1.19.2025
2nd Epiphany
[Readings and Psalm]
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 36:5-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
[Message] 中文版本在底下
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading ends with these words in John 2:11: his disciples believed in Jesus.
Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. It was the first sign among seven that Jesus performed according to the gospel of John. Through this epiphany, Jesus revealed that he bears God’s creative ability and gives blessings generously so that people may come back to God.
The story tells us that when the wine was running low, Jesus told the servants to fill up all six huge jars. Jesus saved the best for last and gave generously. He said, “Fill them up!” He simply took the inferior wine left in the jar, mixed it with the water that was poured in, and turned it into “good” wine!
There are two learnings that I would like to highlight.
The first one is: Why not give good wine from the beginning? Jesus made people wait! What did Jesus want his disciples to recognize and learn? If we need to wait in the midst of our privation, might it be that our waiting can make us realize that we need God? As a result, may we come to appreciate more of God's abundant blessings instead of taking them for granted? Was God's goodness easily overlooked or forgotten in our good time?
The second one is: What makes a person believe in God? Jesus’ disciples believed in him after he turned water to wine. Does this mean that before the wedding, they did not believe in Jesus? Why not believe in Him through the testimony of John the Baptist and Jesus himself from the beginning? To disciples, it seems that believing in Jesus has to do with the connection between knowing his identity and witnessing his ability. It leads me to wonder: are there any benchmarks or indicators that measure how much they do believe in Jesus? Throughout the gospel, wasn’t Jesus often disappointed at their disbelief or lack of faith?
Whenever I think of faith and believing, onions come to mind. Our trust in God is composed in a multi-layered faith story. Each layer’s story reveals information about our belief in God whom we encounter.
The idiom “peel the onion” is a common expression used in English to describe a process of uncovering or revealing layers of information that are either deep or hidden, just as one peels back the layers of an onion. At the end of peeling, we reach the bud, known as the growing point or the heart of the onion. The bud is like the heart of our faith story. From that bud, our faith grows through encountering God each time.
How often or easily we forget about our initial encounter with God - the heart of our faith story! It is the time when we claim and own that precious relationship with God in baptism. And that heart of our faith story is filled with our joy and hope.
By peeling back the onion, we get to investigate our own faith journey more deeply, layer by layer, each layer leading to a new discovery. We might assume that we know enough of God and our relationship with Jesus. But each new discovery helps clarify and affirm who we are to God and what we are about in this world.
In the act of peeling back the onion, each layer is an extension of the initial joy and hope from the heart of our faith story in Baptism. Each layer reveals God’s grace upon grace through which we learn to love and forgive better and through which we discover our giftedness from God to join the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God gives us the ability to believe over and over again when we encounter God’s amazing creative and healing power, just as Jesus’ disciples believed in Jesus at the wedding. Our belief helps us come back to God fully through the heart of our faith story: God comes to us in Jesus and to live and conquer the sinful death through the cross.
Whenever you find yourself facing a challenging situation where it feels like God is making you wait or isn't filling you up with abundant blessing, I invite you to peel back the layers of your faith story. In the process, self-discovery happens, complexities are explored, the root of a problem is examined and emotions are recognized. My hope and prayer for you is: may you experience the miracle of Jesus to see how God fills you up with joy and hope once again.
Grace upon grace, God will take whatever is left in you and mix it with the same water in your baptism, turning you into “good.” Dear holy and beloved siblings in Christ, we might also find ourselves playing the role of the servants at the wedding in Cana. We are called to fill up the life of those who are weary and fragile with the Good News that Jesus brings. Then, God will do the rest. God will bless not only each individual filled up with God’s abundant blessings but also the community as a whole, just like the wedding Jesus and his disciples attended. For this good news, by grace through faith, let us give thanks to God. May the people of God say, “Amen.”
[信息]
願恩惠、平安從神我們的天父和主耶穌基督賜給在坐的每一位弟兄姊妹！
前幾日，我在網路上看見一個有趣的短片。一位警察攔下了一台車，要求駕駛示出駕照和身份證，進行了簡短的談話觀察後，決定要開罰單。這位駕駛抱怨說：我犯了什麼錯？ 警察說：當然是酒後駕駛的罰單。這位駕駛說：但我這瓶子裡，裝的明明就是水，我喝的也是水啊！警察說：你滿嘴的酒味，還想狡辯。駕駛驚嘆的說：哎呀！應該是耶穌，什麼時候把這水變成了酒！(身為信徒的，知道這個故事有著更深的意義，對吧!)
