This Sunday, the assigned gospel lesson is about Jesus’ first public miracle. It was when He turned the water into wine at a wedding in Cana. More and more, this has become one of my favorite miracles of Jesus. Why, you may ask. Well, it’s because it seems that extremists in the Christian faith are continually trying to portray God in ways that make God seem mean, vindictive, reclusive and narrow-minded. I think this first miracle of Jesus flies in the face of all of that. After all, this first miracle of Jesus, in the words of Christian comedian and singer, Mark Lowry, was one to “just keep the party going!”
Years ago, a guest on The Tonight Show, when Johnny Carson was the host, offered some additional insight into this miracle of Jesus turning the water into wine. The guest was an eight year old boy. The young man was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was a Christian. So Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did, Johnny inquired, “What are you learning in Sunday school?” He replied, “Last week our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine.” The audience roared, but Johnny tried to keep a straight face. Then Johnny said, “And what did you learn from that story?” The boy squirmed in his chair. It was apparent he hadn’t thought about this. But then he lifted up his face and said, “If you’re going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!”
That little boy was on to something. So, this Sunday at Covenant we are not having a wedding, but we’re going to keep the party going with a worship celebration. Jesus is invited and so are you. I’ll be preaching about this “Miracle to Just Keep the Party Going!” The scripture text is “John 2:1-11.”
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