 --> 00:29:07,760 Do you thirst for God? 489 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:08,760 Does God fill you? 490 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:10,300 Does God satisfy you? 491 00:29:10,300 --> 00:29:12,220 This is what this story is trying to teach us. 492 00:29:12,220 --> 00:29:15,520 It is an experience, right? 493 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:17,020 It's not just something in our heads. 494 00:29:17,020 --> 00:29:20,440 It should consume our whole being. 495 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:25,360 So today you've been hearing me talk about this cup of wine, a cup of hope, a cup of 496 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:30,160 joy and prayer and discipleship and sorrow and family and future. 497 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:34,400 And I wonder, are you ready to take the cup? 498 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:35,640 Are you ready to drink the cup? 499 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:40,120 Are you ready to receive all that Jesus has for you this morning? 500 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:46,440 And if so, I want to tell you two things that you need to do to receive this cup. 501 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:52,400 The first is you have to admit that you're empty. 502 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:56,560 Don't come to Jesus and say, oh, Jesus, you know, I'm nine tents full and I just need 503 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,200 you to top me up a little bit. 504 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:00,480 That's not how it works. 505 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,120 We have to come to Jesus and say, Jesus, I got nothing. 506 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:09,000 I've tried, I failed, I've got no plans, I've got no ideas, I've got no strength. 507 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,840 I haven't got anything. 508 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:11,980 That's the first step. 509 00:30:11,980 --> 00:30:15,820 Just admit your own emptiness to God. 510 00:30:15,820 --> 00:30:20,000 And then secondly, ask Jesus to fill you. 511 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:26,520 You know, Mary said, Mary said, Jesus, you can solve this problem and Jesus can solve 512 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,640 whatever problem it is that you're going through today. 513 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,560 Just say, God, I'm empty. 514 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:31,560 Would you fill me? 515 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:32,560 Fill me with hope. 516 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:33,560 Fill me with strength. 517 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:34,560 Fill me with joy. 518 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:35,560 Fill me with peace. 519 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:37,760 So that's all you have to do. 520 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:39,400 Admit that you're empty. 521 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:47,000 Ask Jesus to fill you and then drink deeply of the new life that God offers you. 522 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:48,000 Thanks be to God. 523 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,000 Amen. 524 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:55,280 Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 525 00:30:55,280 --> 00:31:00,560 This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church, Streetsville in Mississauga on October the 526 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:08,240 6th, 2024.