Sermon
(January 20) – “A Marriage Made in Heaven”
Isaiah
62:1-5
-
Persia
has conquered Babylon and has permitted the people of Israel to return to a
small parcel of land round Jerusalem. The land is ravished, and after initial
elation, the people feel that God has ceased to care for them.
-
Isaiah
was writing after the people of Judah had been living in exile (6th
century BC.)
-
Isaiah
offers a vision of Zion (another name for God’s people & Jerusalem) that
they will once again be a crown of beauty.
-
Verse
4 – Your land shall be married (Hebrew – Beulah.) This is where we get the
phrase, “Beulah-land.”
-
Zion
is pictured as a bride. This image of Israel as a bride and God as the
bridegroom is a metaphor that we find throughout the scriptures.
John
2:1-11
-
Jesus’
first of seven “signs” (miracles) in the Gospel of John. The others are healing
a royal official’s son, healing a paralytic, feeding the 5,000, Jesus walking
on water, healing the blind man, & raising Lazarus from the dead.
-
The
“signs” of Jesus are times when heaven breaks through into our time and space.
Where do you see those “breakthroughs” in your everyday living? The Temple was seen as heaven and earth
connecting. And of course, John tells us
that the Word became flesh (heaven and earth touching.)
-
This
shows God’s overflowing and gracious love through Christ’s action of turning
water into wine. The scriptures often
depict salvation as a feast like the wedding feast in this story. (See Rev.
21:2)
-
We
only meet the mother of Jesus twice in the Gospel of John – here and at the
foot of the cross in chapter 19. When
Jesus died on the cross, heaven and earth met as God’s glory overcame that
terrible event.
-
Running
out of wine was seen as a social disgrace.
Mary says “do whatever he tells you.” Jesus brings transformation to us
like he transformed water into wine.
What areas of your life need God’s transformation?
- What do you think John means by this all took
place on “the third day?”
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