John 2: 1-11

The Wedding at Cana

¹The next day Jesus' mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee . ²Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. ³The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother spoke to him about the problem. "They have no more wine," she told him.
⁴"How does that concern you and me?" Jesus asked. "My time has not yet come."
⁵But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
⁶Six stone waterpots were standing there; they were used for Jewish ceremonial purposes and held twenty to thirty gallons each. ⁷Jesus told the servants, "Fill the jars with water." When the jars had been filled to the brim, ⁸he said, "Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies." So they followed his instructions.
⁹When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. ¹⁰"Usually a host serves the best wine first," he said. "Then, when everyone is full and doesn't care, he brings out the less expensive wines. But you have kept the best until now!"
¹¹This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first display of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! We're looking together these weeks at questions people ask. Today, we're going to look at a question that several people have asked in different ways, combining them. Here's how it comes out: I worry so much of the time. Sometimes I feel lost and anxious. Sometimes I even wonder where God is. How can my faith help my worry?

How can my faith help my worry? What am important question! So many of us wrestle with this. Let's take a look at it together today. Let's gather around the Lord's word and see how our faith in God can help relieve our worries.

The first thing I want to say is this: I stand in great respect of the things you worry about. I know you. You're responsible people. And part of the reason we worry is because we're problem solvers. We want to make things right and secure. But isn't it true that sometimes our lives can revolve around the things that we're worrying about?

Jesus talked about worries. He invited us to consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. Who of us, through worrying, can add one day to our lives? Let tomorrow's troubles be enough for tomorrow. Jesus addresses the question, and we should, too.

 There are many good books in the bookstores about how to deal with worry. I'm going to recommend just one to you. It's by Dale Carnegie – How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. If you haven't read that one, I recommend it. It's great. It came out many years ago, and there have been multiple reprints. It's a good, solid book.

This morning, I'm not going to cover the points in that book. I just want to focus on how faith and our connection with God touch upon the things that we worry about. Let's look at that together.

Friends, I want to give you three tools today to take home with you: C-P-A.

Center yourself in God.

Pray the visioning prayer.

Ask yourself one important question.

I'll get to each of these. First of all, to let your faith help you with the things you worry about, center yourself in God. Friend, if you have something you're worried about, something that's frustrating you, now is not the time to run from God. Now is not the time to wonder where God is. Now is the time to center yourself in God. Now is the time to remember that your relationship with God is exactly that – a relationship. God says, "I will never leave you or forsake you." That's the truth. It's a promise. You can count on it.

Oh, I tell you, I get so discouraged when I hear people say, "Oh, I've had all kinds of troubles in my life. I wonder where God is. And so I've walked away from the whole thing." That's sad. That's not the way to do it. When you have troubles in your life, when you're frustrated, when you're worried, that's exactly the time to strengthen your relationship with God. He has not abandoned you. He is with you. Now is the time to center yourself in His love.

So the first point: when you're worried, remember your relationship with God. Your relationship with God is unbreakable. He's always there for you, and He will be forever. You are Christians; you've invited Him into your heart, and He always says yes.

Now, I want to give you a tool to help focus on that. It's called the Touch Prayer. The Touch Prayer is a gesture that reminds us that we are connected to God and we live in the center of His love. When you do this gesture, I invite you to remember immediately that you are surrounded by the light and the love of God.

Here's the gesture. With the index finger, trace a line downward on your thumb. Then trace a line across your thumb. You're using the index finger of the same hand to draw a cross on the inside of your thumb. It's that simple. I invite you to use it when you begin your prayer – it's easy to drift off, isn't it? If you use a gesture like this, and you hold your fingers together, it's a reminder to yourself that you're in a state of prayer. You can use words with it or not. You can use the words "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I am centered in God's love."

Now, I've been talking this over with Matt Brucker, our Lay Leader. We talk about prayer, about a lot of things. He's the one who coined the term "Touch Prayer." He is using it a lot now. Let me tell you another way Matt's using it, which I think is wonderful. He uses that gesture to begin and end his private prayers. He also uses it when he's at work and something tense happens, or when he's on the phone and things get tense. He doesn't even use any words with it; he just traces the cross on his thumb.

