Come Lord Jesus

The Rev. Joseph Winston

January 17, 2010

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.1
It is hard, if not impossible in this current day and age where we all have
easy access to the news to escape the reports of the horrible devastation in Haiti.
Google provides us with dramatic satellite images that show you the world before
the earthquakes and what it now looks like. Even though you know that you are
staring at the same spot on earth, it is difficult to obtain a frame of reference
because so much has changed. Massive supports have crumbled. Well-constructed
buildings have collapsed. Entire neighborhoods are gone.
Photographs on the ground show in detail what the vantage point of space
only hints at. Massive buildings now lie at unimaginable angles. They look like
someone just picked them up and threw them on the ground. You can see the pain
in the eyes of the survivors. They do not know where their next drink of water is
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

1
coming from much less where their loved ones are. On the street and in the rubble
there are countless bodies covered with the ash caused by the destruction of their
world.
Reporters bring us even more bad news. The stench from the hastily assembled
mass graves is overwhelming. The hospital masks that the privileged few wear
do little to prevent its odor from entering the nostrils. Estimates first placed the
number of dead at one hundred thousand. Yesterday’s news was worse. It now
seems like two hundred thousand people perished during the earthquakes. That is
about the number of people that live in Garland, Texas. If the prediction holds true,
then the earthquakes in Haiti will certainly rank in the ten worst natural disasters
of all time.
The author of today’s Gospel lesson presents us with a completely different
view of the world. In this account, Jesus meets even the simplest needs without
any cost. He provided the wine and the wedding continued. Here is what we were
told.
There is a wedding in Cana.2 Mary, Jesus, and His disciples are there as invited
guests.3 Suddenly a problem occurs. The wine has run out.4 Mary brings this
news to Jesus. Despite the harsh words Jesus has for His mother, Mary orders the
2
This setting brings to mind the blessings of the Messiah (For example: Hosea 2:19-20; Isaiah
25:6-8; Song of Songs). Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B.; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel
of John, Volume 4, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1998),
p. 66.
3
Despite the issues that are seen in the explanation of this passage, it is important to remember
the first character introduced is Mary. Ibid., p. 71.
4
Sometimes interpreters suggest that the disciples were the source of the problem with the
wine; however, this cannot be seen in the text. Ibid..

2
servants to follow her Son’s command to the letter.5 Jesus first tells them to fill six
stone jars with water and that is what they did. Next, Jesus instructs that they take
some to the man in charge of the wedding. Once again, the servants obey without
question. The wedding organizer could not believe his tongue. This wine brought
to him after the wedding had already started was better than the wine they used to
kick off the festivities.
A large part of the world as it gazes out on the almost unimaginable amount
of death and destruction found in Haiti cannot believe the story found in today’s
Gospel lesson. “It cannot be true,” they say. “It must be a lie.” Perhaps this is
exactly how you feel. No longer do you see God’s mighty power in freeing the
people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. You cannot believe the miracles of manna,
birds, and water that kept the people alive during the Exodus. Jesus never turned
the water into wine. “If these stories were true,” you say to yourself, “then God
must do something to help all these people in Haiti.” As we all know, it is impos-
sible to see God acting for the people of Haiti. The earth shook and people died.
Stone, wood, brick, and steel injured countless individuals. The survivors need
water and care that is slowly coming from the corners of the globe otherwise there
will be even more deaths.
Another significant portion of the earth’s population hears what happened in
Haiti and they know the stories in the Bible are just exaggerations. “None of those
stories happened like that,” they say. “And if it did, what we have is blown up way
out of proportion.” Maybe that is what you think. Archaeologists cannot find a
5
The response by Jesus does not seem appropriate at all. Moloney, The Gospel of John, p. 67.

