2002.6.2. Rev. Sang Keun Kim
- For 2002 Scholarship Week -

Fill Up the Ceremonial Jar with Water

John 2:1-11

Today, we are greeting the first Sunday of June. Rev. Cho, Young Jin started his six-month sabbatical 3 months ago. In other words, Rev. Cho has exactly 3 more months to go now before he comes back. Now only three months left. It's been a challenge for me to fill in, preaching for Rev. Cho but I presume it's not easy for you to wait for 3 more months.

As you know, it has gotten increasingly difficult to accommodate all congregations with the current facility of our church. Especially the Sunday school and the Youth church are experiencing the shortage of space. So a special committee, "facility research committee" was formed with elder Park, Young Whan as the committee chair and has been meeting to discuss how to solve the space shortage in our church. In our last meeting, a very interesting idea came up. That was, to spread the people attending the third worship service to the first and the second worship services. Since it's impossible to resolve the space issue when 400 people come at the same time to the third service, the idea was to move the congregation from the third service to the first and the second service time. Isn't it reasonable? The problem still remains, however, on how to accomplish that. One person had a brilliant idea. If the associate pastors continue to give their sermons in the third service and Rev. Cho will give his sermon in the first and the second worship service only, then people attending the third worship service are bound to move to the second and the first services. What does this mean?

I asked my wife. "Is my sermon that much different from Rev. Cho's?" My wife answered, showing no change in her face color. "Not only there is difference but quite a big difference." Is this my wife or my enemy? How could she kill my spirit like that? Thinking deeply and honestly, however, it is true. Not only it is different but also it's different by a lot. Hope you will persist with love. With this consolation, with the message of love that there is only 3 months left, I'd like to begin my sermon today.

As shown on the bulletin, today's sermon title is "Fill the jars with water". Jesus said this in the famous wedding at Cana in Galilee in today's scripture, John chapter 2. I mentioned it in today's pastoral column. Next Sunday is the week we observe as "Scholarship Sunday", the day to give the scholarship offering for the seminary students our church supports. Our church scholarship committee asked me to give a sermon on this special Scholarship Sunday. So, through the first sign Jesus performed to turn the water to wine at the Cana wedding in Galilee, I'd like to meditate on the meaning of that event and renew our heart as we face this scholarship week.

*

We all go through the period of training and education as school students. In order to become frog, they have to go through the days of tadpole. Likewise, we must all pass through the period of our lives as apprentice. During that training period, we are not proficient at most of our work because we are doing it for the first time. Because we are not used to it, there is something premature or incomplete about them. Whatever it is, doing it for the first time is undoubtedly hard.

In today's scripture verses, we meet Jesus who performed the first miracle. The event of making wine with water at the Cana wedding in Galilee is described as "his first miraculous sign" in verse 11. Jesus who just started the public ministry or who may have been still in training and who described himself as "My time has not yet come" got to attend the Cana wedding party in Galilee with his disciples. I can imagine Jesus who laughed together with other guests, danced, and enjoyed the wine. Some may have wished him to be more serious and to put more solemn look on the face. But I picture Jesus who exchanged jokes with other attendees and handed over wine glass in reddish face. Being premature somewhere and lacking somewhere, the reddish face of Jesus full of laughter, I imagine that Jesus.

And then, the story suddenly takes a different turn. Out of nowhere, Jesus tells them to fill water up the stone jars used for ceremonial washing. With wine run out, if he wanted to perform the miracle of turning water to wine, he could have told them to fill up the wine barrels instead of the stone jars used for ceremonial washing. Jesus' actions like this is as if giving a shovel to a thirsty child for digging instead of water. The jars for ceremonial washing and wine barrels are quite different. Then why did Jesus order them to fill water up the ceremonial washing jars, that is even to the brim when he intended to make water into wine?

*

The ceremonial washing jars and wine have nothing to do with each other. One of the Jewish customs is to wash hands and feet before entering the house upon coming back. If you look up Mark chapter 7, concerning this washing issue, Jesus and Pharisees debated. 'The Pharisees do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. As a result, the jars for the ceremonial washing had to filled with water always. Because Jews used it everyday, it had to be always full of water. The water in the ceremonial washing jars is ordinary water used everyday. It was not special water. Since it was the water used for washing hands and feet entering the house for the tradition, it was very ordinary water. But Jesus with a clear intention of making wine with water did not make wine directly by filling up the wine barrel with water but told them to fill up the stone jars with water, which seems to be totally unrelated.

Miracles happen through our common senses. The difference between miracle and common sense could be in perspectives. It could be that common sense and miracle are the same but depending on our perspective, it could become miracle or common sense. Today too, we realize the difference between miracles and common senses through the deep meaning of the scripture verses. When Jesus told them to fill up the ceremonial washing water jars with water, the miracle was already starting. From then on the miracle of water changing into wine was already occurring. Filling up the ceremonial water jars was very ordinary thing. It was something to repeated everyday, the very request based on common sense. But through that common sense request, the miracle of water turning into wine starts happening.

Now next week, through your offering, we will support the seminary students in our church. We are investing our prayers and material to an ordinary looking student. It's filling up the ceremonial water jars with water. It may seem ordinary but the miracle of water changing into wine will come through your prayers and money. Through your offering, future pastors to lead the churches of tomorrow are being raised.