今天主日的故事是耶穌在迦拿的婚禮上把水變成酒的故事。當時，為了招待來參加婚宴的貴賓，新郎準備了六缸滿滿的酒。等到適當的時機到了，酒也喝得差不多了，耶穌吩咐僕人把這六個缸，都裝滿水。 祂用缸裡剩下的酒，與倒進去的水混合起來，使其變成了「好」酒！據管筵席的人的證詞，新郎把最好的酒留到最後。在約翰福音書裡的記載，這是耶穌所行的七個神蹟中的第一個神蹟。透過這次的神蹟，耶穌彰顯出祂擁有上帝的創造能力，並且慷慨地賜予祝福。見證到耶穌的大能後，祂的門徒們相信了祂。大家都應該很熟悉這個故事。
我們一起簡單的從兩個方向來探討。
第一個是： 耶穌為什麼不從一開始，就幫忙呈上好的酒呢，卻要人們等到快沒酒時才行神蹟, 而且還要僕人參與其中，把這件神蹟完成？祂希望祂的門徒們從這件事，能認識到什麼和學習到什麼呢？是不是我們需要在困劫中等待，才會意識到，我們是需要上帝的。因此，我們更會感激神賜給我們豐富的祝福，而不是將神的祝福，當作理所當然。當我們的生活順暢時，是否神的良善就很容易被我們忽略或是被遺忘呢？
第二個探討的方向是： 是什麼能使一個人，開始相信上帝呢？ 耶穌將水變為酒後，門徒們就相信了祂。這是否意味著在婚禮之前，他們不相信耶穌呢？難道施洗約翰和耶穌自己的見證，無法說服他們來相信耶穌嗎？對門徒們而言，要相信耶穌的前提，似乎是，門徒們必須要了解耶穌的身分還要見證到祂的能力。還有，他們有多麼的相信耶穌，他們相信耶穌的程度，能夠被衡量嗎？從四本福音書中，我們都看到，耶穌常對祂門徒的不信或缺乏信心感到失望，對吧？
每當我想到信仰和信念時，我就會想到有關洋蔥的一個成語。英文用「peel the onion - 剝洋蔥」成語來描述，一個揭示隱藏在深處訊息的過程。就像剝洋蔥一樣。剝到最後就是蔥的芽。而這個蔥的芽，便是洋蔥生長的起點或是生長的心。這蔥的芽，就像似我們信仰故事的初心一樣。
我們信仰故事的初心，有如從蔥的芽開始，透過每次與神的相遇，就不斷的成長變化。換句話說，我們對神的相信，是由許多相信主的故事一層一層所組成的。每一層的故事裡，能揭示我們每次遇見上帝的經歷。
而我們常常容易忘了我們信仰故事的初心 - - - 那份信仰初心既是我們與神的初次相遇，那份懷著感動，喜樂，和盼望的心。
透過一層又一層的，有如[剝洋蔥]，我們可以更深入地沈思我們自己的信仰之旅，每一層都會給我們帶來新的發現。我們可能會認為我們對神有足夠的了解，以及對我們與主耶穌的關係有足夠的把握。但其實每一次的新發現，都是有助於再次確認上帝對我們的意義以及我們身為上帝的孩子活在這個世界上的目的。
每一層相信主的故事，我們會發現，有那份信仰初心的感動喜樂和盼望的延伸。每一層都是上帝在我們生命裡，賜與恩上加恩的延伸。而我們也透過這些恩上加恩的信仰歷練，學會了更好地去愛主及愛人如己，也漸漸體驗到寬恕自己和他人的好處。
保羅在哥林多前書 12:1-11 提到，上帝賜給我們聖靈的恩賜，不只是有相信主的能力，還有許多其他的能力。 藉著聖靈的恩賜，耶穌的救恩，神在眾人裡及各人身上所運行一切的事，是要叫人人得益處，回到主的身邊。為此，祂會一次又一次的幫助我們相信耶穌，就像耶穌的門徒們在婚禮上相信耶穌一樣。
當我們面臨一個充滿挑戰的情況下，也許上帝正在等待對的時機，或者我們會像馬麗亞一樣，覺得為何不將豐富的祝福充滿我們時，在禱告中，我們可[剝開自己的信仰故事]，回到信主的初心。在這個過程中，自我發現和認知的機會就會有，與人事物間的複雜性也能夠被探索理清，問題的根本也能夠被查覺，情緒起伏波動也能夠識別出來。
我對基督徒包括我自己的盼望和祈禱是：願我們不段的能經歷到耶穌在我們生命中行的奇蹟，看到神是如何一次又一次的使我們的生命充滿感動，喜樂和盼望。藉著恩上加恩，神會把我們身上剩下的一切，混合著水，把我們變成「好的」。就有如我們對洗禮的確認一樣， 再次被水和上帝救恩的話語，完全的潔淨，全身全心全意的歸主。
在主內的，聖潔的兄弟姊妹們，我們時時也會發現自己是在扮演迦拿婚禮上僕人的角色。神呼召我們，用耶穌帶來的好消息，來充滿那些疲倦和軟弱的人。神會行神蹟。神不僅會豐富的祝福每個軟弱受傷疲憊的人，還會祝福整個這些人歸屬的群體，就像耶穌和祂的門徒所參加的婚禮一樣。今日，讓我們為了這個恩上加恩的好消息，一起來感謝上帝。願神的子民說：“阿們。”
Notes: this is a sermon preached at Basel Christian Church of Malaysia, Chinese General Council, Menggatal. 馬來西亞基督教巴色會中文大會孟家達堂
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