Sermon on John 2.1-11 (wedding at Cana)

Sermon on John 2.1-11 (wedding at Cana)
Originally given 21 January 2024 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

Audio for sermon

‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’

Whenever I read this quote from Jesus, I find it somewhat confusing and, as a mother, slightly irritating. If Jesus says ‘my hour has not yet come’ then why does he end up performing the sign of turning water to wine? And does he have to get so mouthy with his mother about it? If it’s not time for the rest of the world to know who Jesus is, why does he end up fixing the problem of the wine running out?

Before answering those questions though, let’s back up a bit. Four weeks ago, we celebrated the birth of Christ, and in today’s Gospel reading, we heard about the beginning of Christ’s ministry…Kids really do grow up quickly, don’t they? Joking aside, I wonder what Mary must have thought about the start of her son’s ministry, and if she questioned his seeming shortness towards her. In John’s Gospel we don’t have the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, or the birth narrative, or the song of Simeon. The wedding at Cana is the first time we are told of the mother of Jesus, and she’s not even given a name. My time in theological college taught me that remaining nameless in John’s Gospel is meant to be an honour, so we shouldn’t take it as an insult that Mary isn’t named here. But I do find it interesting that she’s only mentioned twice in the Gospel of John: The first time in today’s reading, with the wedding at Cana being the start of Jesus’ ministry, and the second time at the foot of the cross, the end of Jesus’ ministry. And at that point, along with the disciple whom Jesus loved, she is still nameless.  

So we find the mother of Jesus at the start and end of his ministry. You could say she forms the bookends for Jesus’ ministry, and as a book lover I can tell you there is a foundational necessity for bookends. I admit, I am quite a fan of Mother Mary, partially because I view her as a raging feminist like myself. I don’t buy into the culture of Mary meek and mild, because I don’t think you could be meek or mild to say yes to God, facing the possibility of public shame or death. Another reason to celebrate Mary, besides the obvious that she is the Christ-bearer, is that we could say she was the first disciple. Of course she wasn’t called by Jesus like Andrew or Peter or Nathanael, but she was already a follower of Jesus before his time had come, before anyone else knew who he was. When Mary said yes to God in her Magnificat, she was saying yes to following God and yes to following Jesus. This would make Mother Mary a model disciple.

So what does a model disciple do? She tells Jesus the wine is running out. Mary identifies a problem, and then goes to tell Jesus the problem. She doesn’t instruct Jesus as to what the solution might be, she just observes there is a problem and tells Jesus knowing that he will have the solution. In fact, she is so confident that Jesus will have a solution that she tells the servants to do as he says. There is no doubt for Mary that Jesus will fix this problem. And the cheeky response doesn’t even make her bat an eye!

Some of you have heard me talk about my church dad who my boys called Uncle Tony. Uncle Tony was a faithful Christian and a model for my own faith. He once told me that when he was younger if he faced a difficult situation he would always sing to himself ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’. This song says all our troubles can be taken to Jesus in prayer. So Uncle Tony and Mother Mary both knew that for any problem, Jesus was the solution. Or, as Karl Barth is claimed to have said, ‘Jesus is the answer, what’s the question?’

In any case, we know that we must bring it all to Jesus. We must tell Jesus the wine is running out. But where is the wine running out? Is the wine running out in your home? Is it running out in the Church? I think we can all see the wine is running out in the world. This week is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and it feels like now more than ever the world needs both prayer and unity. From natural disasters to war-torn countries, the world is desperately thirsty for Jesus. So what can we do? Well, like Uncle Tony, take it to the Lord in prayer, and like Mother Mary, tell Jesus the wine is running out.

Of course, Jesus may not respond how you’d like. He might say that it’s not yet time. This is hard to hear. They say the three answers to prayer are ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘not yet’. Anything other than an immediate yes is hard for us to hear, because we have our own time for things, what we think is the correct time. And our time is not always the same as God’s time, but rest assured, God is always in time. God knows when the time is right, even if we may feel a bit impatient. At the wedding at Cana, Jesus provided the wine at a time when the steward commented that the good wine was saved for the last, so Jesus knew when the most effective timing would be. As it is with all things in life. All we have to do is take our troubles to Jesus, and he will have the right solution at the right time.

Go tell Jesus the wine is running out, and he will make sure the best is yet to come.

