Gathering

We come to celebrate the feast You offer from the abundance of Your house, the delights we share with others as we share the gifts You give so freely.

We celebrate the story of the first miracle of Jesus, as he brought overflowing hospitality to the wedding feast in Cana, demonstrating You loving presence in that time of celebration.

Hymn

Confession & Words of Assurance

Lord, we need a miracle today.
Like Jesus changing water into wine
at the wedding feast in Cana, 
we need a miracle today.
We are tired, Lord, of the hurts of this world. 
We are discouraged 
in the face of injustice, war, poverty, and indifference.
We need a miracle today, Lord.
Your steadfast love, like a mighty mountain, 
will not be moved.
Your gifts, as many as the mighty winds,
cannot be counted.
Your glory, like a mighty torch,
will not be put out.
Lord, crown us with your love.
Show us your glory, 
that in you we may be moved 
to acts of kindness, love, justice, and mercy.
Lord, we need a miracle today.

God helps us to share and honour the gifts of all, God helps us to heal the wounds and reunite the body. We are forgiven, loved, and accepted.

Story Time

Scripture

Wedding At Cana

John 2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and ² Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.³ When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They don’t have any wine.”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Woman, what does that have to do with me? My time hasn’t come yet.”

⁵ His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Nearby were six stone water jars used for the Jewish cleansing ritual, each able to hold about twenty or thirty gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water,” and they filled them to the brim. ⁸ Then he told them, “Now draw some from them and take it to the headwaiter,” and they did. ⁹ The headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine. He didn’t know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

The headwaiter called the groom ¹⁰ and said, “Everyone serves the good wine first. They bring out the second-rate wine only when the guests are drinking freely. You kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ This was the first miraculous sign that Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Sermon

 Prayers

God of the ages, we come as empty vessels waiting to be filled, but our minds and souls are busy with so many worries and busywork that gets in the way of being filled by You.

We worry about our children, forgetting that you are the ultimate parent, supporting and loving all of us.

Help us make a difference in Your world for Jesus. Change the stagnant water of our lives to wine and touch us as you touched those people in Cana.

Be with all people in harms way and all those touched by the tragedy of war. Give them strength for each day as daily they must live with terror.

Give to the leaders of our world the resolve to wage war not on people but on poverty, injustice, hunger, disease, and all manner of human suffering. Give them the vision to shape a new world where self-interest is tempered and corrected by love and compassion and a hunger for justice.

Give to all the world the gift of being filled with new wine and new vision.

All of these prayers and so may more we pull together and pray the prayer tradition has taught us…

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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.