January 20, 2019 Second Sunday after the Epiphany

1For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name. 3You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. 4You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married. 5For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:1-5 NKJV

1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. John 2:1-11 NKJV

Who is Jesus? So many times Jesus did not live, teach or act the way people expected. There is a story about someone fighting against liquor by the drink and when the other person stated Jesus turned the water into wine their response was “I have always been disappointed in Jesus for doing that.” Many were disappointed with Jesus.

The disciples never knew what to expect

His family thought Jesus was crazy

People were drawn to Jesus though they didn't understand Him

Jesus drove the religious leaders crazy

The kings were not sure even who Jesus was

If we are honest we struggle with who Jesus is. Many do not know Jesus because the Jesus they know is defined by popular culture rather than the Bible and others because even with the Bible they see the Jesus they want to see. If we are not careful we become idolaters by creating our own Jesus.

How can we know we are following the real Jesus? When like those who lived with Jesus we are uncomfortable.

We never know what to expect

At times either we think Jesus is crazy or we are

We are drawn to Jesus even though we do not understand Him

Jesus at times will drive us crazy

Often we will see a new side to Jesus which will surprise us

If your Jesus is like you and agrees with you than YOU ARE YOUR OWN JESUS! Knowing Jesus is journeying through life one step at a time trusting the water will become wine, the parable will make sense some day, we are no longer “desolate” or forgotten, we are not crazy and Jesus will give peace in the midst of life and our relationship with Him! When we are enlightened about who Jesus is we can shine that light to others!

Do we really want a god we can understand? (When we cannot understand our self?) Or do we want God to be so powerful, mighty and holy to catch us when we fall and redeem us to grow closer?