Sermon on Luke 10:38-end

Sermon on Luke 10:38-end
Originally given 17 July 2022 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

When I lived in Jakarta, I used to help lead a Bible study group at the church. During one of our sessions, there was a woman who was critical that we were only studying the Bible and not practising what was said in the Bible – feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, freeing the oppressed. Of course she had a valid point and I generally do advocate for actions as well as words. After all, Christians are called to act out their faith. And in a place like Jakarta, there were plenty of opportunities to spread the Gospel by helping the poor. But it is vital that the faith behind our actions is developed first. As we’ve discussed in our Confirmation courses, it’s not enough to just go through the motions, we ought to know the meaning behind those motions. Faith without knowledge is infantile, and we should all strive to have a developed faith. Keep the curiosity of a child, but grapple God with the strength of an adult.

The story of Martha and Mary is classically seen as a story of faith versus action, but it is a story full of assumptions. Not only that, it is often used as a straightforward example of how Jesus wants us to be disciples. Additionally, when Martha and Mary are compared, there is very often talk of rivalry, pitting these two women against each other, using them as examples of polar opposites: one being right and the other wrong. This is carried out in society today, with women constantly being put in scenarios where they tear each other down instead of building each other up. But I don’t think these assumptions help us to come closer to the Gospel, so I want to look at some of them and suggest a challenge to them.

The first assumption that is generally accepted is that this specific Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke are the same Martha and Mary we see in John’s Gospel, who we meet as the sisters of Lazarus. This may well be the case, and I think it is probably a safe assumption. Also, if these are the same women, then we can learn more about the character and faith of both Martha and Mary. However, I think as probable as it seems, it’s important to challenge any assumptions from the Bible as opposed to immediately making connections that may not be true. The scriptures have been interpreted in so many different ways, and some of those interpretations have been harmful to people, so it is important to question even what seems to be the most obvious assumptions.

Another assumption is that Martha is the older sister of Mary and that Martha is therefore the head of the house. While this assumption may not say as much about the faith of these two sisters, it does perhaps speak to the possible dynamics of their relationship. As a younger sibling, I can say that quite often I had things done for me and that my older brother was typically burdened with the expectations of the family. For those who love Encanto, the relationship between Martha and Mary could maybe be described as the ‘Surface Pressure’ song in action. But to turn the assumption on its head, what if Mary is in fact the older sister? Does this allow you to reimagine the story at all? Does the birth order actually make a difference?

The final assumption, which I would like to dismantle, is that Jesus suggests that spiritual study is more important than actions in his response to Martha. The example of Martha and Mary has been used historically as an illustration that salvation is through faith alone and not faith with works. I think this misses the point that Jesus makes throughout the Gospel. In the context of the Martha and Mary interaction, Jesus has just come from a conversation with a lawyer where he used the parable of the Good Samaritan to show people should act with kindness to all. The parable is not merely an academic exercise, but a plan of action for how to love your neighbour as yourself. So to interpret Jesus’ response to Martha as being opposed to actions is to misinterpret the entire Gospel. Of course, we are not required to act out loving our neighbour, but as Christians that is something we just do. The problem is not that Martha is busy doing stuff. The problem is not that Martha is working hard to serve Jesus and whoever else has come with him. The problem is with Martha’s priorities. Her inability to see the wood for the trees because by working so hard to serve Jesus, Martha is following the Gospel of Jesus in serving others, but then ignoring the embodiment of the Gospel.

I don’t know about you, but I really feel for Martha. Even if we bring in all the assumptions, we still don’t have the full context of the story. We don’t know the relationship between Martha and Mary. We don’t know how many people were with Jesus when Martha was trying to show hospitality. We don’t know what else Martha had been doing that day. We don’t even know what kind of relationship Martha had with Jesus. Based on the interaction between Martha and Jesus, they either had a close enough relationship that Martha felt comfortable to vent to Jesus, or Martha is just confident enough as a person that she is happy to tell anyone how it is. Regardless of any of the context though, we don’t know the whole story.

If anything I think the story of Martha and Mary can be used as a reminder that there is always more than meets the eye. Yes, it is important to work on our relationship with God by focusing on our spiritual life. Yes, it is vital that we prioritise God in all that we do. But as humans, we won’t do any relationship perfectly, even if the relationship is with the most perfect being. So what we can learn from the example of Martha is grace. The grace that we’ve all been freely given. The grace that we don’t have to do anything to earn. And then we can learn to extend that grace to others. Because we never know all of another person’s story. And we can never assume that we know any situation. All we can do is love each other without assumption or expectation. Just as Jesus taught us.