WEBVTT

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Hey friend, welcome back to the semi -seminary

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and I'm Pastor Jim. Pull up a chair. If this

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is your first time, don't worry. Around here,

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we don't check credentials at the door. We'll

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just set another plate at the table and let the

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conversation unfold. Now, I don't know how you

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found us. Maybe it was late at night, the static.

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humming on the dial. Maybe a friend passed this

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along because they knew you'd been running on

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empty. However you got here, I want you to know

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the porch light is on. That's the picture I keep

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coming back to. A porch light cutting through

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the darkness. Says someone's still up. Someone's

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still waiting. You're not too late to come home.

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And around here, that's what this podcast is.

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Porch light in the night. So if the spirit nudges

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you today, if something in this old story or

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these songs sounds like grace knocking at your

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ribs, would you do me a kindness? Hit subscribe,

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share it with a friend who might be walking through

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their own midnight. Drop a comment, not for the

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algorithms, but because words build porches too,

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and somebody else might need to hear what you've

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got to say. All right, pour yourself a cup. The

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story's about to start, and I'll see you on the

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other side. So another great story, I think,

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to tell you guys today. If you haven't noticed

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by now, we're going to be talking about the wedding

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at Cana. And let's go ahead and start with where

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we are in the story, when the story takes place.

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In the book of John. the apostle John, okay,

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in his gospel account, he has these things that

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he calls signs or wonders. And it's kind of a

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portion of the first third of his book. And that

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part is actually kind of set aside by theologians.

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And it's often referred to as the book of signs

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or the book of wonders. And it's these stories.

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that John has put together in the first part

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of his gospel account. And John says, these specific

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things, these signs, these wonders, are my proof,

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my evidence, that Jesus really is the Messiah.

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Ultimately, John is going to try to argue in

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his book, Jesus is who Jesus said that he was.

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And John says, I'm going to show you some specific

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things that happened to prove it. So in the book

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of John, within the book of signs and wonders,

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the story of the wedding at Cana is the first

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one. First sign in John's gospel. Now, what's

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also interesting about the wedding at Cana is

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in Matthew's gospel. If you read that account

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there. Jesus hasn't even fully got the band yet

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together. He has just, Andrew has been called.

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They come up from the Jordan back to the Galilee.

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Andrew's been called. Andrew tells Peter. Peter

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comes along. John and James come along. But the

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whole crew that we'll see kind of at the end

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in that upper room, whatever, they're not even

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fully formed as a group yet. The trip to Cana

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is kind of like Jesus and his disciples' first

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road trip. This is the first place, this is the

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first event where Jesus and his disciples went

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somewhere as a group. Okay? So that's important,

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right, in the whole series of events because

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of what will happen there. So I don't want to

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just assume that you know what happened there.

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We're going to take the time to actually read

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the portion of scripture and listen for ourselves

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what actually scripture says about the event.

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And then hopefully I want to try to put us into

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the wedding feast at Cana and see if we can experience

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what that. first miracle of Jesus might have

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actually sounded like to our own ears and look

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like through our own eyes. I think it's really

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a neat story. I hope that you will think so too.

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Let's get into the scripture. I'm in John chapter

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2 today and it's going to be verses 1 through

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11. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana

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of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there.

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Jesus and his disciples had also been invited

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to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother

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of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And

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Jesus said to her, woman, what concern is that

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to you and to me? My hour has not yet come. His

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mother loved this. doesn't respond to Jesus,

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her son, just turns to the servants and says,

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do whatever he tells you. Now, standing there

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were six stone jars for the Jewish rites of purification,

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each holding somewhere between 20 and 30 gallons.

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Jesus said to them, fill the jars with water.

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And they filled them up to the brim. He said

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to them, now, draw some out. and take it to the

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chief steward. So they took it. And when the

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steward tasted the water that had become wine

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and did not know where it had come from, though,

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John says, the servants who had drawn the water

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knew, the steward called the bridegroom and said

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to him, everyone serves the good wine first.

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and then the inferior wine after the guests had

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become drunk. But you have kept the good wine

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until now. Jesus did this, John says, the first

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of his signs in Cana of Galilee, and revealed

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his glory, and the disciples believed in him.

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Thus ends the reading of the word, spoken then

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still speaking to us today. You've lived this.

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Maybe not a wedding feast in Cana, but in your

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own kitchen, in your own bones, that moment when

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you thought the thing that you had would last

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doesn't. The cupboard is bare. The strength is

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gone. The patience is gone. The joy you thought

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could carry you for miles sputters out only halfway

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home. That's what happens in Cana. Joy collapses.

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Shame creeps in. The feast stumbles because the

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wine has run out. And into that silence, Mary

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whispers to her son, they have no wine. You arrive

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there with dust on your ankles and laughter in

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your mouth. The room is warm with bodies and

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bread, clay cups clink. Someone tells a joke

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that seems to get funnier every time it circles

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the table. A fiddler saws a tune in the corner.

