Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

John 2:11

I read an article not too long ago about a team of volunteers in another country who were helping to feed refugees. One day, they had many more people than expected. They had enough food for 200 people, but 400 showed up. What were they going to do? They turned to prayer. And in the words of one of the team-members: 

“We prayed for Jesus to provide, and thanked him for loving these people extraordinarily well. We had 7 trays of food. When we were done handing out food … people started bringing us the left over unopened meals. When we took up all the trays to stack outside, there were 10 of them. I know my God is able, He is true and He is good.” 

The story ended with the statement: “Our God still works miracles!”

But the reason I am sharing this story is because of the first two comments that I saw below the story. The first one said: “Wow, our God is truly awesome!”

And the second comment on the article was: “Where is the proof? – I’ve seen or heard nothing of this.” 

And isn’t that the way with miracles? They do take place, even now. But they require faith to see and believe them. And that has always been the case. Even in Scripture. 

Today’s Gospel Reading (John 2:1-11)

In our gospel reading today, we hear about one of Jesus’ most well-known miracles – when he turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana. This was the first of Jesus’ signs, as the evangelist John tells us, and it revealed his glory. 

But I wonder whether there was anyone at the wedding who heard about this miracle and responded: “Where is the proof?” Or, more likely, whether there were people who were not at the wedding but heard about this miracle and wanted proof before they would believe it. I certainly imagine there were.

There are many miracles, or signs, recorded in Scripture; many different ways that God reveals His glory to us; but they still require faith. There is no escaping it. And it is still true today. 

God continues to give us signs; God continues to reveal His glory to us. But we can’t see them without faith. And I think that is exactly God’s plan. His miracles are never so obvious that they remove any need for faith. They are, instead, always intended to lead to a greater or deeper faith. 

The miracles and signs that God provides, in other words, are not meant to convince skeptics, but to encourage believers. 

Signs Then

Let me share two examples from Scripture that specifically refer to signs from God, and that illustrate this in a powerful way.

The first is the Christmas story, as we heard it just a few weeks ago. The shepherds who were first told the news that a Savior was born were given a sign. Do you remember what it was? The angel said: 

“This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 

That’s it. That is the sign that their Savior had come. And, again, I have to believe that there was at least one shepherd, who looked at this baby asleep on the hay, and said: “Where is the proof? Before I am ready to believe the Savior has come, I think I need more proof.” But to the shepherds who believed the angel’s message, their faith was surely deepened and strengthened by this miraculous child lying in a manger. 

Contrast this sign with the one requested, or demanded, of Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees. “Teacher,” they said, “we wish to see a sign from you.” And Jesus answered them: “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”

And what is the sign of Jonah? Perhaps it is his three days in the belly of the fish, and the three days that Jesus will eventually spend in the tomb. Another sign that is only a miracle when seen with the eyes of faith. Because signs and miracles are not intended to be a substitute for faith. But to invite us to believe more strongly still.

Signs Now

With that in mind, let’s think about some signs that God offers to us today. To the wedding guests in Cana, the sign was the water being turned into wine.

Today, is it no less a miracle that we have bread and wine through which we receive Christ? This isn’t water that has become wine. But it is wine that has become a meal of forgiveness. When we eat this bread and drink this wine we receive the body and blood of our Lord himself, given and shed for us. Is that any less miraculous?

Last week we heard about Jesus being baptized in the River Jordan. He received the gift of the Holy Spirit and was told that he was God’s beloved Son. Is it not any less a miracle when we witness a baptism here at this font? When one of our own becomes God’s beloved child, and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit?

When we wake up each morning and remember our baptisms, we are remembering this great miracle that took place in our lives. We are reminding ourselves, before we step out into our skeptical world, that we are God’s beloved children, and that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. And it is hard to be cynical or skeptical when we begin each day remembering how much God loves us!

And, in fact, when we begin our day that way, we will no doubt see signs and miracles the rest of the day, too. We’ll see a rainbow and be reminded of God’s promise. We’ll see a sunrise or sunset and be thankful for the beauty of God’s creation. We’ll open our Bibles, prayerfully and expectantly, and find a verse or story that seems to be just what we most needed to hear. We’ll receive a text or call from a friend that comes along at just the right time, or we’ll be led to send that text or make that call ourselves. 

Signs and miracles will be all around us, because we have begun the day strengthening our faith and reminding ourselves of God’s love for us.

When His Hour Had Come … The Greatest Sign

God does send signs, all the time, for those willing to see with the eyes of faith. I believe that. And we could probably share with one another examples of that. God does send signs to us all. 

But of all the signs that God has ever given to the world, there is really only one that matters, one that reigns supreme – and that is, the giving of God’s own Son.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

He did not give His Son simply to turn water into wine. He certainly didn’t give His Son because people were demanding signs from God. God gave His Son to turn death into life, to turn captivity into freedom, and to turn despair into hope.

When Mary approached her son, Jesus, at the wedding and told him that they were out of wine, he said to her: “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.”

Do you know when his hour does come? It’s recorded in John 13: “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.” It is right before his arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection.

And do you remember what Jesus did when his hour came? He got on his knees and washed his disciples’ feet. And he told his disciples – he told us – to love one another in this same way. 

If you are looking for a sign today, this is it. Jesus, on his knees, loving his disciples, and loving us, to the end. And inviting us to do the same. 

For us here today, Jesus doesn’t literally wash our feet. Nor does he turn water into wine. But he does give us a clear and powerful sign of his love. He offers us bread and wine, that isn’t just bread and wine – it is his body and blood, given and shed for us, for the forgiveness of our sins and for our salvation.

If you’re looking for a sign from God today, look not His Word and His Meal, signs of God’s love for you, and of the gift of His Son Jesus to you. Broken for you. Shed for you and for all people, for the forgiveness of sin. 

Receiving Signs and Being Signs

But it doesn’t end there. Listen to what Jesus said to his disciples after he washed their feet: 

“Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”

We who receive this day the clear and powerful sign of God’s love, in the Word and in the Meal, are now commanded to go into the world to be clear and powerful signs of God’s love.

That is our mission, the mission of the church: To be a sign to the world of God’s love, grace and forgiveness. And if we are not doing that, then we are not being the church. 

We are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be clear and powerful signs of God’s love to the world. And that might sound daunting. But remember, all it takes is a willingness to love and to serve others. We aren’t being asked to do great things, but to do ordinary things with great love. As Mother Teresa famously put it:

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

We aren’t being asked to turn water into wine, in other words. But by loving and serving others, and by proclaiming God’s grace and mercy and love to others, we might just turn someone’s despair into hope. We just might turn someone’s sorrow into joy. We just might turn someone’s fear into faith. And isn’t that, too, a great miracle?

Closing

Ordinary acts, done with great love, can have amazing consequences. You never know – by doing an ordinary act in Jesus’ name and with great love, you might help someone understand that God really does have plans for them. God has plans for you after all, and they might be to be the sign from Him that someone is looking for today. His plans for you might just be to be the sign that leads someone back to the greatest sign of all – the gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanks be to God. Amen.