Dear Friends
I want the supernatural in my life, I want the fantastic, the glorious, the magnificent. I want the most extreme of miracles to happen to confirm my belief, to massage my ego, to make it so I may look down upon others less fortunate than I am.
When the wedding in Cana of Galilee ran out of wine,
there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
John 3:6–8
Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim.
And He said to them, ‘Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.’ And they took it.
And while this reading contains many beautiful themes, two particularly jump out on this occasion. Firstly the servants play there role. Yes, the miracle happens because of Christ, nevertheless the servants are co-workers of the miracle. And if I want miracles in my life I too must be willing to be a co-worker, I must play my part. It is easy for me to give up and say, “Lord, I cannot do this: you do it!” and then protest, “I have done as much as I can.” When Christ commanded the servants to fill the waterpots they did not do it half-heartedly but “filled them to the brim,” Christ commanded they draw some and take it to the master of the feast and they did.
Secondly this is not a supernatural event but a natural one. And at first we might think this a strange thing to say, changing water to wine is not an everyday event, and yet it is. Vineyards all over the earth transform water to wine through growing grapes, crushing them and then fermentation and other processes. It is natural, a normal part of the Kingdom of God, for the sick to be healed and the dead to rise. The miracle at the Wedding in Cana is not that it is supernatural, it is that it happens in an instant and at the direction of Christ.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we want miracles and we want them often, but they must be natural—at least, natural by the standards of the Kingdom—and they must have us as co-workers. When we say in the Lord’s Prayer,
Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
It is unclear who exactly is hallowing the name of God, bringing the Kingdom, doing the will: is it God or is it us? And the answer is, “Yes!” It is God Who does these things—it is God Who works miracles too—but we must be co-workers with Him. And if we work with Him and if we work towards that which is natural then miracles will abound around us and we will have made the Kingdom of Heaven alive here and now.
Let us, therefore, work together with one another, together with God, that we may perform His will and thereby be shown to be true hears of the Kingdom and inheritors of eternal Life.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Through no righteousness of my own I am close to the Lord. I have heard the Gospel, I have received the laver of regeneration through baptism, I have witnessed the Resurrection and been granted the Bread of Life: all has been granted to me. But when I hear the Word speak I think His words for other people, “Repent,” says He, “for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” (Matthew 4:17) echoing the cry of the Forerunner, (see Matthew 3:2) and I condescend to agree with Him: “Yes, they should repent.” I stand close to the Lord but in reality I am afar off, I count Him as my Lord but only when it is convenient to me, when He agrees with me, when He benefits me.
And lo! Some sinners lift up their voices and cry out from a distance, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” And even from afar I can see their hideousness, their deformed nature, their sin. I see them and I am disgusted, I conclude that it must have been both these men and their parents who sinned to produce such vile persons. (compare John 9:2–3) Yet my disgust is mostly that they remind me of who I am, a sinner and repulsive to behold, but whereas I cover myself to pretend I am not who I am, they accept reality and truth. I need only whisper my salvation to the Lord and He will grant it, they have boldness to draw attention to themselves from far off and cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
The Psalmist tells us,
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.”
— Psalm 144:18 lxx
Indeed, while these men are afar off, the Lord is near to them for they call upon Him in Truth. And He brings salvation to them. And I am brought a little happiness, not because salvation has been granted to them but that the Lord has sent them away to the priests. And I want things to return to how they were, being close to the Lord as I look down on others around me. But unexpectedly, to me at least, one returns and walks up to the Lord, praising Him with a loud voice, and falls down at His feet. And what truly raises my ire is that he is no longer hideous, the beauty he had in the Garden has been restored. I am faking it—though, in truth, no one else is convinced and I recognise my inability to hide my sin—but he is restored in reality and truth.
…
Read this Sermon, Do you desire the same for yourself?
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 23rd January
Discussion on Job, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 24th January
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 25th January
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Online session is via Google Meet: please get indd contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We meet at 3rd URC Scout HQ, Kings Rd, Chandlers Ford SO53 2EY. The Scout hall is behind and to the left of the URC Church. Come and See.
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I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
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Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
webenquiry@orthodoxeastleigh.uk