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28: Seeing the Miracle · Finding God at Work

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, I'm Chris.
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This is Finding God at Work.
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Just a reminder that Finding God at Work
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isn't just a podcast.
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It's also an online course.
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Check it out at findinggodatwork.org.
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Our current series is Meaningful Work, Calling, Formation,
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Service, and Love.
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Do you remember back in 2009, the so
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-called miracle on the Hudson with Captain Sully?
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So this was a residential flight, took off
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from LaGuardia, New York.
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There was a bird strike, birds got caught
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in the engines, both engines died.
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And the pilot of the plane, the captain,
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he realized that they needed to land on
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the Hudson River.
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That was the only safe option.
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And so he ditched into the river, successfully,
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all 155 people aboard survived.
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They made a movie out of it called
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Sully, starring Tom Hanks, incredible story.
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This guy, Captain Sully, won all these awards,
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rightly so, and wrote a book about it
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and all sorts of things.
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Really dramatic story.
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I enjoy the Tom Hanks movie.
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Of course, I enjoy pretty much anything Tom
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Hanks does, so that may not be saying
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much.
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But what I want to actually focus on
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is what is a normal day of work
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like for Captain Sully before January 15th of
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2009?
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He shows up, he follows his checklists to
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fly a plane.
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He lands, he does it again, some point
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he goes home, right?
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This was not a dramatic career, even though
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it was a career that had this very
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dramatic moment in it.
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And Captain Sully himself shares about this.
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So I want to read a quote from
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him.
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He says, one way of looking at this
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might be that for 42 years, I've been
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making small, regular deposits in this bank of
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experience, education and training.
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And on January 15th, the balance was sufficient
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so that I could make a very large
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withdrawal.
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Isn't that a great metaphor?
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His boring, regular job.
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He's just doing what he needs to do,
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getting trained, following procedures, gaining experience in small,
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undramatic ways.
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And it's like these little deposits into this
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bank account.
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And then an emergency happens and he has
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the capacity to rescue the lives of 155
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people in this very dramatic matter, having to
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move quickly with his co-pilot in a
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matter of minutes to make this situation resolve
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in the way that it did.
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Well, I think there's something here for us
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as followers of Jesus to pay attention to.
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And that's how often the practice of service
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is not especially glamorous.
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It's not especially dramatic.
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We love dramatic stories, stories of heroism, because
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they give us images.
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They give us a visual of what the
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real stakes of sacrifice and service can be.
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And so those stories are good.
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You know, the action hero movie, the reason
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that we go see it is because we
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want to see somebody rescue people who need
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rescuing.
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We want to see somebody lay their life
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on the line in order to do what's
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right and defeat the bad guys and bring
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everybody home in the end.
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But usually, usually service does not look at
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all like an action movie.
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Usually service looks like those small, daily, regular
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deposits of faithfulness.
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And there's this story in the New Testament
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of kind of a normal work day for
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a certain group of people.
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And then a dramatic moment that shows up
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that I think can show us something about
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what this daily faithfulness really does for us.
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As we press into the story, I think
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we'll see how when we do these small
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daily acts of service, it actually prepares us
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to see the miracles that God is doing
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in a way that nothing else can.
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Okay, so this comes from the ministry of
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Jesus.
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This is in the telling of John, the
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first miracle that he did at the wedding
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at Cana.
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So this is from chapter two of John.
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Let me just read the first 11 verses
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here.
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On the third day, a wedding took place
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at Cana in Galilee.
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Jesus' mother was there and Jesus and his
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disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
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When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said
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to him, they have no more wine.
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Woman, why do you involve me?
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Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come.
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His mother said to the servants, do whatever
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he tells you.
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Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind
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used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each
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holding from 20 to 30 gallons.
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Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars
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with water.
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So they filled them to the brim.
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Then he told them, now draw some out
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and take it to the master of the
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banquet.
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They did so.
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And the master of the banquet tasted the
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water that had been turned into wine.
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He did not realize where it had come
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from, though the servants who had drawn the
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water knew.
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Then he called the bridegroom aside and said,
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everyone brings out the choice wine first and
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then the cheaper wine after the guests have
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had too much to drink.
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But you have saved the best till now.
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What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee
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was the first of the signs through which
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he revealed his glory and his disciples believed
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in him.
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Okay, I want to look at this passage
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through the lens of the experience of the
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servants.
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There's so much going on in this passage,
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but think about what it's like for the
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servants.
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These servants, they don't occupy a position of
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high social status, right?
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They're low in the pecking order.
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They do probably a lot of manual and
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menial labor.
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They're part of the wedding staff today, so
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to speak.
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They're probably servants in the families of those
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who have a daughter and a son getting
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married.
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Big, important celebration.
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High stakes.
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You want things to go well.
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And the servants are there.
