Title: Where's The Party? / Topic: Jesus

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 63; Isaiah 64; Psalm 107; John 2

Scripture: John 2:1-11
1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Observation: The little wine maker, Jesus! I have always found it so fascinating that Jesus' first miracle was to make wine for a party. And notice how much He made. Verse six tells us there were "six stone water jars… each holding from twenty to thirty gallons." That's 120 to 180 gallons of wine! (That perks up a party!)

[Note that this event occurred in Cana of Galilee. According to information I have received, this is the same city (Qana) in which an Israeli bomb reportedly killed more than 50 people including over 30 children Sunday after Hezbollah rockets apparently were fired at Israel from the same area. Cana could use another miracle now.]

Application: Jesus was not a stick in the mud. He was a wonderful person to be around. He loved a party. And He loved (and loves) people. The church has done an absolutely horrible job in presenting Jesus as boring, rigid, aloof, religious, etc. We're talking about someone who made over 120 gallons of wine for a party! That should attract a crowd! Wow -- do we have work to do! We have to figure out how to shed our religious straight jackets and find the joy and celebration that truly represents Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, help us to do a better job representing You. I know that Jesus got in trouble with the religious people and yet many of His followers have gotten religious. Help us to find the living joy and vibrancy that expresses what it should mean to be people of God, those redeemed by a Savior who made wine and compared His interaction with His disciples to a bachelor party.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.