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Perhaps children are practicing the two -step

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between the benches. Your cup has a lavender

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tint from the crushed skins of the wine, and

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you're not even bothering counting the refills.

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You're just letting joy do what joy does. Then

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the whisper moves like a draft. Under the door,

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they're out. You hear it again over your shoulder.

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The wine has given out. The music keeps playing,

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but softer now, like it suddenly remembered the

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price of grapes. No one looks at the groom. The

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father of the bride laughs a little too loudly

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at nothing in particular. A mother begins counting

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loaves with her eyes. You feel the heat rise

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in the room, not celebration, but shame. The

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kind stains more than cloth. Shame in the air

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is thick. Mary leans towards her son and speaks

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five words that will, in fact, change the world.

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They have no wine. It's not a plan. It's not

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a bargain. It's not eloquence. It's honesty.

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Listen, prayer is at its holiest when it sounds

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something like, Lord, we're out. And Jesus answers

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her with a riddle about his hour. My hour has

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not yet come. We flinch. Did Jesus just brush

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her off? But Mary doesn't argue with him. She

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doesn't even look back at him. She turns to the

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servants and says, do whatever he tells you.

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That, my friends, is a picture of faith. Not

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knowing how, not knowing when, just trusting

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in knowing who. Now your eyes find the servants.

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They're tired already. Flour on their arms, sweat

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on their brows, their feet are aching. And against

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the wall sit six massive jars, stone, cold, empty.

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They're not for wine. They're for purification.

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They're meant to wash dirt from your hands. And

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Jesus says, fill them with water. Notice them.

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Six stone jars hunched against the wall like

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oxen at rest. He tells the servants to fill them

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up with water. It's not dramatic work, but it

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is bucket after bucket. Steps worn deep between

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the well and the door. Sandals streaked with

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mud. You stand out of the way, but you can feel

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the heft of those trips in your own shoulders.

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Every splash of water onto the stone sounds like

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a prayer that hasn't learned any long words.

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And they fill the jars to the brim. It's an unnecessary

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detail in the story unless you understand how

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grace works. He tells them to draw some out and

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take it to the chief steward. No thunder, no

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spotlight, just the scraping sound of the ladle

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against the stone. And you don't see the moment

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that it happens. In fact, no one does. But you

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smell it before you taste it. A sweetness like

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dark fruit and cedar. Something old and glad

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and alive. The steward takes a sip and stops

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breathing for a second. He pulls the groom aside,

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says most folks serve the good wine first and

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serve the cheap stuff later. But you, he says,

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you save the good wine for now. The steward tastes.

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His eyes widen. This isn't the cheap stuff. It's

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velvet rich. It's aged. And he pulls the groom

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aside again. Everybody would do this exactly

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the opposite way. But you, you saved the good

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stuff for last. And the groom doesn't know how.

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The steward. Doesn't know how. The guests don't

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know. Only the servants, Mary and the disciples

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know. Grace here shows up, not in the spotlight,

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but in the shadows. Where buckets slosh and jars

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stand heavy. Like I had mentioned, we find this.

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It's the first of John's signs. And John is using

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this very specifically because signs point to

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something. And Cana points forward to the third

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day, a whisper of resurrection. To the hour,

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the cross, where blood will run like wine. To

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the Old Testament prophet Isaiah's words on this

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mountain. The Lord will make for all peoples

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a feast of rich food, a feast of well -aged wines,

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and he will swallow up death forever. The jars

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themselves preach, made for ritual washing, somehow

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to be made clean. Now they're filled with joy

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instead. The old way of cleansing gives way to

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the new way of grace. Think, too, of Exodus.

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Moses turned water to blood as a sign of judgment.

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Jesus turns water into wine as a sign of joy.

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Judgment gives way to mercy. The law gives way

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to grace. And the Old Testament prophet Amos

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had promised, the mountains shall drip with sweet

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wine and the hills shall flow with it. And at

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Cana, that promise begins to pour. And now it's

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your turn. Because you know what it's like to

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run dry. The parent whose patience snapped before

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bedtime. The farmer staring at dust and bills.

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The widow at an empty table. The believer whose

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prayers feel hollow and it seems like they bounce

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off the ceiling. You've heard the whispers. You're

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out. You have failed. The party is over. But

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Jesus begins where you end. His first sign wasn't

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at the temple, but at a table that had run empty.

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Listen, his glory breaks in, not at the height

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of your strength, but at the bottom of your barrel.

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So what do we do? We do what Mary did. We whisper

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the truth. We have no wine. We do what the servants

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did. Carry the buckets. Obey. Haul water until

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your shoulders ache, even if it doesn't make

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any sense at all. And then you do what the disciples

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did. You taste and you bear witness and believe.