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And when the celebration, right, what we would
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call the wedding reception runs out of wine,
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Mary goes to Jesus and tells him about
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it.
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I love this interaction between Mary and Jesus,
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but I don't want to focus on it
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because I'm looking at the servants.
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So Mary turns to the servants and she
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says, do whatever he tells you.
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Okay, so Mary clearly has a social status,
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whatever her connection is.
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Maybe she's a relative or a friend of
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the family's where she feels like she can
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kind of command the servants.
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And so the servants, they're like, okay, we've
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just been commanded by someone with authority that
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we needed to do whatever this fellow Jesus
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says.
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And then what Jesus tells them to do
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is actually a fairly onerous task, right?
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So there's these six stone water jars.
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They're usually used for ceremonial washing.
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Jesus has other ideas for how to use
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them tonight.
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And he says to fill them up and
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they each hold 20 to 30 gallons.
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Okay, so this is a big job.
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This is going to take a while to
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fill up every single one of these six
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stone water jars until you've got however much,
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120, 180 gallons worth of water.
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So what's the servant's attitude?
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Well, we don't get their interior dialogue here,
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whether they felt chagrined about this or whether
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they find it strange that they're taking orders
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from Jesus.
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But how did they respond?
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It says they filled the jars to the
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brim.
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So they didn't just do what Jesus said.
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They really did it.
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It seems like they embraced this task.
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They were willing to do it fully without
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hesitating, without holding back.
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They fill it to the brim.
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Then Jesus tells them, okay, take some of
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the water to the master of ceremonies.
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They do so.
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And this, this detail in verse nine, I
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think is really significant.
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The master of ceremonies did not realize where
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the water that had turned into wine came
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from, though the servants who had drawn the
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water knew.
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So there's this moment, right?
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The master of ceremonies is tasting this delicious
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wine.
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He goes to the groom and says like,
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hey, look, your, your wine.
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Why'd you save the good stuff till now?
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He has no idea that a miracle has
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occurred.
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And yet, and yet the servants know.
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The servants, because they participated in the work
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that Jesus told them to do, when this
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miracle happens, they're the first ones to realize
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that it happened.
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And then the conclusion of this part of
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the narrative is that this was the first
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of the signs through which Jesus revealed his
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glory and his disciples believed in him.
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So these servants were the first ones to
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see Jesus reveal his glory through a miracle
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because they had been the ones to participate
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in what Jesus asked them to do.
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Okay, so I think there's a paradigm here
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for us.
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In our lives, sometimes we receive a call
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from Jesus.
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We spent the first chunk of this series
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on Meaningful Work talking about calling and how
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Jesus is the one who calls us.
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We have to learn to discern his voice
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from other voices.
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But when Jesus calls us to do something,
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how much data do we get from Jesus?
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And the answer is sometimes not a lot.
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In this story, Jesus doesn't sit down with
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the servants and say, okay, here's the plan.
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I'm going to turn this water into wine.
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It's going to be incredible.
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So fill it up and it'll be worth
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it.
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He doesn't do that.
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He just tells them what to do.
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He just says, fill up the water jars.
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And they do.
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Well, sometimes that's how our life with Jesus
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is too.
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Sometimes Jesus asks us to do something and
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he's not going to reveal the whole plan
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to us up front.
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He's not going to tell us what he
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intends to do.
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He's just going to tell us what he
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wants us to do.
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So what are we going to do?
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Are we going to wait till we know
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the whole plan?
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We're going to be waiting a long time.
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If so, we're going to be chagrined about
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the onerous things we're being asked to do
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that don't feel so great all the time.
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I've definitely been there, but there's an invitation
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here.
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What if we do what Jesus says?
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What if we fill up the jars to
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the brim?
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What might we see if we do that
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with Jesus and for Jesus?
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So it's like the servants kind of get
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a hint at the beginning, right?
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And the exchange between Jesus and Mary, which
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probably they overheard, or at least it seems
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like that's all happening in pretty quick sequence.
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Mary says to Jesus, they have no more
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wine.
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Then she says to the servants, do whatever
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he tells you.
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So there's this hint that the servants get
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that what they're being asked to do somehow
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has to do with the wine problem, but
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they don't get much more than that.
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They just get a hint.
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But what the culmination is they get a
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revelation of the glory of Jesus.
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I think that that's true in our lives
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too.
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When Jesus commands us to do something, often
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we get a hint.
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We just get a little hint of kind
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of the significance of what he's asking us
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to do.
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Maybe we have an idea of how our
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daily work and the job that he's asked
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us to do could contribute to the kingdom
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in some way as it provides for our
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families, or as it provides for the common
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good in our communities, or as it prepares
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and trains us for future endeavors.
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We have a hint of that, but we
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don't really have the full picture.
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But if we stick with it, eventually we
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will see that revelation of Jesus's glory in
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our work.