*

Let's go back to the scripture once again. Many scholars researching the miracle of the Cana wedding have presented various opinions on the purpose of this story. Why in the world, the first miracle of Jesus was to make wine with water? Why did the first miracle take place at the Cana wedding in Galilee? What does the appearance of mother Mary symbolize? It's been studied from many angles. Catholics which emphasize the importance of the mother Mary stress the importance of Mary who intercedes between Jesus and miracles from this scripture. Protestant scholars claim that Jesus rebuked mother Mary saying, "why do you involve me?" However, a lesson from today's scripture verses we shouldn't miss is the expression, "He did not realize where it had come from," in verse 9. The miracle of water turning into wine had occurred but people didn't know where that miracle occurred.

When we were all sinners, under the punishment of sin when we were under the power of death, due to Jesus' bleeding on the cross, we all became the children of God. Sinners becoming the God's children, this is like the miracle of water changing into wine. In terms of today's circumstances, we could be unaware of the amazing process where an ordinary student grows into a wonderful pastor who witnesses the God's words. Nobody knows a student who looks so average now may develop into a wonderful pastor later.

You all know Billy Graham. According to Times report in 1993, Billy Graham spread the gospel to about 200 million until 1993. Of those, 2,874,082 accepted Jesus Christ as their savior after listening to Billy Graham's sermon. Now that about ten years have passed by since the report came out, we can say it's 30 million. Some argue about his theology, his relationship with American politicians, his view of Jews. However, during his life time, if he spread the gospel to 200 millions and led 30 millions to repent, it is truly a great accomplishment. But was he that Billy Graham from the beginning? No. He was a mediocre salesman in the kitchenware department in North Carolina until the age of 18. At 19, he worked as tour guide in Florida, Tampa. He never studied theology formally. He has no academic degrees worth mentioning. But that ordinary salesman who carried and sold kitchenware to housewives, that ordinary young man became Billy Graham. Through this one man, 200 million people heard the gospel and 30 million people accepted Jesus Christ as their own savior.

Through your prayers and encouragement, through your offering, the miracle of water changing into wine happens. An action that looks insignificant, by obeying the words to fill up the ceremonial water jar, that ordinary water gets transformed into wine which makes the celebration in the kingdom of heaven even more beautiful. Through your prayers and encouragement, through your scholarship offering, common sense changes into miracle.

*

Until a few years ago, the cheapest and the smallest car in the states was Geo Metro. It was the car I drove proudly during my poor student days. My recollection is it was in 1995. I got to pick up Rev. Jung Choon Soo working as the world mission director of the UMC from the Atlanta airport. It was a great honor for me to greet a man of such high position. However, Rev. Jung, upon looking at the enormous size of my car, Geo Metro, he got in the car and fastened the seat belt tightly.

Naturally the conversation in the car was about my pastoral vision and the future of the UMC. He asked me this and that. Including a question on how our couple study together and solve the financial situation. At that time, I was traveling between Columbia and Atlanta, the six hour distance round trip to serve a small church and worked as a school dormitory guard at night to earn the tuition. My wife worked as secretary of a professor in the morning, made sandwich at Subway store during the lunch hour, and taught English to new foreign students at night while studying. Although it was a very short time, Rev Jung gave us lots of encouragement and love. Getting off, he gave me his business card and asked me to call him at his New York office.

After a few months, I called his New York office. Despite it was a short meeting, he stilled remembered me. Then he gave me surprise news. Without me even asking, he told me to submit the application for Crusade Scholarship established for the future leaders of the UMC. He also asked if I still ride in that small car.

With the help of Rev. Jung Choon Soo, I got to receive the Crusade Scholarship and was able to finish my study at Emory. However, Rev. Jung was called by God soon after and went to heaven. I still remember Rev Jung's face that poured out the warm words of encouragement on a Korean couple he's met for the first time. I remember his love and encouragement that helped us free, knowing this poor working student's financial hardship. I felt like I could understand the heart of Elijah who met an angel with bread and water under the Vroom tree (1 Kings 19:5).

*

Next week is the week of scholarship. With your offers and prayers, we have had supported Young Park, Peter Ann, & Yoo Hee-Jah JDS. Now, we are supporting Choi Dong-Jin JDS with scholarship. Through these people, the next generation is being shaped by Washington KUMC, churches of immigrants, no, Kingdom of God. Through your prayer and encouragement, your attention and love, your offers, the next generation is being shaped.

Let us fill the ceremonial water jars. Changing of the water appears nothing to do with filling the ceremonial water jars. We don't understand the process of a common sense becoming a miracle. But, through the faith of filling the ceremonial water jar to the brim, the plain water is changed to fragrant wine. Through the faith of filling the ceremonial water jars, a common sense is changed to a miracle. Through the faith of filling the ceremonial water jars, the dawn of Kingdom of Heaven is awakened.

Last year Rev. Cho Young-Jin wrote a pastoral column upon the week of scholarship, and towards the end he wrote like this, "the week of scholarship is upon us again. Let's gather our strength again. Let's gather our earnestness on this work of making men of God." I'm going to repeat what Rev. Cho had written, with an addition, "the week of scholarship is upon us again. Let's gather our strength again. Let's gather our earnestness on this work of making men of God. In order for a common sense to become a miracle, with the faith that the water will become wine, let's fill the ceremonial water jars with water."