John 2:1-11
Got Wine ?
January 14, 2001
We’ve all seen those billboard commercials sponsored by the American Dairy Association that picture actors and other famous people with a milk mustache. The caption reads, “Got Milk ?” Well, you probably didn’t realize it, but in the time of Jesus they had the same billboards, only they were put out by the Israeli Wine Association and had the caption, “Got Wine?” And that was a question that was being asked at this wedding feast we hear about in this morning’s Scripture reading.
Many of you probably recognize this morning’s passage as the Wedding at Cana. This is a miracle story in which Jesus turns 180 gallons of water into the finest of wines. But before look at this miracle, I have a funny little story I want to share with you.
Have any of you ever seen Bill Cosby’s show Kids Say the Darnest Things ? Well my daughters and I were watching that show a few years ago and Bill Cosby had Art Linkletter on his show. Now some of you who are old enough, will remember Art Linkletter’s show with the kids. Well Bill Cosby showed a clip of one of those shows.
In this clip, a much younger looking Art Linkletter was asking the kids to tell about their favorite Bible story. This one little girl said her favorite story in the Bible was when Jesus turned the water into wine at the Wedding at Cana. Art said, “Yes, that is a wonderful miracle, isn’t it!” He then asked the little girl what that miracle tells us. The little girl said, “When you’re out of wine, all you have to do is get down on your knees and pray." Well now we all know what to if we ever run out of wine !
Now I have preached on this text before, and I must admit that I have spent hours pouring over commentaries researching the meaning of this miracle. I guess I could have saved myself a lot of time by just asking this little girl for an interpretation. For her it was quite simple. When you are in need of something, all you have to do is get down on your knees and pray. I would much rather look at this miracle through the eyes of this little girl. Within the simplicity of her response we can see the enormity of her faith. She knew that Jesus would provide.
Now before we start on our journey into this passage of Scripture, I’d like to set the stage a bit. We must understand that a wedding in the time of Jesus was a lot different than our weddings of today. Weddings were a big deal in the Jewish culture. A wedding in the time of Jesus was an event in which the whole town participated.
The wedding ceremony would take place late in the evening after a time of great feasting. The father of the bride would take his daughter on his arm, and with the wedding party following behind them, they would parade through the streets of the village so everyone could come out and congratulate the bride. Finally the wedding party would arrive at the home of the groom. The wedding actually took place in the front door of the groom’s house. The festivities lasted for days. It was a time of great celebration.
There was no such thing as a honeymoon either ! The couple kept open house for a week. The groom’s family was expected to provide all the refreshments for this week of festivities. To run out of provisions for the wedding guests was a social nightmare.
Think of all the things that could go wrong at a wedding today. The best man faints. The organ doesn’t work. A fight breaks out in the pews amongst the new in-laws. Someone forgets the rings. That is one my great fears with weddings. I fear getting to the part of the ceremony where the couple exchange their rings and the best man has forgotten the rings in the glove compartment of his car. Not only has he forgotten the rings in the car, but because of a little too much celebration the evening before, he’s forgotten where he left his car ! I now ask for three things before I start a wedding service – the marriage license, my check and the rings !
But short of the bride and groom not showing up for the wedding, to run out of food or wine at a wedding was worse than any of these things. You see, hospitality in the ancient East was a sacred duty. Failure to provide provisions would be a terrible humiliation for the family of the bride. The wedding would be the talk of the town for years to come.
That’s where we pick up our scripture in today’s story. The story goes something like this. There was a wedding that took place in the town of Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there along with Jesus and his disciples newly appointed disciples. Mary has heard that the wine is running out. Trying to avoid a social disaster for the wedding couple and their families, Mary goes to Jesus and tells him the situation. Jesus has a brief conversation with his mother telling her that his time has not yet come. Jesus is referring to something totally different than empty wine jugs though.
Mary, not understanding what Jesus is talking about, but having faith that Jesus will take care of the situation, tells the workers to do whatever Jesus instructs them to do. Jesus tells the workmen to fill six stone jars with water and then to draw some of the water out and bring it to the master of ceremony. By then, the water had been turned into fine wine. The social disaster has been diverted. No one except the workmen who drew the water out, and the disciples, knew how the water had been changed into wine. John tells us that this miracle caused the disciples to believe in Jesus.
As we look back upon this miracle, there are several things we should be aware of. First, when John opens with this passage, he says, “On the third day a wedding feast took place at Cana in Galilee.” Well, the logical question to ask would be, “The third day of what ?” If we get out our Bibles and count the events back three days, we can see that just three days prior to this wedding feast Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. That’s is what the three days are referring to.
