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| "Water Into Wine Banner" by Patia Rarick, photo by wplynn, on Flickr |
John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 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.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
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I'm not much one for New Year's resolutions, but every year, I do appreciate the way that crossing into a new year feels as good of an opportunity as any to start some new things and make some new habits. So for 2016, I've set two goals for myself: 1. Drink more water, and 2. Eat more vegetables.
Only one of those two goals applies to today's gospel reading, and I'll give you a hint: it's not the one about vegetables.
For many of us, today's gospel about the wedding at Cana is a familiar story. Jesus and Mary and the disciples are at a wedding, in a forgettable little town. During the festivities, the host runs out of wine. At the urging of Mary, Jesus changes water into wine, his first sign. He saves the party and the disciples believe in him.
There are plenty of details to love about this story. I love the way that Mary somehow knows that Jesus is capable of doing a really neat party trick, and the way that she pretty much ignores his protests, waving her had to the servants and saying, "do whatever he says." By the way, this is one of only two appearances of Mary that we get in the whole gospel of John - the other is at the foot of the cross at Jesus's death.
I love the fact that Jesus turns the water into really great wine, which surprises the steward, and I chuckle every time I hear him say the line about "everybody serves the good wine first, and the mediocre stuff later, when the guests are too...uhhhh..."filled with the Holy Spirit" to care." I love that Jesus sees the need presented to him, a fairly insignificant need in the grand scheme of life, and he still responds by not just fulfilling the need, but exceeding it. I love that the people who saw the sign were not all of the party guests, who probably had no idea, but the servants, and the disciples, and Mary.
Honestly, for most of my life, I really have thought that this was a story about wine. And it's a pretty great story about wine, no doubt.
But I've been thinking...what if this were actually a story about water?
Let me explain.
The first character we meet in John's gospel is John the Baptist, who is doing his thing down at the Jordan River. He is baptizing people with water. He is foretelling the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, Jesus. This Jesus comes to the river and is also baptized with water. Just a couple chapters from now in John's gospel, we get the story of Nicodemus, coming to Jesus by night, trying to understand faith, and Jesus tells him that he needs to be born of water and Spirit. Later in John's gospel, Jesus will sit down by a well, and talk to a woman whom the world has forgotten, and tell her that well water is fine and all, but that he can offer her living water, and that he himself, in fact, is that living water. He will proclaim that whoever comes to him will never be thirsty, and he will heal a paralyzed man lying by a pool in Jerusalem, he will stand up at a festival and proclaim that anyone who is thirsty should come to him, because he is the living water, and those who believe in him will also flow with living water. He will use water to wash his disciples' feet, and then, at the end, on the cross, his death will be confirmed by the piercing of a spear and the flowing of both blood and water.
In contrast, wine is only mentioned in two places in John's gospel: the wedding at Cana and at the end, when Jesus on the cross is given a sponge full of sour wine to address his thirst, which, when you think about it, is a mighty powerful image, that the source of living water, having poured himself out for the world, finds himself, at the very end, thirsty on the cross.
So when we think about the wedding at Cana, maybe we are first supposed to notice that Jesus gathers one hundred fifty gallons of water about him; that the Jesus who has just been baptized in the Jordan is now again standing in the middle of a giant quantity of water. Maybe it's not just that Jesus transformed water into wine, maybe it is about the fact that when you put Jesus and water together, there is going to be transformation. And salvation. Because in John's gospel, water is a clear sign of life. Wherever water shows up in this gospel, Jesus is about to bring renewal and healing - both physical and spiritual. Here, he renews a wedding party. But at the end, he will renew all creation itself.
The truth, of course, is that no matter how fancy the wine, wine isn't what quenches our thirst. Sometimes, we are the lucky bridegroom, coming into a wealth of excellent wine in life - and by this, I mean that sometimes we are lucky to be rich in the things of this world, like cars or houses or clothes or jobs.
But this wine will not satisfy our thirst. Only water can do that.
My phone buzzes at me every two hours to remind me to drink more water, and most days, I struggle to get my 64 ounces in. If 64 ounces feels like a lot, goodness, how much more would one hundred fifty gallons feel like!
One hundred fifty gallons of living water, might quench all of our thirsting AND wash off all of the pain and brokenness that cling to our skin like dust, AND, maybe, end up drowning all of the old life out of us that we might rise to new life in Christ.
Water is essential. Wine is bonus.
So when we talk about stewardship - of money and of stuff and of life itself - it is really important that we remember first that we are rich in water. That God fills us up richly with what is truly essential: love, forgiveness, compassion, hope, peace, assurance of life even beyond death. Being rich in these things means that whatever bonus wine we have, we are equipped to be grateful for it, and to keep a loose hold on it, pouring it out and sharing it with others.
We began our worship today with water: we poured it out and gave thanks for water that sustains life, and above all the gift of new life in Christ. Just as Christ began his ministry through his baptism, so we begin our lives and our worship with this most basic elemental truth, that water, and especially living water, transforms us for service, transforms our identities, transforms the reality of death into the hope of everlasting life.
We will close our worship today with wine: we will pour it out at this table and share in the cup of blessing, a sign of Christ's death and resurrection. Through this cup, Jesus transforms us beyond our wants and needs, into living symbols of the extravagant, rich love and forgiveness of God. Through this cup, Jesus sends us to pour ourselves out for others, giving of our abundance for the service and sake of the world.
The wedding at Cana reminds us that God notices our thirst; that God notices our need; that God is there to fill us when we are parched and empty. God in Christ gives us living water when our souls have run dry. God in Christ gives us the wine of gladness to share.
In some of my favorite words of the prophet Isaiah, God says, “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
This is your invitation today: Come to the water. Come to the wine.
Come, you who are empty.
Come, you who are thirsty.
Come, you who are nothing but dry bones.
For by the living water, you are brought to life.
And in the miracle of wine, you are made joyful.
In water and in wine, you are rich with the abundance of God.
Come, and drink of the living water.
Amen.
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