It isn't hard to perform...
Illustration
It isn't hard to perform the miracle of turning wine into water.
God gives us the wine of a wife or husband, children, family -- and we turn it into the water of neglect as we let our priorities drift in other directions until wife is set against husband, children against parents, a family is split apart, and what was celebrated at Cana becomes the disaster of careless neglect and shameful rejection of one another.
God gives us the wine of material blessings -- and we get such a good "taste" for what the world has to offer that we turn our eyes toward the things of the world rather than toward the things of the God who gave them to us. Wine has been turned into water.
God gives us the wine of talents and abilities -- and we turn them into the water of using them for our own self-aggrandizement and profit in such a way that God never reaps the benefit of what was given us.
God gives us the wine of faith through a godly home, dedicated Sunday church school teachers, a good pastor, a caring congregation -- and we turn it into the water of unbelief by neglecting the gifts of Word and Sacrament, devoting ourselves instead to the things of the world.
And Jesus must gather all this water we have made out of the wine of God's gifts, place it again into the earthen jars of our mortal bodies, and turn it again into wine by the grace and mercy of his Cross.
God gives us the wine of a wife or husband, children, family -- and we turn it into the water of neglect as we let our priorities drift in other directions until wife is set against husband, children against parents, a family is split apart, and what was celebrated at Cana becomes the disaster of careless neglect and shameful rejection of one another.
God gives us the wine of material blessings -- and we get such a good "taste" for what the world has to offer that we turn our eyes toward the things of the world rather than toward the things of the God who gave them to us. Wine has been turned into water.
God gives us the wine of talents and abilities -- and we turn them into the water of using them for our own self-aggrandizement and profit in such a way that God never reaps the benefit of what was given us.
God gives us the wine of faith through a godly home, dedicated Sunday church school teachers, a good pastor, a caring congregation -- and we turn it into the water of unbelief by neglecting the gifts of Word and Sacrament, devoting ourselves instead to the things of the world.
And Jesus must gather all this water we have made out of the wine of God's gifts, place it again into the earthen jars of our mortal bodies, and turn it again into wine by the grace and mercy of his Cross.
