On this the Second Sunday after Epiphany in which we consider how Jesus turns water into wine, listens to His mother, His disciples believe in Him, gives the bridegroom credit for something he didn’t do at all, and does this all at a wedding –
who are you praying for when you sing the words, “Bind us together, Lord, bind us together Lord,”
– your marriage? Your children? Your mother and father? Your church?
You’re taking a bit of a risk in singing that song and praying that prayer.
To be bound to someone is not always easy.
They can sometimes be very selfish. They can sometimes carry great burdens of body and soul. They can sometimes be very difficult to get along with.
And by they, I mean me. I mean you.
Bind us together? Well then you’re bound. Your burdens become my burdens, too. And they’re heavy. My selfishness affects you, and it’s a persistent beast – my selfishness is.
Husbands and wives take a great risk in binding themselves together.
Husbands and wives take great risks in having children and binding themselves together to them and the children take great risks in honoring, serving and obeying, loving and cherishing, fathers and mothers who sometimes who too often don’t deserve to be honored.
And to be bound to the Church! O, the Church! She can be a hot mess, can’t she? All sorts of burdens and selfishness and us hurting each other and us being hurt by each other.
But Jesus’ first sign…in which He manifested His glory, He turns water into wine…at a wedding – you know, where man and woman bind themselves, first to God and then to each other.
And one of the results is that His disciples believe in Him – you know people believing in Jesus, together binding themselves to Christ because of what Christ has done and is doing, and then being bound together in Him – that’s the one, holy, Christian and apostolic Church.
And the sign of water into wine happens because Jesus has bound Himself to a family and in that family He listens to His mother – even though she seems to be placing a burden on Him – woman what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
The text of John says that this the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.
And both the word sign and the word manifested point us that this reveals what is inside of Jesus. Who Jesus really is. The Epiphany season is all about revealing who this man Jesus is – namely this Jesus is God – and namely inside God is love. And one of the things this text points out is that inside God is a love for marriage, and family, and His Church.
That’s something inside of God.
A little after Jesus turns water into wine, John tells us many believed in Jesus’ name when they saw the signs that He was doing. But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them….for He Himself knew what was in man.
Do you see the contrast?
You begin to see what’s inside Jesus.
And one of the things that’s revealed is that Jesus knows what is inside of you.
As Christians we always need to hear what is inside God, even what God calls good, because what God calls good is good, even if we mess it up because of what’s inside of us
Marriage is good. Marriage teaches us something about what the love that is inside of God.
Jesus blesses the marriage of a husband and wife with His presence at Cana. God instituted marriage of one man and one woman before the fall into sin.
Marriage is good.
Marriage is blessed.
Marriage will always be good until the Last Day.
What happens when marriage isn’t so good is because of what is inside of us.
Many are avoiding or postponing marriage now more than ever.
Divorce was sky-rocketing until recently it has plateaud, but only because less people are getting married. So, of course there’s less divorces.
There’s such an impulse inside of us to think of marriage is good, that there is a desire for us as a society to bless a so called marriage between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, or a woman who calls herself a man to a man who calls himself or herself a woman or some other combination.
Lord, have mercy on what is inside of us.
The family is good. The family teaches us something about the love that is inside of God.
Jesus blesses the family with His presence at Cana. Adam and Eve are told to be fruitful and multiply before the fall into sin and Noah is told the same after the flood. The first of the commandments regarding loving your neighbor as yourself is, “Honor your father and your mother.”
Children are good!
The family is blessed.
Husbands and wives binding themselves together in sacrificial love and often with the result of that love being fruitful and multiplying into children to sacrificially love!
What happens when the family is not good is because of what is inside of us!
When lust selfishly seeks sex outside of binding yourself to one –
when the desire to feel loved by someone trumps our reasoning that should know they don’t really love us –
when children rebel,
when fathers or mother neglect or choose paths that are good for them but not their children.
Lord, have mercy on what is inside of us!
And the Church is good!
Jesus desires His disciples believes in Him. Disciples with an “s” – they’re together in Christ.
God gave Adam and Eve His Word and His love to receive and His commandments to obey and His promises to treasure and His presence to rejoice in and each other to help one another to fear, love, and trust in God alone!
The Church is blessed!
The Church is God’s Church – sheep who hear the Shepherds voice!
The Church is One – one body, one family, because there is one God.
What happens when the church is not good is because of what is inside of us.
Divisions, clicks.
Greed.
Lack of faithfulness to God’s Word.
Who cares what we sing as long as it moves me or entertains me.
Who cares who the pastor is she can bring more people in.
Who cares if I don’t go to church at all as long as I say I believe in Jesus.
A church is not good when it’s major message is not Jesus saves!
The beautiful comforting truth that Jesus saves us from what’s inside of us because of what’s inside of Him. The Church’s major message ought be, “Look at what’s inside of Jesus. Look at His love. Look at His forgiveveness. Look how He changes us from the inside – out.
The Church’s major message is Jesus saves us who have sinned against His good institution of marriage!
Jesus saves us who have sinned against His good institution of family!
Jesus saves. Jesus forgives. Jesus is our Light and salvation. Our hope is not what is inside of us, but what is inside of God and made manifest in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The Church is not good when that’s not the primary message but when the message becomes something like “you’re not welcome here. You’re too sinful. You’re not like us.”
Lord, have mercy on what is inside of us.
Yes, bind us together can be risky prayer because of what is inside of us.
But the prayer is that we are bound together with cords that cannot be broken, bound together with love.
A love in which we are loved and loved to the end because of the hour that did come of Jesus – the hour of His glorifying death.
A love that is only inside of God and manifested in His miracles, and even the miracle that promises He is here now to forgive, renew, and strengthen,
to remind you that He has bound Himself to you.
He knew what was inside of you. He knows what is inside of you.
He bound Himself to a cross and took on the sin and selfishness and the wrath of God we deserve for so often messing up what He calls good.
And He lives.
He who turned water into wine – water listens to Him – so when He says to water, baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and to the Holy Spirit – forgive them, wash them, make them a child of God, begin to change them from the inside – it happens.
You are different.
Your baptism makes you different.
His Word that changed water into wine and continually changing you with the truth that He is bound to you. In Christ, you are like the bridegroom who got credit from the master of the feast for the glorious new wine. You get credit for being perfect and obedient and honorable and clean and loving
And that begins to change you –
9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Yah! We want to do that! We want to be bound to spouses. We want to be bound to our children. We want to be bound to our parents and family. We want to be bound to our church!
Because Christ has bound Himself to us in love with cords that cannot be broken.