Rev. George Miller
Jan 11, 2026
John 2:1-12
Since last week was National Trivia Day, we’re
going to embark on an unofficial round of Jeopardy.
The Answer is- “This Missouri based
organization, started in 1913 by Eden Seminary’s Dr. Press and Reinhold Niebuhr,
has been able to overcome the Depression, Segregation, COVID, funding cuts and
a tornado.”
Question- “What is Unleashing Potential?”
The Answer is “This woman who is known for
her welcoming smile and unlimited compassion is the President and CEO of
Unleashing Potential.”
The Question is “Who is Darlene Sowell?”
Final Jeopardy “This yearly event
encourages youth to work together, establish relationships, and have ‘messy’ fun
while traveling upon the water.”
Queston- “What is the Boat Regalia?”
Bravo to all who knew the questions, and
if you didn’t know, you will by the end of worship, as we are blessed to have
President and CEO Darlene Sowell with us.
Unleashing Potential. What a great title; what an empowering name. What the title tells us is that the Potential
is already there; the youth’s gifts and talents are present, they’re just
waiting to be revealed, shared, and celebrated.
Unleashing Potential is not about
coddling, or saving, or seeing someone as helpless, but saying “Look- you’re
already a superhero, use these gifts and fly, fly, fly.”
Unleashing Potential…unleashing possibilities.
That’s what we see in today’s
reading.
We have completed our journey back to
Bethlehem, witnessing the Face of God in the manger among the sheep and magi. Now we are with a very grown-up Jesus at a
very grown-up event in Cana.
It’s a wedding and things are poppin’,
until the wine runs out.
As we recall the past 4 months of sermons,
you know that for the Israelites, wine is not just a beverage- it is a lineage;
wine is their heritage.
In the hill country of Judah grapes were
everywhere, enjoyed by all, essential to any religious ritual, and a sign of heaven’s
presence.
During those decades of Exile in Babylon,
the people of God rarely had access to wine, as their crops were brutally destroyed
and access to wine was limited to the rich.
To be out among the community and have the
wine run out, would be like living in Russia and the Vodka is gone, being in Milwaukee
and the beer is gone, or being in Colombia and the coffee beans are kaput.
The people at this party are in a real crises-
not only has the wine run out, but all that represents their heritage, who they
are and their faith is absent.
But no worry. Big Mama is there. Mary, knowing full well the potential of her
baby boy speaks up, and when Jesus does an “Ohhh Mom” she turns to the staff
and says “Do whatever he says.”
What happens next is the pure unleashing
of potential and possibility. Water is
turned into the best wine imagined; everyone gets blessed by the experience.
But- what is the true miracle- that h20
was turned into Merlot? Or that Jesus, under the direction of Mary,
inspired over 19 people and an entire wedding party to trust and participate in
making the impossible possible?
Think about it.
No more wine. Nada. Nilch. Nada. Scarcity upon scarcity. It’s done, over, everyone go home, there’s no
coming back.
This is a committees worst nightmare. This is where managers and ledger-locked
leaders get into their head and freeze up.
But Jesus is not so much a manager or
someone who only sees bottom-line, he sees and believes in potential and
possibilities.
So an idea emerges. “What if?
What if???” And this idea goes
into action. Let’s take these 6 stone jars,
made of limestone, each weighing about 100 pounds, and let’s fill them with
about 30 gallons of water.
But in order to do so, we’re going to need
at least 12 people to bring these 100-pound jars to the nearest well or cistern
to fill them with water.
THEN, we’re going to need at least 6 3-5
gallon buckets to carry the water from the well to the jar.
Then, we’ll scoop some of this “wine” out
to give to the steward to taste. And if
he approves, we’ll serve it to all who are present.
But, because the limestone jars will weigh
about 350 pounds each, and not meant to be moved once full, we’ll have to carry
the Cabernet in carafes to each table.
That, my dear friends, is a lot of work. Folk may want to give Jesus all the credit,
but he basically just imagined it after Big Mama gave him the nudge.
It was everyone else around Jesus who made
it possible, just like the feeding of the loaves and fishes.
Today we hear a story that tells us how
that Child In the Manger can unleash possibilities we can not even fathom; that
the one who received gifts from the Magi is ready to gift us with potential
upon potential.
Not just from one person, but from many, coming
together, all of us, working in tandem and communication, figuring it out,
problem solving, navigating as teams, like the Boat Regalia.
Here we are, St. Lucas UCC, a church on a
hill, made of limestone that comes from local ground.
What a beautiful theology to hold as we
journey along the waters of 2026. Seeing
obstacles and empty jars as possibilities, knowing that success does not hinder
on one person; we each get to participate.
Finding ways to welcome the inbreaking of
heaven and allow our heritage to continue being the hands of feet of Christ,
that baby born in Bethlehem.
“Amen.”
