the 2nd sunday after epiphany
the PRAYER. . .
Lord God, source of every blessing, you showed forth your glory and led many to faith by the works of your Son, who brought gladness and salvation to his people. Transform us by the Spirit of his love, that we may find our life together in him, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
the READING. . .
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
the DEVOTION. . .
For years now, decades actually, it’s been all about the special effects. Smoke and mirrors. Fireworks and lasers. Green screens and CGI. On television and in movies. During football games and at half-times. It’s always been glitter and the glitz, shock and awe. And after a while, that’s what we begin looking for in the bible. Feeding five thousand. Walking on water. And of course, changing it into wine.
But for John, it was never about the spectacle or the sensation. It was about the love. Even when it comes to those six stone water jars. Jesus wasn’t concerned with impressing or amazing friends. John had seen the weakness of “the rites of purification.” How diluted the grace, how watered down the mercy. And he’d, also, experienced how Jesus changed all that! Making faith rich and full, again. By changing water into wine, Jesus didn’t, merely, do the impossible, the unimaginable. He came that we may have life! And have it abundantly! Pressed down! Shaken together! Overflowing!
Bob Barndt, pastor