January 16, 2022 – John 2:1-11 – Epiphany 2C

“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.”

What do we know about time? If there is some national event scheduled, like the State of the Union speech, or the Super Bowl, it would be scheduled for perhaps 6:00 pm. Now, the problem with holding something national at 6:00 pm is that six o’clock is not six o’clock across the country. Our 6:00 pm is California’s 3:00 pm. And you know this. We know that if there is something happening on the other side of the country, we need to know if the time is Pacific Standard Time, or Eastern Standard Time. Now, time, the issue of time, is more than just clock time. Time can be the counting of days, months or even years. We count the passing of seasons, the cycles of the moon; in other words, we can say that the time that passes, the time we conceive of that passes us by is really the “counting of the ways in which things change.”

Aristotle was the first to record the idea that time was the measurement, the counting of change—noting how things change. He also believed that if nothing changed, then time stood still. If everything remained the same, then there was no passing of time—can you imagine? Of course we all have been in those situations where we have felt as if time stood still. It was that same feeling we had as children when we were sitting in class waiting for the clock to finally hit 3:00 pm—the end of the day. Or as adults, perhaps time stands still as we await a long-needed vacation. So, the time we experience in our lives really is relative. It is episodic. And, as we all also know, timing is everything.

Time is so important in the Gospel lesson we have this morning. Jesus and his mother are at the Wedding in Cana. And it begins with a reference to time…the text says that they are at the wedding, and three days have passed by. You see weddings in the time of Jesus could last one or two weeks. As such, there was a need to have a plethora of resources—food, entertainment, and of course, wine. So, for the wine to run out on the third day, well, this was a catastrophe. It was a crisis, and a potential blemish on the whole affair—and a huge embarrassment to the host family. The next mention of time comes in the interaction between Jesus and his mother, Mary. Mary says to Jesus, “They have no wine.” Jesus, sounding annoyed, says “Woman, what concern is that to you and me—my hour has not yet come.” Here we encounter another use of time, or concept of time—the hour for Jesus to reveal his glory—the time of Jesus has not yet come.

Now, perhaps Mary had a better concept of Jesus’ time, because she is not fazed by Jesus’ brush—off comment. She simply says to the servants, “Do what he tells you to do.” My friends, when we do what Jesus tells us to do, we open ourselves up to an abundance of Grace—an abundance of Mercy—an abundance of unconditional Love and Acceptance. The challenge you and I have is to remain open to the voice of G-d who always tells us what we should do—and that voice speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. And once we hear that voice, once we receive our instructions, we need to act—respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

And my friends, it is critical now for us to act, because we are not winning the battle against time.

Pastor Dave