January 9, 2022
John 2: 1-11
In today’s Gospel story, Jesus, the disciples and his mother are attending a wedding in Cana in Galilee. It is a time of celebration of one of those affirming moments that mark our lives. It is a time when relationships are formed and renewed. It is a time of abundant joy and community.
That’s all put at risk because the wine has run out.
In Jesus’ time, the wedding feast usually lasted for a week.
But a couple of days in, an important part of the celebration is gone. We’re not told why the wine ran out … did too many people show up for the wedding? … Were there people drinking more than their share? Did the steward miscalculate? … Were the containers being used leaky … sitting there in pools of purple liquid on the tables?
Often these celebrations were B.Y.O.W. … ‘bring your own wine’ … the community would pool scarce resources and create a communal abundance for the celebration. Did the people come empty-handed? Was there so much poverty in the community, that they couldn’t keep the wine flowing?
No matter the reason, running out of wine was a major problem for the host families.
Had the guests discovered that the wine had run out – less than halfway through the celebration – the event would be ruined … the guests would leave and the couple and their families would be humiliated within the community.
Jesus’ mother recognizes this and informs her son of the need … “They have no wine,” she tells him.
Jesus seems a bit put off by his mother’s statement … He asks, “what concern is that to you and me?”
I wonder how many of us have had the same reaction when someone’s problem or a scarcity within the community is brought to our attention. Have we ever asked “What has that to do with me?” or even “What do you expect me to do about it?”
Mary … ever faithful and, perhaps, remembering what she was told years earlier … recognizes the deficiency … tells the servants to … “Do whatever he tells you” … knowing that the scarcity of the situation will be transformed into a love-filled abundance.
The servants do as instructed … which likely wasn’t an easy task … but the end result is around 450 litres … about half a ton … of the finest wine … an abundance where there was once was scarcity and the risk of shame.
Today’s reading marks the first Sunday of Epiphany.
Epiphany is a time when God and God’s glory is revealed to us. It is also a time when we are called to consider this nature and what it calls us to do in the world.
I believe it’s important that John never refers to the act of changing water into wine as a miracle … that’s someone else’s description … John calls them signs …. It is a directional marker to help us discover and discern the nature of Jesus.
Eliseo Perez-Alvarez, who writes about the liberating nature of the Gospel, once wrote that this Gospel story reveals that Jesus is “a Nazarene who attends weddings, who celebrates life in togetherness.
“Jesus is showing us God’s glory, God’s sense of humour, God’s nearness, mingling. God is not an absentee landlord, the metaphysical god of the philosophers, the never-present father. No, Jesus will never say we are ‘too close for comfort.’ ”
There are a lot we can take away from as we hear today’s lesson.
We can see how the servants are called to follow Jesus’ instructions and when they do … life is affirmed … transformation becomes possible … nourishment or … at the very least … our thirst is sated.
We can see ourselves as the wine jars … when filled … we have the potential to alleviate the thirst others are experiencing.
We can see ourselves as the good wine or the cheap stuff that has a sour taste to it?
We can see how a simple, stated observation got the ball rolling … “there is no more wine” … and through the actions of Jesus and the servants … the problem is addressed and the reality of the situation changes.
That is what grace does … it affirms life … it transforms.
It takes a transparent, tasteless life and gives it body … it gives it flavour… it gives it texture and substance. Grace takes a society that is focused on gulping down as much wealth and goods as possible and ferments a change so that the welfare of others becomes the main concern.
Like the stone containers at the wedding, we are each filled with God’s grace – a fine vintage that is wasted if it’s not shared. Jesus called on us to love others and sharing his grace is the ultimate sign of that transformative love … a love that brings those who have been marginalized and victimized back into community.
During this pandemic … as Covid rates rise and fall and rise again … when uncertainty, fear and distrust can fill people lives like the cheap wine found at other weddings in Cana … leaving their footing unsteady … we are called to remain faithful and faith-filled … to share the good wine that leaves people filled and quenched … hopeful and confident … and filled a sense of welcome belonging … in other words, to feel loved.
AMEN