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We move from the hint to the revelation.
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So Jesus often tells us what to do
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before showing us what he is going to
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do.
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Jesus tells us how he wants us to
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serve before showing us what he will accomplish
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through our service.
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And yet it's only if we participate, it's
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only if we say yes, that we'll be
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there to see what God is doing, to
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see the miracle that God is performing through
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our service.
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Now, here's another way to think about the
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experience of the servants.
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When you hear this story, right, what's the
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point of the story?
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Is the point about how great the servants
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are?
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No, the point is that Jesus is revealing
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his glory.
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The point is that Jesus is bringing new
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life, new wine, the wine of salvation, eventually
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the wine of his blood on the cross.
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Jesus is giving something to the world because
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he is God's chosen one.
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He is the Messiah, and he's revealing that
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through this miracle.
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It's a sign, a sign of who he
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is and of what he's doing in the
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world, the coming of the kingdom of God.
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That's what this is about.
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It's not about the servants, but the servants
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got to be there, and the servants got
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to participate in it.
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When we think about our work, whatever our
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work is, work that God has asked us
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to do, work that's fulfilling our obedience to
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Jesus in our everyday work and our callings,
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again, multiple callings, even if it's just that
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simple calling to provide for ourselves and our
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families while we do a quote unquote secular
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job.
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If we're following Jesus in that work, if
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we're serving him in that work, who is
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the work really about?
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It's not about us.
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It's about him.
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And so that means that even when our
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work is small, even when it's unimpressive, even
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when it's not glamorous, even when it's just
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that daily faithfulness, what really matters is not
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how impressive our efforts are.
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It's that we show up because God's spirit
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will fill our efforts with his miraculous power.
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Jesus is the one who turns the water
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into wine.
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We just fill up the jars.
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And showing up every day and filling up
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that jar with daily faithfulness in your work,
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that's what makes it possible for you to
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be there, to see how God through his
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power, through his spirit will turn that water
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into wine.
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So again, it's not about how impressive it
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is.
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It's not about how dramatic it is.
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It's not even about how great you are
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and your efforts are.
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It's just about showing up, being faithful to
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Jesus, doing your part, and then waiting to
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see what God accomplishes.
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Okay, so what does that mean for us?
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How does that help us on a day
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-to-day basis?
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Well, I have a couple ideas.
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One is, and I want to actually hop
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quickly to another passage just to give a
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verse for this one, but to not despise
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the day of small things.
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So this is a little bit of a
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deep cut.
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It's from the prophet Zechariah in the era
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of rebuilding the temple.
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Rebuilding the temple took a while.
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There was some doubt about how the project
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would go.
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And part of his prophetic word is Zechariah
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4 verse 10.
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Who dares despise the day of small things,
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since the seven eyes of the Lord that
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reigns throughout the earth will rejoice when they
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see the chosen capstone in the hand of
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Zerubbabel.
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Poetic language, Zerubbabel had a day job.
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He was the governor of Judah.
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He was overseeing this construction project of rebuilding
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the temple.
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And Zechariah is proclaiming, don't despise the day
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of small things.
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Who dares despise the day of small things?
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God's eyes are watching this project.
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Again, God is going to show up.
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God is going to do something glorious here
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as you just do your day-by-day
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faithfulness, even though it looks small right now.
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So that's the first thing for us is
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to not despise the day of small things,
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to not despise our own work when it
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seems unimpressive.
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If it's work that Jesus has asked you
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to do, it's worth doing faithfully.
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It doesn't matter how impressive or unimpressive, how
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big or how small it is.
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And then the second thing that we can
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do is to keep our eyes open for
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opportunities, right?
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I imagine there were several servants, right?
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And when Jesus said, hey, fill up those
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water jars, did some of the servants maybe
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hang back and say like, oh, we'll see
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who does the grunt work on that, who's
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going to heave all that extra water around.
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Have you ever done this where you kind
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of hang back and see if somebody else
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starts doing the dishes after dinner before you
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do?
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Because like, oh, maybe I'll get out of
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it because somebody else volunteered, right?
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But what if we had the opposite attitude
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of, I want to get in on this.
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I want to look for opportunities to serve
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because then I'll be there to see the
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miracle when it happens.
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So in your workplace, when there are opportunities
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to step up, to say yes, to do
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something, even if it means a little bit
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more of unglamorous behind-the-scenes effort, maybe
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you can look for those opportunities to serve.
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Maybe God will show up.
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When you say yes.
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Lord Jesus, thank you that you're the one
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who makes the difference, that you're the one
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who serves us, that you want to bring
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that new life, that new wine of your
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presence miraculously into our lives.
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So we ask that you would help us
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to show up in small everyday ways.
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Help us not to despise the day of
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small things, to be ready for what you
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will do.
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Jesus, do your work in us as we
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do our work with you.
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Thanks for listening.
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