TEXT: John 2:1-11
Moses
stuttered. David’s armor didn’t
fit. Timothy had ulcers. Hosea’s wife was a prostitute. Amos was only trained as a fig-tree pruner. Jacob was a liar. David had an affair. Solomon was too rich. Jesus was too poor. Jeremiah was a bullfrog! Peter was afraid of death. Lazarus was dead. John was self-righteous. Naomi was a widow. Paul was a murderer. Jonah ran from God. Miriam was a gossip. Gideon and Thomas both doubted. Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal. John the Baptist was a loudmouth. Martha was a worrywart. Mary may have been lazy. Samson had long hair. Noah got drunk. Simon Peter fell asleep at his prayers, denied
Jesus, cursed like a sailor, and wept like a baby.
All of them were servants of God.
Whenever we install new elders, I
remember back to when I was ordained as an elder in my home church. I remember feeling like I was “too young,”
like I didn’t know anything about anything, like I was unworthy of being
called. I was committed to the church,
yes, but was I really called by God? And
how do you know when you’re called by God?
Maybe I shouldn’t have said, “Yes.”
Maybe they just asked me because they knew I’d do it and no one else
would. I remember being scared, thinking
I was going to have to fake my way through and pretend that I knew what
I was doing.
But I must have done okay, because
after those initial feelings, I don’t remember much. I just did the job. Some things came naturally and I breezed
through them. Other tasks were a
challenge, and I had to push myself pretty hard to get them done. I’m sure I made a few mistakes, but I don’t
remember ever falling on my face so hard that I never wanted to show it
again. I sometimes wonder how I did it;
and then I remember, God was with me.
Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water
into wine at the wedding in
Now, what does this story have to do
with our being called to serve God?
Well, if you’re feeling unworthy, like just plain old water when wine is
needed, know that Jesus can change you, too.
God’s gifts are abundant, like gallons and gallons of wine, and of the
best quality. And if we know our gifts
to be from God, then we have to believe that God will give us what we need to
serve – and even more. Just as Jesus
turned water into wine, Jesus can bring out the best in us, and turn us from
unworthy failures into worthy, quality servants of God. Jesus BRINGS OUT THE BEST in us, and with
him, we will find that we can do things we never imagined.
Listen to this miracle story. A young man had been to a Bible Study where
the pastor talked about listening to God and obeying the Lord’s voice. The young man couldn’t help but wonder, “Does
God still speak to people?” He talked
with others after the Bible study and they acknowledged that God had led them
in different ways.
As he was driving home, the young man
prayed, “God, if you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen, and I will do my best to
obey.” Suddenly the thought came to him
that he should stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He drove on, thinking this couldn’t possibly be God speaking. Why would God tell him to buy milk? But he couldn’t get the thought out of his
mind. Finally, he decided to stop. What could it hurt? He didn’t really need milk at home, but he
could always use it. As he continued
home, the thought came to him that he should turn and go in another
direction. He thought it was crazy, but
he followed. Soon he felt like it was
time to stop. So he stopped and looked
around. It wasn’t the best neighborhood,
and it was late. The businesses were
closed and the homes looked dark. But
then he heard another still, small voice tell him to go and give the milk to
the people in the house across the street.
He looked over and there were no lights on in that house either. “Lord, this is insane,” he thought. “These people are asleep and if I wake them
up they’ll be mad and I will look stupid.
Who knows who they are? Who knows
what they’ll do? But it was such a
strong message, and he couldn’t shake it.
“Okay, God, I’ll go, but if they don’t
answer right away, I’m outta here.” He walked across the street and rang the
bell. He heard some noise and then a man
yelled, “Who is it? What do you want?” The young man wanted to run away, but then
the door opened. A man stood in jeans
and a t-shirt with a scowl on his face.
“What is it?” he growled. The
young man thrust out the gallon of milk.
“Here, this is for you,” he said.
The man inside took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly
in Spanish. Then he came back, followed
by a woman carrying a crying baby. With
tears streaming down his face, the man in jeans explained that they had just
been praying for God to show them how to get some milk for their baby because
they had run out of money. His wife
added, “I asked God to send an angel.
Are you an angel?” The young man
reached into his pocket and gave all the money he had to the man, and walked
back to his car, blinking back the tears.
Now this man didn’t use any
extraordinary gift to help God make a miracle happen. He simply listened, and followed his
God-given instincts. I know what you’re
thinking: “I’d never be able to do that;
I’d feel too stupid or I’d be too scared.”
That was my thought, too. But we
have to remember, God doesn’t call the able, God enables the called.
Of course, this sermon isn’t just for
the elders being installed today. This
sermon is for all of us, because we’re all gifted, and we’re all called. Remember what Paul wrote to the Corinthian
church? “Now there are varieties of
gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same
Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who
activates all of them in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common
good.” Everyone has a gift, AND everyone
is called to use their gift FOR THE COMMON GOOD. That means you don’t use what you have been
given just for yourself, for your own benefit, for your own enjoyment. No, you are called by God -- who gave you the
gift in the first place -- to use it for the COMMON GOOD, for the good of ALL
people.
You wouldn’t go to a potluck supper
and keep your own food to yourself, would you?
Or, if you did, you probably wouldn’t get away with it without a comment
or two. No, we’re meant to share our
gifts with one another. I never thought
about it before, but maybe churches are famous for potlucks because a potluck
supper is a wonderful illustration of what the church should be. Everybody brings something, and usually you
bring the thing that you do best, whether it’s brownies or green bean
casserole. And if you don’t cook at all,
then you bring the potato chips or the ice cream or the paper plates. That way everybody has something to share and
everybody gets to fill their plates with a wonderful variety of God’s
blessings.
Don’t think you have any gifts or abilities? Think again.
If Jesus can make wine from water, Jesus can BRING OUT THE BEST in
you. Stay close to him, listen to him,
and you’ll find you have more gifts to share than you ever imagined...for the
common good, and TO THE GLORY OF GOD!
AMEN.