P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
399 THE STAR PROCLAIMS THE KING IS HERE
1 The star proclaims the King is here;
But, Herod, why this senseless fear?
For He who offers heav’nly birth
Seeks not the kingdoms of this earth.
2 The eastern sages saw from far
And followed on His guiding star;
And, led by light, to light they trod
And by their gifts confessed their God.
3 Within the Jordan’s sacred flood
The heav’nly Lamb in meekness stood
That He, of whom no sin was known,
Might cleanse His people from their own.
4 And oh, what miracle divine,
When water reddened into wine!
He spoke the word, and forth it flowed
In streams that nature ne’er bestowed.
5 For this Thy glad epiphany
All glory, Jesus, be to Thee,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Spirit evermore.
Text: Public domain
COLLECT OF THE DAY
P Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Amos 9:11–15
11“In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,”
declares the Lord who does this.
13“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
14I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15I will plant them on their land,
and they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land that I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
PSALM 67
1May God be gracious to us and | bless us*
and make his face to shine up- | on us,
2that your way may be | known on earth,*
your saving power among all | nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, | O God;*
let all the peoples | praise you!
4Let the nations be glad and | sing for joy,*
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations up- | on earth.
5Let the peoples praise you, | O God;*
let all the peoples | praise you!
6The earth has yielded its | increase;*
God, our God, shall | bless us.
7God shall | bless us;*
let all the ends of the earth | fear him!
EPISTLE Romans 12:6–16
6Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited
A This is the Word of the Lord.
HOLY GOSPEL
P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the second chapter.
1On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9When 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 10and 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.” 11This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
APOSTLES’ CREED
SERMON
John 2: On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
Jesus Christ is God and Man. So He has had a Father in heaven from forever ago. And then at a certain time, just the right time in Bethlehem, he was born to a mother, Mary.
True God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the perfect Godhead. And also True Man, same as us, except without sin. He is perfect Man -- the only perfect specimen of our race.
Like us, He has human relationships and responsibilities. Those of us who have ever had a mother can understand how this works. We might even imagine how the conversation might have gone.
“Now Jesus, remember that Saturday is Jim and Becky’s wedding. You’re going to go aren’t you?” and of course we know that when Mothers ask that question what they are really saying is “You should really go”. “Wear something nice and bring a gift.”
And Jesus probably answered, “Yes Mother.”
And perhaps Mary would have said something like, “And those new friends of yours that have been following you around all over the countryside, Will they come too?”
“Yes, Mother, I’ll ask them.”
Let’s remember our Savior’s example here. Honor your Father and Your Mother, that it may go well with you.
Jesus, God in flesh, did all the commandments virtuously, perfectly. He obeyed His parents completely, as much as he possibly could. He does say to Mary “What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” The hour He was referring to was when He would be lifted up on the glorious cross. He obeyed His earthly mother, but of a higher priority was His obedience to His heavenly Father and the task He was sent into the flesh to do.
So we can picture the events that might have happened to lead up to this event where Jesus was a guest at a wedding in Cana. He was there and He used the opportunity to help and serve his neighbor. And it became an opportunity for the Disciples to see and to learn what was going on with Jesus. Here with them was the glory of God in the flesh of Christ.
There was a big problem at the wedding. Something went wrong. The wine had run out, either because they didn’t plan well enough or because more people showed up than they expected.
It was good that Jesus was there. Jesus came into this world, because this world has problems. He came to save us from our problems. And not having enough to eat and drink at any given moment, is only the least of our problems. The worst is death. Jesus by His life and death and resurrection is restoring us to life, the full life of paradise.
In the Paradise Garden of Eden the first people could eat with ease. Now cursed by sin, their descendants must work to eat, by the sweat of our brows. History, ever since has been driven by the human attempt to overcome that curse.
Just consider the example of wine. It takes a lot of work to make wine, the human way. Grape vines need to be cultivated. There must be the right conditions of weather and soil. For the grapes there must be the right conditions for good yeast and not for the wrong bacteria and mold. Overtime economies have developed so that people could specialize in one trade or another the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, Not everyone had to grow their own grapes to have wine to gladden their hearts. Human works blessed by God’s providence slowly but surely allow us to exist and to some extent prosper, under the curse.
Yet it’s not perfect. Problems still come up. There’s not enough. We have to buy more but there’s not enough money to buy more, not enough time to get more.
And Jesus wonderfully, abundantly provides.
