TALK ABOUT YOUR CUP OVERFLOWING!

Dr. Richard J. Henderson January 17, 2010

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Psalm 36: 5-10 (responsive)
John 2: 1-11

Introduction

How many of you have seen the movie, The Blind Side? If you haven't seen it it's the story of a wealthy, religious family who takes in a poor black student from their children's school. When they discover that he is homeless, they make him part of their family. He is a very large young man and he begins to play football. He grows up to become a star professional football player.

The film is based on the true story of Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens. As the story unfolds, we see again and again how the Tuohy family, and especially Leigh Ann Tuohy, respond with extraordinary love and caring. The Tuohys have two children of their own, but they bring in Michael and make him one of the family. They don't just give him a place to stay and food to eat; they offer him a loving, caring family. It is a story of extravagant compassion.

I

The passage we read this morning tells of Jesus first miracle of turning water into wine. The wedding reception was going very well and everybody seemed to be having a great time. The host must be relieved that after all the planning and arrangements this is a wonderful reception without a hitch.

Until someone notices that the wine is running low. Apparently, it's a very festive party; the wine is running out! There is no more wine in storage and you can't just go out and buy more at this hour. This is a disaster. "The wine will run out; we'll be embarrassed. People will get their cloaks and go home. Tomorrow, everybody will be talking about the wedding feast where they ran out of wine."

Mary, Jesus' mother, gets wind of this and goes to her son. Apparently, she believes he can do something about it.

II

Jesus walks over to six large, stone water jars. They are used for the Jewish ritual of purification and, probably, contain water to clean your hands before you eat. Jesus says, "Fill the jars with water." They fill each of them to the brim. Then Jesus says, "Scoop some out and take it to the chief steward." (Apparently, this is a posh affair; they not only have a steward, but a chief steward!)

The steward tastes the wine and immediately goes to the groom. He says, "I don't get it. Most people serve the good wine first, and then when everybody's a little tipsy, they bring out the cheap stuff. But you've saved the fine wine until now." The wine that Jesus produces is high quality wine.

And not just that; Jesus makes a huge amount of it. Each of the jars would hold 20 to 30 gallons, so Jesus produces about 180 gallons of wine. There's no chance they will run out of wine now! Not only is there enough wine, there is more than they could drink in a month.

Jesus response is extravagant! He not only makes fine wine, he makes 180 gallons of it.

III

Sometimes the first actions people take tell us a great deal about who they are. When a newly elected president takes office people watch to see what they do first because sometimes that suggests what their presidency will be like. Here Jesus' first miracle says a lot about what he will be doing. He provides an extraordinary amount of what people need.

In the Old Testament, especially in Amos and Joel, good wine is a sign of the joy of God's new age arriving. Fine wine symbolizes the wonder of God's new reign.

Jesus often used the image of a great feast, which would include the best wine, when he talked about what it would be like after God's final victory. So, Jesus is signaling that God's new age is beginning in and through him. It is a joyful time; a time of celebration. And the good that Jesus brings is extravagant. God will not only fulfill our need, God is extravagant in giving us the best.

IV

As we look back over the life of Jesus, we can see his extravagant love. After they had spent a whole day out on a hillside listening to Jesus teach, people were hungry. He didn't send them away even though all he had to offer them was five loaves of bread and two fish. He took that and fed all 5000 of them. After everyone was satisfied, there were twelve baskets of leftovers.

Jesus told a parable about a man who helped his despised enemy after that man had been attacked by criminals. He put salve on the attacked man's wounds and carefully wrapped them. Then he took the man to a local inn and stayed with him, caring for him. The next morning he paid the whole tab and told the innkeeper to give the man whatever he needed and that he would cover the cost when he returned. Jesus' parable is of extravagant caring.

Jesus went to the lepers (something that was forbidden) and healed them of their leprosy. He put mud on the eyes of a man who had always been blind and gave him the gift of sight. In a crowd a woman reached out and touched Jesus' robe and she was healed of a hemorrhage.

One day Jesus met a woman who was apparently looked down on - it appears she couldn't stay married to one man. Jesus asked her to draw him some water from a well and he began a conversation with her, which was also forbidden. As she talked about the water of the well, Jesus told her about the water of life. In that meeting he offered her a whole new life. She is so overwhelmed that she told everybody she knew about what Jesus had done for her.

Extravagance! Jesus not only gives people what they really need; he gives it in extraordinary quantities. Jesus demonstrates that there is no one who is beyond his reach to heal and save. No matter how badly we have messed up our lives, no matter what evil we have done, no matter how terrible we feel about ourselves, Christ reaches out to touch and heal and make us new. Christ's love is extravagant.

V

Jesus' first miracle announces who he is and shows us the extravagant love Christ has for us. We know how the story ends, too. That amazing love continues until Jesus is arrested and beaten and nailed to a cross. He offered that extraordinary sacrifice because he cares about you and me. He demonstrated that he would rather die on a cross than give up on any of us.

Jesus wants us to have a good life. But it's not the good life as our culture defines it. It is a solid life grounded in faith, trusting in God, and based on values of compassion, generosity, forgiveness, and hospitality. It's not the glitzy life; it's what Paul called "the life that is life indeed."

Conclusion

There is a scene in The Blind Side where Leigh Ann Tuohy is having lunch with her friends at a fancy restaurant. One of them says, "I think it's just wonderful what you're doing. You are changing his life forever." Leigh Ann turns, looks at her, and says, "He's the one who's changing my life." Everyone remembers that line because it's key to the whole movie.

When we live within the extravagant love of God, we are changed forever. When we share that extraordinary love with other people, our lives are made more whole, more complete.

This first miracle that Jesus did, turning water into wine at a wedding feast, shows us what Jesus is about. He gives us the very best, more of it than we can imagine.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2010