Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday after Epiphany. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "From Heaven You Came (Servant King)"
Today's Gospel
John 2:1-11 Jesus Changes Water into Wine
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward."
So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Reflection
Let’s begin by thinking of a wedding that you’ve been to, maybe even your own. It’s a big day and generally a long day. There’s all the last minute things to do in the morning; flowers, dressing up, your hair do and make up. Lots of rushing around and maybe a bit of panic.
Then there’s the wedding itself, full of joy, love, emotions and anticipation. The serious part when the happy couple make their commitments and vows to one another in the presence of God and everyone else gathered there.
This is usually followed by a party, an opportunity to celebrate together, congratulate the newly-weds and of course share food and drink, and generally have a good time.
But back in Jesus’s day, weddings would have been quite different. To start with the wedding would have been on a totally different scale. It would have involved most of the village and there would be people from surrounding towns and villages invited too.
Furthermore, it wouldn’t last all day, instead it would have lasted for many days, even a week or more. Weddings were big occasions and people would be coming and going all the time.
So the when the wine started running out it would be a major issue.
We don’t know how Mary was aware that the wine had run out. Maybe she overheard nervous whispers between the stewards in charge or saw worried looks on their faces, but somehow she knew. She also instinctively knew that Jesus would be able to solve the problem and save the wedding family from massive embarrassment.
It’s worth just pausing here for a moment to think about how Mary knew Jesus could help. I hardly think she was expecting Him to jump into the car and drive to Aldi! At this time Jesus had not yet begun His teaching or ministry and not performed any miracles. Jesus was just a regular young man at the party with four of His friends, who would become His first disciples. He hadn’t been invited to the party for any special reason, He wasn’t famous in any way and no one there knew He was the Messiah.
As He told Mary, “My hour has not yet come”. This statement was not an impolite dismissive response along the lines of – ‘Leave us alone we’re busy having a good time’, - It tells us that Jesus, ‘fully human’ Jesus, did not yet feel ready to step into His divine role.
But somehow, Mary had total confidence in Jesus and knew that ‘His time’ had now come.
In the next few moments everything changes – Jesus jumps into action to save the day. However, there was no huge fanfare – no ripping off of robes to reveal a superhero costume underneath; He chose that His first miracle would be very discreet with as few people as possible having any idea what had happened.
He chose not to fill the empty wine jugs but to use the jugs reserved for spiritual cleansing. If you’ve ever been to Cyprus or Greece you may have seen them outside hotels or in the market places. They are huge and hold 150 gallons or more. Jesus had six of these filled to the brim – that’s about 1000 gallons.
It shows us Jesus didn’t do things by halves. When He performed miracles He did them full on and didn’t leave any room for doubt. It also reminds us of the nature of God, who lavishes His blessings on us in abundance. [Ephesians 1:6-8].
We are told that the wine was of the highest quality and tasted better than any other wine. Jesus is the best and always gives us His best. He invites us all to drink of His goodness and to experience and enjoy His unlimited goodness overflowing into us.
Through Jesus and His sacrifice to save us all from our sins, we are truly blessed with God’s endless grace and love, and never need to worry about the ‘good stuff’ running out. Paul
Our Prayers
Almighty Father,
We thank you for the abundance of your grace and love.
Jesus showed us how to do good things,
on a grand scale, behind the scenes.
Help us to be humble servants,
doing the best we can for God and each other,
without seeking for glory for ourselves.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "To God be the Glory"
Notices
Today sees the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Everyone is invited to join our fellow Christians from around Lees and district for a joint service next Sunday afternoon – please see the poster for details.
The PCC meets at 7 pm on Monday the 20th January at St Thomas’.
On Tuesday the 21st January at 2 pm, the Ladies of Leesfield are holding their monthly meeting in the Community Room. All are most welcome to come along and join them for refreshments and companionship.