John 2:6-9
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”
You can picture the salvation that the Lord has for you this way: Jesus death and resurrection has removed from you the curse of sin and death. He has provided for you all that is lacking.
Just as those large jars were full of the blessed wine, so now the heart of God is full of mercy, and good will toward you.
By Jesus miracle, the water in those jars turned instantaneously into wine. The problem was solved just like that. But the people didn’t immediately get it. Their problem, the lack of wine, was not immediately and instantaneously fixed. It was not until the servants served them the wine, the good wine, in their cups that the miracle accomplished its good purpose.
So it is with the Gospel now. Christ sends forth His servants to deliver into your cup the blessed drink of His salvation. God’s heart is filled to the brim with love for you. It is served to you when you hear the absolution, “I forgive you your sins”. The good drink is served to you when the servant of Christ says to you, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The fruit of the vine of the tree of the cross is delivered into your mouth and into your soul when you get from the servant of Christ the bread and the wine which are Christ’s body and Christ’s blood.
When you’re frustrated by the things of this life under the curse of sin and death, when you suffer, lacking things you need, when you suffer either because of your own bad choices and sins or because of sins of others against you, remember your Lord Jesus is at work, serving you up the good wine of salvation. Regularly remember and sing with David, the Shepherd boy turned King who sang in the 23rd Psalm (vs 5-6)
[5] You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
[6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Almighty and eternal God, at the Epiphany of your Son Jesus Christ, you caused a star of the heavens to shine brilliantly, guiding men of old to Jesus, the Light of the World. As light disperses darkness, we pray that the light of your truth may shine on those who are in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief. Illuminate their lives with faith in you and your grace and salvation. We thank you that you have brought your light into our lives. So help us to shine forth your goodness to each other and to all those around us.
Strengthen your church, here and everywhere throughout the world, that we may serve you as the united body of Christ. Allow for us to be fervent in our calling. Encourage us that we may be faithful in every trial, joyful in every moment, even in suffering, good and kind at every opportunity. Grant that in this way, we who have been called out of darkness into the glorious light of our Savior Jesus Christ, my show forth his praises.
Dear Lord Jesus, bless the homes of your people. As you attended the wedding at Cana, so we humbly invite you to attend to our marriages and families. As you showed your glory with the first miracle for that young couple and their family and friends, so we ask you to pour out your blessings on husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons. Strengthen tenuous relationships. Restore broken relationships by your miraculous love and forgiveness. Make our families to be lights shining in a world that is darkened by immorality and confusion.
Lord of Lords, King of Kings, we pray you to have mercy on our nation and its leaders; for our president-elect Biden; our vice-president-elect Harris; our Governor Reynolds; and all public servants, including our armed forces, police and first responders; and for peace in our time, Lord in your mercy:
Heavenly Father, into whose keeping we entrust our loved ones, help us to look to You in our time of sorrow, remembering the cloud of faithful witnesses with which we are surrounded. Grant that we may one day share in the joys of those who now rest in your presence. Thank you for all the blessings of body and soul that you have given to Spencer Johnson, most especially for calling Him to faith in you and for granting him a blessed end.
Almighty and everlasting God, You give and You take away according to Your wisdom and grace. We thank you for all the mercies granted to Luke Bouska during his short life on earth and for taking him to Yourself. According to Your gracious will, comfort those who mourn, Scott and Kendra, Grace, Mason, Charlotte and Eleanor. Comfort them with the assurance that through the power of Holy Baptism this beloved child was delivered from sin and has been received among the saints in glory. Keep all of us in Your grace so that when our last hour comes we may depart in peace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
LORD’S PRAYER
C Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
BENEDICTION
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.
C Amen.
402 THE ONLY SON FROM HEAVEN
1 The only Son from heaven,
Foretold by ancient seers,
By God the Father given,
In human form appears.
No sphere His light confining,
No star so brightly shining
As He, our Morning Star.
2 O time of God appointed,
O bright and holy morn!
He comes, the king anointed,
The Christ, the virgin-born,
Grim death to vanquish for us,
To open heav’n before us
And bring us life again.
3 O Lord, our hearts awaken
To know and love You more,
In faith to stand unshaken,
In spirit to adore,
That we, through this world moving,
Each glimpse of heaven proving,
May reap its fullness there.
4 O Father, here before You
With God the Holy Ghost
And Jesus, we adore You,
O pride of angel host:
Before You mortals lowly
Cry, “Holy, holy, holy,
O blessèd Trinity!”
Text: Public domain
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2021 Concordia Publishing House.
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