Dear Friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

For five years, from 2011 to 2016, the English series Downton Abbey dominated American television. The story of the aristocratic Crawley family and the people who served them in the first decades of the 20th century, offered its viewers a bit of everything. It was a posh melodrama and stylish soap opera, woven together by tales of love and money, and sacrifice and skullduggery. The series created excitement and conversation, as well as cookbooks, a branded tea, a special edition of the board game Clue and regular tours to the fabled house of Highclere Castle.

At the heart of Downton Abbey’s appeal was its portrayal of an ordered society. The Crawley family lived upstairs, the servants worked downstairs, and everyone knew their place. Surprisingly, Americans viewers fell in love with Downton Abbey, not because it betrayed the best of democratic ideals, but because it revealed what we all inwardly want: leaders with integrity, roles in life with dignity, and a society where even the smallest duty has value.

The lives of the dutiful servants and the privileged Crawleys were seamlessly integrated, but in one early episode the younger sister Edith reminded her older sister Mary that there was a difference.  “The servants know far more about us than we know about them.” Mary looked nervous about that.  The valets and ladies maids who worked downstairs, were often present with them in their dressing rooms and during their private conversations. The servants were aware of everything that happened upstairs. And so it was at the wedding in Cana.

Our reading this morning from St. John’s gospel is a story which comes early in Jesus’ ministry. According to the evangelist, only a few days after being baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan and immediately following his calling of the first of his disciples to follow him, Jesus went to a wedding in Cana where his mother was also invited. The passage beautifully offers us insight into God’s love, the importance of marriage, the amazing possibility of God’s presence in difficult time, Jesus’ own ability to turn the ordinary into something extraordinary and the abundant providence of God’s mercy.  But there is another important lesson that I would like to share with you today.  At the close of the passage, we read that this was “the first of Jesus’ signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

St. John always describes Jesus’ “miracles” as “signs”. What is the difference? Miracles are things that happen while signs point us to what this miracle means. The evangelist seems to be very concerned that we understand that whatever good outcome may have been produced by turning the water into wine, the significance is what it points to. The sign is pointing us to Jesus.  It is pointing us to Jesus, his person, his identity, his nature, and his purpose.  Interestingly, “When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”  The sign apparently wasn’t intended for the steward, nor was it meant for the bridegroom, after all like most bridegrooms, he was handsome and confused.  Surprisingly, the sign was meant for the servants for they alone recognized and knew what had happened.

As was the case for the servants in Downton Abbey. They always knew far more about the Crawleys than the Crawleys knew about them.  It is still true today. Observant servants know what’s happening. Waiters, waitresses, bartenders, maids and nannies, they see and hear it all. The thing about servants is that they are treated like they’re not there. The fact is that those who are being served are often unaware that someone is performing a needed task for them. The servants aren’t visible to them at all.

Sadly, we can all seem invisible in this world. It may feel at times as if no one sees you, hears you or cares for you.  Their words and emotions demonstrate it.  At other times, your neighbors and the world may be indifferent to you. They do not wish to know your joys and triumphs, much less your pains and sorrows.  Yes, you feel you know more about those living upstairs than they know about you.

My friends, be of good cheer.  Jesus has given you a sign, the first of his signs in Cana of Galilee.  Jesus sees you, and he knows more about you, than you will ever know about him.  Jesus ate with the outcasts and the lowly, often challenging and ignoring the standard, worldly structures of power and importance. That is good news. On those days, when you feel broken, defeated and overlooked, when the world seems to have turned against you, you have a Savior who knows and wants the best for you. He can do amazing things that will be imperceptible to this world, but you will see them and you will know that they are true

Turning water into wine was Christ’s first miracle, but it was a small matter in the grand scheme of things. The miracle wasn’t really about turning water into wine. It was a sign pointing to Jesus, that when Christ enter in, the best is always yet to come.

My friends, you and I are called to be signs of Christ’s wonder and love in this world. As members of this church, we are to be a faithful servants of Christ, and the face we present to the world is to be a sign of who Christ is. But just as important, we must learn to know our neighbors, whether they are the people living upstairs or downstairs.  You may be the first sign of Christ in this world for them, and you must make a choice. Are you going to point to a Christ whose disciples are complacent with a needy world, or will we show that we are Christians by our love and kindness, compassion and mercy? Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.