It's a very subtle gesture, isn't it? Nobody has to know that you're doing it. But it reminds you that you're in the center of God's love, and you can feel His calmness and His centering. It will bless you in the midst of a worried time. So, the first step is C – center yourself in God's love.

The second step is P – that stands for Pray. Pray visioning prayer. What is the visioning prayer? It's like this: center yourself in God's love, and then you picture yourself on the other side of the crisis or challenge. How often do we do that? It's so tempting to stay on the gerbil-wheel of worry, isn't it? We stay there and worry and worry and think about what could happen and go wrong. We could stay on that gerbil wheel for so long that the problem could be resolved and we're still on the gerbil wheel.

Instead, pray the visioning prayer. Picture yourself in a situation, in as much detail as you can, with the situation resolved. In our gospel reading this morning, that is exactly what the Blessed Mother Mary did. She was probably related to the bride, and she was certainly helping with the catering. They ran out of wine. This was an incredible disgrace to the people of the day. She pulled out the big card – she went to Jesus. And she said simply, "Son, they have no wine." Jesus was resistant to begin His ministry because, perhaps, He knew what was coming. He said, "Well, maybe it's not time yet, Mom." She just smiled, and she said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you."

She had an impossible situation. She envisioned its outcome. And she went to Jesus. Not bad – there's a lesson in there for all of us.

Envision yourself on the other side of the challenge or the crisis. I have to tell you a story about one of my absolute favorite preachers of all time, the late Dr. Eric Butterworth. He tells a story about himself. Dr. Butterworth worked in at the Unity Church in New York City and lived in Connecticut . He was going home one day in rush hour New York traffic. In the middle of the traffic, right where all the cars were blocked up, his car died. Just stopped cold. He tried to start it. It wouldn't turn over. He waited. He pumped the gas. He tried to start it again. The car would not start. He tried multiple times. It just would not start.

Horns began to blow. He could tell that the people around him were becoming anxious and discouraged. He could tell from their facial expressions and the words they seemed to be saying to him. Words like, "We feel frustrated right now because your car won't start. We certainly hope that you can get your car moving again." Something like that.

Horns were blowing. Anxiety was mounting. And he could do nothing. He decided to pray the visioning prayer. He became calm in the midst of the chaos. He centered himself in God, and he pictured himself, later that evening. He said, "Even though this is all happening around me, God, you will bless me. This evening I will be seated in my home, in my favorite chair, in the quietness of the house, surrounded by loved ones. I affirm it and I know it. Thank you, God."

With the horns still blowing, he opened his eyes. He thought, well, I'll try one more time. He put his hands on the keys, turned the key in the ignition, and guess what? The car started! The car actually started, and he was able to drive away. I can't explain it. But I believe Dr. Butterworth.

I've always been impressed with that story. How about for you? Do you keep your eyes on the dream, as Dr. King would say, on the positive outcome? Picture yourself there.

Third point: ask yourself this important question. In the midst of your worries, ask yourself, "Am I living in the midst of a miracle? Am I living in the midst of a blessing? Even though I'm worried about this, are incredibly wonderful things happening all around me? Could I be living in the midst of answered prayer?"

Maybe the answer is yes. Focus on that. Give thanks. All around you, wonderful things very well may be happening. Don't let worries about what time the parade starts keep you from watching the parade. Don't let worries about your family keep you from enjoying your family. Don't let worries about health keep you from enjoying the health that you do have. Don't let worries about your job keep you from enjoying the positive things about your career.

Are you living in the middle of a miracle? Can you focus the vision on the scenario after the crisis? If you can, your whole attitude may change, and you may have the prospering ideas to bring you through the worries you face.

May it be so for you. Center yourself on God. Pray the visioning prayer. And ask yourself if you're living in the midst of a miracle. God bless you, my friends. God loves you. I do, too. Have a wonderful week. Amen.