John 2:1–11

¹ Three days later, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. ² Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My time has not come yet.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Six stone water jars, which the Jews used for ceremonial cleansing, were standing there, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. ⁸ Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” And they did. ⁹ When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had now become wine, he did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew). The master of the banquet called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have had plenty to drink, then the cheaper wine. You saved the good wine until now!” ¹¹ This, the beginning of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.  (EHV)

Dear Friends in Christ,

Who do you invite to your house for dinner? Chances are, you’re a little bit selective. Maybe you’ve had a bad experience with someone you’ve had over—they don’t like any of the food you’ve prepared, or they act rude in other ways. More than one missionary has given a newcomer to the mission field the advice to eat whatever is placed before you—even in a village in Africa or India. “But don’t ask what it is. What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”

If you’re the host, what makes someone the perfect guest? Whom do you invite if you’re having a dinner party or a wedding reception? As a believer, of course, the one guest you always want to invite is Jesus! And it just so happened that a young bridal couple and their family in the ancient village of Cana had the opportunity to invite Jesus in the flesh to their wedding and reception. They never, ever regretted inviting Him. Jesus was the Perfect Guest!

Jesus is no longer living on earth in the flesh. But because He is able to be everywhere, we still have the opportunity to invite Jesus to our weddings, into our own homes, to our dinner tables, to our family get-togethers and to all our gatherings here at Our Saviour—even the ladies’ lunch at Culvers. And when we do, just like the bridal couple and their parents in Cana, we won’t ever regret doing so! Jesus Is the Perfect Guest, 1. The Guest Who Always Does the Right Thing at the Right Time, 2. The Guest Who Truly Cares for Us and 3. The Guest Who Is Able to Help in Every Need. So we eagerly offer Jesus the same invitation as the bridal family in Cana: “Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest.”

The Guest Who Always Does the Right Thing at the Right Time

Jesus is The Guest Who Always Does the Right Thing at the Right Time. That’s because Jesus operates on His Father’s schedule. What may have seemed like a miserable, unnecessary delay after waiting thousands of years, the timing of God’s own Son coming into our world in the flesh was exactly right. Think of the circumstances of His birth—arriving in Bethlehem from Nazareth in Galilee, just as Mary was going into labor—arriving just there, as foretold, because God had timed the urge in Caesar’s heart to call for a census. The wise men arrived to worship Him, because God timed the appearance of His special star just right. He timed Mary and Joseph’s arrival at the temple with Jesus to fulfill His promise to aged Simeon and Anna. The flight into Egypt, Jesus’ first trip to the temple at 12 years old, and now His very first miracle—all were timed by God to perfectly fulfill His plans to save you and me and the whole world from sin and death.

During the reception at Cana, after several rounds of toasts, the wine for the banquet ran out just when God knew it would. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My time has not come yet.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Mary had spent thirty amazing years as the mother of God’s own Son. She had been astounded more than once—at the gifts brought by the Magi, at the words spoken prophetically by Simeon and Anna, at Jesus’ wisdom in discussing the Scriptures with the teachers in the Temple at 12 years old. These, and surely many other words and events in Jesus’ earlier life she had “treasured up and pondered in her heart.” She knew well to expect the unexpected. But she still needed to learn a thing or two about God’s timing. He knows all things. He observes every detail. He’s more than well-in-control of every moment of every life.

Those are things we need to learn as well. We need to learn more and more perfectly to trust God’s judgment and timing. Jesus intervenes in our lives and in our congregation in just the right way, at exactly the right time.

It may not always seem that way. Abraham, David, and the other saints of old wondered often enough what was up with God’s timing. But God’s timing was part of the plan. He wanted Abraham to wait and wait and wait until it was physically impossible for him and Sarah to have a child naturally before He finally gave them Isaac. They needed to learn not to try to “help” God like they did with Sarah’s servant Hagar. Even they needed to grow in faith! David, too, needed to learn many things after Samuel had anointed him, before God finally gave him control of the throne of Israel.

God’s got our lives on a schedule, too. The date and place of our birth, the day He will call us home, and all the days in between. The complexities of what is good for us—and just when—is beyond our ability to understand. Like a parent with a child, God tells us “yes” and “no,” and often, “Wait! My time has not come yet,” as He told His mother. But His timing is always impeccable.