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record of a large number of slaves leaving Egypt on their own term. In your mind,
a small group of people snuck out under the dark of night. A few years later over
some strong drinks, the story gets a little bit better. This process repeated itself
until we have what is found in the Bible. The food and water in the wilderness
is nothing more than someone’s overactive imagination. The person who wrote
down what happened when Jesus turned the water to wine was not there when the
so-called miracle occurred. Read the text. The author cannot even tell a good story.
The only ones present were the servants and Jesus. We do not have the testimony
of two eyewitnesses. We only have a second hand story. That would not stand up
in court so I will not believe it. “If the Bible was accurate,” you say, “then God
needs to provide for the people just like all those stories say.” Replay the news
from the last week one more time. God did not intervene. Earthquakes rocked the
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Hundreds of thousands died. We have
no idea on the number hurt. The survivors are desperate for the basic necessities
of life.
There is another way to face tragedy that strikes close to home or on an island
off in the Caribbean. This method of dealing with the pain you feel does not re-
quire you to believe that God is nothing more than a liar. You do not need to put
the Bible up on the shelf with the other works of fiction you might own. It does
not require you making up any reason why the disaster struck. You can do this on
your own or you can join in with a larger group. Its name is lament.
That is what our ancestors in the faith did when something was wrong with the
world. They called out to God and told Him exactly how they felt. Sometimes it

4
was only a single person who was upset with the world. The prophets ask the ques-
tion of God, “How long?” When will the wicked be punished (Jeremiah 12)? How
many more days will the war last (Jeremiah 47:6)? Is the end of violence coming
(Habakkuk 1:2)? The poets challenge God with verse that the whole community
sang during worship. Heal me God (Psalm 6). Remember me L ORD (Psalm 13).
Show me your love (Psalm 17). This list could continue. Save me God (Psalm 22).
Protect me (Psalm 27). Help me (Psalm 28). In every generation, faithful people
have cried to God. They want changes in the world right now. Feed the hungry.
Heal the sick. Comfort the dying.
We offer our tears to the Lord because we know that the world is broken far
beyond our ability to repair it. We need help.
God heard all the prayers of the faithful. He listened to the sobs of mothers. He
understood the sighs fathers will not speak to anyone. He overheard every child’s
fears.
Into our world, the Father sent His only Son. Jesus came here for all the people
of the world that hurt: like you and me. Christ’s death on the cross eliminates
the unneeded pain that you experience. His sacrifice for you removes the useless
suffering that happens in your life. Jesus’ surrender of His life frees you from a
pointless death that means absolutely nothing.
All these gifts that Jesus won for you on the cross are yours but you do not
have them quite yet. Heartaches still will come. That is part of life here on the
earth. You cannot avoid agonies either. This is our existence. Most certainly death
will come. That is the price we pay.

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 But you do no have to like it a single bit. When you heart breaks, cry out to
God. When you cannot stand the way the world treats someone, speak up. God
listens. At the grave, tell God what you really feel. He understands. His Son died
too.
You can catch a tiny glimpse of this understanding that your life has already
been changed for the better but it is not yet here in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus
tells His mother, “My hour has not yet come.” That is Christ’s story and our future
is tightly wrapped up in His.
On His own accord, Jesus came to the world (John 1:11). Here He freely turned
water into wine (John 2:1-11). Without cost, He healed the sick (John 4:43-54).
He gave bread and fish to the hungry (John 6:5-15). Out of love, He raised the
dead (John 11:1-54). Finally, He died for you (John 18-19).
During His entire life, all the problems we face in our life stared Jesus right in
the face. They did not disappear just because He is the Son of God. They did not
go away at all. They were His constant companions.
They will remain with us also. We know this.
Until that day arrives when all these gifts are fully yours, we all pray, “Come
Lord Jesus.” Come and redeem time itself so that it no longer brings anyone un-
wanted pain, suffering, or death. Lord Jesus come, rule over the entirety of exis-
tence. Grant your followers peace that never is extinguished. Give us joy that lasts
forever. “Come Lord Jesus.”
All of us live in the meantime between the second coming of Christ and His
first appearance here on earth. Our world is broken. People are in pain. Death is

6
everywhere. You cannot escape the facts. The news brings us reports of earth-
quakes in Haiti. We see with our own eyes the agony etched on the face of the
survivors. The stench of the mass graves reaches to the heavens.
This is our world. Christ has already bought it and redeemed it with His life.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”6

References

Moloney, S.D.B., Francis J.; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of
John, Volume 4, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Litur-
gical Press, 1998).

6
Philippians 4:7.