February 7, 2025

Today's Reading: John 2:1-12

Daily Lectionary: Job 4:1-21; John 2:1-12

“Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:10-11)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

This situation was awful! We’re not just looking at a wedding reception that happened to run out of food a bit early. This act of running out of wine would have been a massive hit against their marriage and social standing in the Jewish community. And in a spiritual sense, lack of wine was the sign of a lack of God’s favor; that perhaps you were cursed and condemned. So the dear and blessed mother, Mary, that most highly favored lady, sought to intervene by the power of her Son, Jesus. But his response to His mother was, “My hour has not yet come.” The hour in John’s Gospel is a phrase that will appear again and again (John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 12:27; 17:1), and ultimately, the hour is shown to be the hour of His death when He was exalted on the cross to pour streams of living water out. But in grace, for this married couple, He preemptively brings forth in advance the blessings of His hour. Just like running out of wine was more than a minor social goof, the abundance of wine is more than just festivities being able to continue. Wine is the symbol of God’s favor and joy, and an abundance is the sign of the age of the Messiah. Amos 9:13-15 says, “Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I'll make everything right again for my people Israel: ‘They'll rebuild their ruined cities. They'll plant vineyards and drink good wine.’” And Joel 3:18 says, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters…” This act of abundantly fine wine from water is the sign that God’s grace flows freely and richly for us because the Christ has come, and His name is Jesus. That’s why we celebrate Holy Communion; we drink of the finest of wine, the very blood of our Savior. And we take into ourselves the Christ and the blessings of what is to come. That first married couple received a foretaste; now, so do we.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Feast after feast thus comes and passes by, Yet, passing, points to that glad feast above, Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy, The Lamb’s great marriage feast of bliss and love. (LSB 631:7)

-Rev. Matthew Synnott, associate pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Peoria, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

What makes a church "good?" Come join the fictional family as they test out eight different churches in their brand-new town and answer this question along the way. Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? by Matthew Richard, now available from Concordia Publishing House.