Long ago an old Lutheran country pastor was known to take a little "nip" of the communion wine on a hot summer day, as he drove the dusty back roads in his pre-air-conditioning old car to take communion to his shut-ins. On one particularly hot and dry afternoon after several calls and several "nips" he was stopped by the new young county sheriff for weaving slightly down the deserted road.

The pastor assured the young sheriff that the car's steering mechanism must be the problem, but the skeptical sheriff spotted the dark decorative decanter on the front seat, and inquired about it.

"Oh, that's just the water I drink to quench my thirst and take my pills," said the pastor.

"May I check it out?" asked the lawman.

"Well, sure, I guess," hesitated the pastor, "but I'm sure you believe a man of the cloth!"

The sheriff lifted the decanter, slowly removed the cap, sniffed at the opening, then tipped it up to let a drop touch his tongue. He stared disbelievingly down at the pastor and declared, "Reverend, this isn't water. It's wine!"

Without hesitation the old pastor lifted his eyes to heaven and his arms in prayerful celebration, and exclaimed, "HALLELUJAH! HE'S DONE IT AGAIN!"

We know Jesus didn't duplicate what he did at the wedding in Cana. But that intriguing scripture has many thought-provoking twists and turns. One of its main points is quite clear: AS JESUS CHANGED THE WATER TO WINE, HE SHOWED HIMSELF TO BE THE ONE TO CHANGE THE WORLD! He took the "ordinary" and changed it into the "extraordinary." He changed the "common" into the "festive"!

What application does this have for our lives? The best answer is simply, "Hallelujah! He's done it again!" He has come into our lives so ordinarily messed up, so commonly sinful and has changed us into his extraordinary people, into his festively redeemed children of eternity!

The declaration of the Christian faith is "simply" this:

Christ has changed ... our sin into salvation; our death into life; our guilt into forgiveness; our doubts and fears into hope; our conflicts into peace; our hesitations into courage; our hatred into love; our prejudice into acceptance; our self-centeredness into care for others; our selfishness into generosity.

And the Good News is that HE does all the changing of us. He doesn't condition his action upon our efforts of "trying to change." Even while we are consumed in our failure, faults and shortcomings, He crashes into our existence with His love, His power, His Change for our lives!

Consider your life right now. What changes need to be made? What ordinary, common shortfalls need Christ's extraordinary, festive transformation?

Know this: Christ is at work in your life and mine. Daily His Holy Spirit touches us. Daily He reaches for us directly into our hearts and through the voices and care of others. Daily His Good News transforms us.