The Guest Who Truly Cares for Us

It’s not just His perfect timing, though, that should cause us to invite Him into our lives as a guest. Much more than that! He’s also The Guest Who Truly Cares for Us. So often we put off praying to Jesus and inviting His help until things reach crisis proportions. It’s almost as if we don’t think Jesus cares about the little things, only the big stuff—or that Jesus is far too heavenly and spiritual to be troubled with mundane, earthly matters.

What Jesus did as a wedding guest in Cana ought to forever put that notion to rest. Think about it. Jesus had not yet done one miracle in His earthly ministry. What should that first miracle be? If you were a Hollywood film producer, writing a story about some great Messiah, what would you put in the script as His first miracle? Maybe some great healing? Well, the miracle God chose for His own Son to inaugurate His public ministry ought to comfort us. Because it shows He cares about the small things, He cares about the details.

If Jesus hadn’t changed water into wine, absolutely nobody would have starved. Nobody would have died. No great plague would have broken out. No. All that would have happened is that some guests might have left early, some parents might have been embarrassed. The bridal couple’s memories of their wedding would have been less joyful. And Jesus would have had to find another occasion to draw attention to the fact that He was the Messiah. The first six of His twelve apostles—the ones He had called so far would have still followed Him. Mary would still have had more than enough to store up and ponder in her heart. Life would have gone on.

But Jesus cared about the little things! He cared enough to help! He cared enough about people’s day-to-day earthly lives that He even prioritized coming to a family wedding in the first place. He cared about that bridal couple—that they be happy. He cared about their parents—that they not be unnecessarily embarrassed. He cared about their relatives and friends, the residents of that small town in Galilee. He cared about His first disciples, and He cares about you too!

He certainly cares about the big things like your health. But He also cares about your car trouble or your cat’s UTI. Obviously, nothing is too big for Jesus to care about. But it’s also true that nothing is too small or ordinary for Jesus to care about—especially since you’re family! Don’t ever worry for a moment that Jesus doesn’t have the time or the interest or care enough to hear your prayers and help. Keep inviting Jesus to be the Perfect Guest in your home and in your life.

A Guest Who Is Able to Help in Every Need

And finally, remember one more thing about this Perfect Guest. Jesus is God Himself.  He is almighty. He is able to help in every need.

⁶ Six stone water jars, which the Jews used for ceremonial cleansing, were standing there, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. ⁸ Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” And they did. ⁹ When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had now become wine, he did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew). The master of the banquet called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have had plenty to drink, then the cheaper wine. You saved the good wine until now!”

Jesus can do anything. And He will do anything, if it will be helpful. He’s almighty because He is God. This Guest who was willing to not only take time out of His saving the world, to go to a wedding, but who actually made coming to a wedding part of His plan, wants to use His same almighty power to help you. Whatever it takes to get the job done! And job number one for Jesus is getting you and yours safely to the promised land. If it takes a miracle to do that, He’ll make it happen! Jesus proved His power at Cana. He proved it in all His miracles. He proved it by accomplishing His death and resurrection. This, the beginning of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. Jesus did this miracle, to accomplish that ultimate goal of helping people get to heaven. He saved that couple hundreds and hundreds of dollars. If He wanted to, Jesus could instantly take away all our financial worries—personally and for His church—if He felt that would draw us closer to Him and strengthen our faith. But if, on the other hand, He knows in His infinite wisdom that taking all our struggles away would lead us to be less focused on His Word and doing His work; if He knew that we’d miss out on learning some important lessons, or lose focus on the world to come, would He still take all our struggles away? Of course not! He wants us to mature in our faith and make it to heaven! We believe in a Savior Who is almighty, caring, and generous, but Who is also wise and judicious. He’s the one we want to keep forgiving our sins, listening to our prayers, and making wise judgment calls. He’s the one we want to keep inviting to be our Guest at home and at church. So let us continue to pray, “Come Lord, Jesus, Be Our Guest—Be our Guest in our homes, in our church, in every moment of our lives. Use Your perfect schedule and help us to trust your timing. Use Your power to help us in your caring and gracious and merciful way. Forgive us for not always appreciating how wonderful it is to have You with us. Keep us focused on the one thing needful. Come, Lord Jesus, and stay with us.” Amen.