QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

In the Old Testament “the shekinah glory was nothing less than the visible manifestation of God…. The incarnate Word is the true shekinah, the ultimate manifestation of God amongst human beings, for this Word became a man.”

~D.A. Carson, on the Gospel of John (1:14)

“Nothing true can be said about God from a posture of defense.”

~Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

“And yet all loneliness, angers, hatreds, envies, and itchings that [Hell] contains, if rolled into one single experience and put into the scale against the least moment of the joy that is felt by the least in Heaven, would have no weight that could be registered at all. Bad cannot succeed even in being bad as truly as good is good.”

~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Great Divorce

“Joy is to fun what the deep sea is to a puddle.”

~Terry Pratchett (1948-2015), A Hat Full of Sky

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”

~Iris Murdoch (1919-1999), Irish novelist

“A flower blossoms for its own joy.”

~Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish poet and playwright

“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

~John Calvin (1509-1564), French pastor and theologian

“She gives most who gives with joy.”

~Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

“Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that came down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion

“When we are powerless to do a thing, it is a great joy that we can come and step inside the ability of Jesus.”

~Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1893), Dutch survivor of Nazi concentration camp

SERMON PASSAGE

John 2:1-12 (ESV)

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “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.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.