[AI translation] From today, a beautiful red geranium lines the green grass in our church garden. You may not all know that this lovely spot is a gift from our confirmands. Each of the boys and girls who have just been confirmed has brought a bushel of geraniums, which will be displayed in front of the church all summer long for all to enjoy. But this geranium is not only a gift, it is also a symbol: just as those flowers, planted, take root in the garden of the church, we want our newly confirmed sons and daughters to grow and take root in the community of the church, in the spiritual soil of the kingdom of God, in the way of life that follows Jesus. Hitherto members of our church by the will of their parents, they now join the camp of those who want to follow Jesus by their own voluntary profession of faith and vows. With the example of the marriage at Cana, I would like to show what an extraordinary privilege it is for a person, young or old, to live in this earthly world following Jesus, walking with Jesus!Many people are still haunted by the mistaken idea that religion, a way of life based on faith in God, robs youth, takes away the natural joys of life. It makes a man joyless, world-weary, a man of age. Many people imagine that if they want to follow Jesus, they have to give up many things that are beautiful, nice and good in earthly life. He always runs into some kind of forbidding wall. Rules that a believer should not do this, should not do that. He is afraid that the cheerfulness, the merriment, the fun, the joking, the amusement will not be looked upon favourably by God. He imagines that a believer is like those bloodless saints in medieval paintings whose faces have lost their smiles. Those who stare gloomily, with a pious look and an unnaturally pious expression into an invisible world. If one imagines the life of a believer, the following of Christ, to be so sour and fanciful, it is no wonder that one does not desire it, and even shrinks from it! The story of the wedding at Cana shows how wrong this idea is. A wedding, a wedding feast, is one of the characteristic manifestations of the gaiety and joy of life on earth. Jesus not only attended it, but showed the first sign of his divine power in a wedding feast - such an occasion of human happiness and rejoicing! And by giving wine! In fact, by giving good-tasting and abundant wine!
This means that God is not an enemy to the natural joys and happiness of life. He is the giver! It is not a sin to be merry, to be cheerful, but a gift from God to make life on earth beautiful and rich. Jesus does not want to make ghosts and spirits of people. He, who himself walked this earth in the flesh, knows that the flesh has its rights. Jesus not only intended heavenly happiness for man, but also normal earthly happiness. He wants a birthday to be a celebration, a wedding to be joyful, an outing to be pleasant and cheerful, a tennis party or a football match to be fun! Let it be fun for boys and girls to be together in the same company! It is not that life should be all celebration and fun, outings and games - as many young people imagine life today - nor did Jesus do every day what he did at the wedding in Cana. There is a time for everything: a time for seriousness, a time for fun, a time for celebration, a time for the week, a time for work and a time for play. But let the joyful occasions of life be joyful! Jesus loves to be present at such occasions!
We are tempted to think that Jesus is only needed in the various troubles and sorrows of our lives, not in the joys of life. The example of the wedding at Cana reminds us that it is not only in the sad hours of life, not only in times of trial, that Jesus wants to be a friend of the believer, but also in times of joy and happiness. May our faith in God not only serve as a lamp to shine in the frightening shadows of darkness, but also when everything around us shines brightly, like the joy at a wedding! A believer is free to be merry, to laugh merrily, to enjoy the beauty of life, not to be stumbled by Jesus! In the story we read that Jesus was invited to the wedding with his disciples. Let us not be afraid to invite him to our fun! Let us not be afraid to beg to be allowed to spend with Him our days off, our hours of rest, our times of recreation, of relaxation! It is His presence that makes each of these holidays a true celebration! Such a rich God we have in Jesus, who is not outside or above the natural, earthly life, but is in it and sanctifies it!
Jesus' presence makes our fun pure fun, our joy pure joy! There are also many false pleasures and enjoyments that drain away the beauty, which one later regrets terribly. True joy is the joy that Jesus can be in! If you feel that you cannot invite Him where you want to go, then you better not go! Then something is wrong there! Then the place, the fun, the joy that you cannot invite Jesus to is not clean! If it's not for Him, it's not for you! But where Jesus is present, you are allowed to rejoice, have fun, always with Jesus!
Here, in the story, it is also about Jesus turning water into wine. It was better, more cheerful than the other wine the host provided. This can be interpreted to mean that if one goes out with Jesus, one can feel more cheerful and pleasant without alcohol than others who may be drunk. He finds more pleasure in an outing than others in a night of debauchery. He finds more happiness in an abstemious, pure conversation with a girl than others in a promiscuous, immoral affair! In the presence of Jesus, water becomes wine, the simple becomes great, the less becomes more, the sober becomes intoxicating, the ordinary becomes extraordinary, the natural becomes admirable! Even that in which no one else would find any joy becomes full joy!
The presence of Jesus in our lives is also very important, because what happened to us at Cana, that we run out of wine, happens to us sooner or later. So it is with all the joy and happiness in the world. It will run out one day! There is not enough to last a lifetime. We older people know this: we have enjoyed everything in life! How many joys have we had, and where have they gone? What happened to them? It is not only the "sinful joys", but also the precious, pure joys of life. Even the sweetness of human love is a joy that will run out one day. The joy that fills one's heart today can easily turn to sadness tomorrow. For example, the wine of the pure joy of a marriage that is happy in every way can run out, because it lasts, as the vow says, 'to the death, to the death'. Even the best wine of life and love runs out. If there were nothing better than this in the world, life would be very sad. But if Jesus is there: He acts and gives His heavenly wine to fill the emptiness. When the natural joy, the earthly wine, runs out, Jesus gives a new one: better, truer, more. A wine that will never run out again. How sad must be the hearts of those who have not invited Jesus into their lives, who, when their earthly wine runs out, have nothing left but an empty cup. A great, terrifying emptiness, a nihil, filled with nothing!
Do you wonder that Jesus turned water into wine? I don't doubt it. I'm convinced that the Jesus who turned water into wine at Cana can change other things. For example, the nature of a man! How can He not be such an absolute Lord over water, since He is just as absolute Lord over another liquid, blood! Blood is more powerful, more fiery, more dangerous than water. But the story is that where Jesus is present, there is a change that cannot be explained in any natural way! The evangelist says that this was only the first sign of what he did with the water in Cana. This sign has been followed by many signs since. It is only a symbol of what Jesus wants to accomplish always and everywhere in this world. He will transform natural, blood love into real spiritual relationships in your home. The joys of the home into rays of heavenly joy. The cares of the house into faithful prayers. The sufferings and losses of the house into spiritual gains. The trials of our lives into blessings. Whoever walks with Jesus always has joy!
There is great encouragement in this story! It's as if God is saying through him to encourage you, people, to new faith! May your trust and hope be strengthened! For we have a Savior who is Lord over nature! Who is Lord over your nature! Many things can change in your life. You too can become purer, holier, truer, kinder, more servant-like, more courageous, more Christian, more Christlike. You too can overcome your sins! You too can love your enemy! If you have failed, you can rise again! You too can be a more useful member of society! All this not because you have become an excellent, noble and strong individual, but solely because Jesus is alive, who has the power to turn water into wine!
Dear red geraniums! Dear Confirmands! Root yourselves deep into the soil of the kingdom of God, into a Christ-following way of life! At Cana, Jesus showed his glory on six stones. How much more will he show his glory on that which is more than a stone's quiver: man! On you! On me! Believe! Wait! Ask! Let it be!
Amen
Date: 30 April 1967.
Lesson
Fil 4,4-9