Signs and Weddings
This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, January 19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was John 2:1- 11. A wedding is a wonderful celebration in the Middle East, as it is here. Even in small villages, everyone rejoices, sings, and dances. I remember being in a village for just such an event. It was truly exhilarating—the sounds, the aromas, the music, the rhythm as the men danced the debka, a traditional folk dance of the region. But this was a Muslim couple, family, village, and there would not be any alcohol. It would be considered sinful, a huge problem if it was served. Jesus faced another kind of issue at this wedding in today’s gospel reading. This was a Jewish wedding gathering, likely relatives of Jesus and his family. A terrible thing happened. They ran out of wine to serve the guests. It’s not like someone could just run to the liquor store to buy some more. But was that really the problem? “To run out of wine and to fail to provide adequately for gue...