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Think of the jars in your life. Not spectacular,

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not flashy. Ordinary, heavy, made for washing.

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Maybe your jar is your finances. Maybe it's broken

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relationships. Maybe it's your grief. Maybe it's

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your addiction. Jesus says, fill them with water.

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And you think, what's the point? But obedience

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is the hinge of this miracle. So fill it to the

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brim. Because grace meets us in the ordinary.

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Mercy shows up in the slog. Glory hides in the

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shadows until suddenly it flickers and flashes.

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I've sat with families, swore the cupboard was

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too empty to make it another week, and yet somehow

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the biscuits stretched. I've seen joy in a hospital

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waiting room where there should have been none

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at all. I've heard laughter at a graveside that

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could only come from hope that's bigger than

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death. That's Cana. That's water into wine. But

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hear me. Cana is not just comfort. It's a calling

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because, and I believe this is ultimately what

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John's evangelism to us, the readers, is. Signs

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demand a response from us. When we acknowledge

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these signs of miracles, we are compelled to

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a response. Now, that response is a choice of

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yours. And one of those choices is to ignore

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it away as some kind of fairy tale. But that's

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not the only choice that you can make. You can

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believe. You can decide that Jesus is, in fact,

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who Jesus said he was. And if that's the case,

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then I am compelled to live my life differently.

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I am compelled. I must look at the world differently.

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I must look at my relationship with God differently.

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I must look at my relationship with you differently

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because I believe that Jesus is who Jesus said

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that he was. You can't sip the wine and decide

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to walk away unchanged. And guys, repentance

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is not shame. Repentance is simply turning. Repentance

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is hauling your jar to the well. It's laying

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down your cheap substitutions and just trusting

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Jesus with your emptiness. So let me ask you,

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What jars are you hiding in your corner? What

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emptiness are you afraid to name? What shame

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are you dressing up as respectable? Bring it,

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name it, obey. Let Jesus make you new. Every

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sip at Cana is a rehearsal for the marriage supper

00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.940
of the Lamb. Revelation 19 says, blessed are

00:21:16.940 --> 00:21:20.420
those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:25.359
The good wine in Cana points to that final table

00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:30.799
where joy will never run dry. The first sign

00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:35.019
points to the final victory. And the whisper

00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:39.940
of scarcity points to Jesus' roar of abundance.

00:21:42.349 --> 00:21:47.089
So, hear the invitation. Whisper your wound.

00:21:47.309 --> 00:21:52.490
Carry your bucket. Taste his glory. Repent and

00:21:52.490 --> 00:21:59.349
turn. You were there in Cana. You know the ache

00:21:59.349 --> 00:22:03.930
of running out. You have seen what happens when

00:22:03.930 --> 00:22:08.220
shame creeps in. You've heard Mary's whisper.

00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:11.440
You've watched the servants slog the water, but

00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:16.559
you have also tasted the wine. Now it's your

00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:25.059
turn. Bring your jar. Repent, trust, and drink

00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:32.200
deep because the best is not behind you. The

00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:36.660
best has been saved for you for the last. Amen?

00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:53.880
Amen. Well, that's it for this episode. But before

00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.579
we turn out the lights, let me leave you with

00:22:55.579 --> 00:22:58.920
this. That porch light is still on. Maybe the

00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:01.579
story tonight hit close. Emptiness at the bottom

00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:04.480
of the cup. Shame when the wine runs out. That

00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.319
longing for something more. Listen, grace is

00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.380
still pouring. You're not forgotten and you're

00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:15.380
not too late. That's why I keep this mic hot

00:23:15.380 --> 00:23:17.519
week after week. Not because I like the sound

00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:21.500
of my own voice. I do. Also because someone else

00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:23.660
out there, maybe you, maybe a friend of yours.

00:23:24.679 --> 00:23:26.839
Stumbling in the dark, looking for a sign that

00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:30.180
God hasn't locked the door. And that's what we're

00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:32.000
doing here, building a porch wide enough for

00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:33.960
weary folks to sit down and catch their breath.

00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:37.359
So if this word found you, please don't keep

00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:40.299
it to yourself. Share the episode with somebody

00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:43.539
who needs a little light on their path. Subscribe

00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:45.440
so you don't miss when the porch light clicks

00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.779
on again next week. And if you've got a thought,

00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:51.019
a prayer, a story of your own, please drop it

00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:53.240
in the comments. That's how this porch gets bigger.

00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:57.380
when all of our voices join in. Until then, keep

00:23:57.380 --> 00:24:00.259
walking, keep watching for the light, and remember,

00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:04.740
the best wine isn't gone, it's still being poured.

00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:20.779
I'll see you next time. therefore he in the principles

00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:23.599
and the doctrine of christ let us go on