Then next question that comes to my mind, (understanding that my mind may think a little differently than most) is what happened during those three days. Well, the answer to that question gives us a little clue about the importance of this miracle. Again, getting out our Bibles, we can read that Jesus had been pretty busy in those three days. He didn’t come up out of the Jordan River after his baptism and tan himself along the banks of the river. John tells us that Jesus went out and found his first disciples.
You see, Jesus’ baptism was really the inauguration of his ministry. His earthy ministry had begun, and like all good leaders, Jesus knew he needed people to help him carry out his ministry. So, Jesus went out and found helpers. In three short days, Jesus had enlisted his first four recruits- Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel. Jesus brought these four new disciples with him to the wedding feast.
Now that we know Jesus’ ministry was three days old and he had four brand new green disciples with him, we can’t help but think that these disciples must be second-guessing themselves. What in the world had they gotten themselves into? It all sounded good to them a few days ago, but now they were beginning to wonder. Who is this guy anyway ? And what are we doing at this wedding that doesn’t even have enough wine for its guests ?
Well Jesus uses the social disaster of this wedding as a means to show the disciples just who he was, the Son of God who would perform many miracles in his ministry, of which this miracle of changing water into wine was the first. But this was not just a miracle for a show of power. No ! It was more than that. It was a miracle that showed the nature of God working through Jesus.
This miracle is a miracle of abundance and extravagance. Jesus turned 180 gallons of water into the finest of wines. Just think about that quantity of wine for a moment. One- hundred and eighty gallons of wine. That’s 720 quart bottles of table wine, or 11,520 eight-ounce glasses of wine. That’s a lot of wine ! That’s abundance and extravagance. Remember that the wedding was almost half over. There would be no way the guests could have consumed all of that wine in the remaining days of the wedding ! This abundance of wine is symbolic of God’s love and grace. There is always enough for everyone and there is always some left over.
I think what is at the heart of this miracle is not only the abundance and extravagance of changing water into 180 gallons of the purest and finest wine, but the whole image of transformation. For me, this is where the essence of this miracle lies. At it’s heart, this is really a miracle of transformation. We can see three transformations alone within this miracle.
First, and most obviously, the water was transformed into wine. Second, the stone jars that are used to hold water which is used for washing are transformed from ritual washing jars into drinking vessels. And lastly we see that the disciples were transformed. John tells us the disciples “saw and believed.” They were transformed from a state of unbelief to a state of belief.
This story of the wedding at Cana begs the question of us, How are we being transformed by the love of God and the abundance of God’s grace ? It asks us to look and see what areas of our own lives need to be transformed. The story also asks us how our lives can be used to help transform others, becuase transformation is a two way street. God calls us to be transformed and to be transformers.
As Christians we cannot read the Gospel and come to know Christ without being transformed. It is simply impossible to come to know Jesus and not be changed and transformed into a new being as a result of that encounter with the Divine. That is what being “Born Again” is all about. As a result of being transformed by God’s love and by God’s grace, we are called to transform others by showing them the love of Christ that reside within us.
Several years ago I participated in a funeral service for a very beautiful person by the name of Freda Crossley. Freda died after a long battle with cancer. Freda was young and vibrant. She radiated life. Freda was one of those people that never spoke a bad word about anyone and I never heard anyone say a bad word about her. She just loved to love others. She was fun to be with. She loved to laugh and have a good time. To be in Freda’s presence was to be in the presence of Jesus.
The church where we held the funeral service for Freda was packed. There were people standing in the hallway listening to the service. During the time of sharing, ten people stood up and told stories about how Freda had touched their lives. Although Freda has been gone for awhile, her memory is still with me. My daughter Erica told me that even though Freda is gone, she will remain alive in her heart forever.
Why we wonder ? Why is it that someone is remembered that way ? How is it that some people have such a profound affect on our lives and others we quickly forget ? Freda will be remembered so long because she was a transformer. She transformed the lives of many people. Her love for the Lord was the transforming power in her life. Jesus performed the miracle of transforming water into wine. Freda performed the miracle of transforming the lives of those who knew her.
This miracle of the wedding at Cana invites us to be transformers like Freda. It invites us to see what the disciples saw in Christ and be transformed. The story invites us to catch a glimpse of the identity and character of God and be changed. We are invited to see the possibilities for our own transformation through a life with Jesus Christ.
This miracle is a story of abundance. It is a story of extravagance. It is a story of transformation and new possibilities. We are challenged not to put this miracle into the framework of what makes sense. But rather we are challenged to look at this miracle as a simple blessing and to open ourselves up to the transforming powers of God through a daily walk with Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ invites us to come to the wedding feast of Cana and receive the blessing that God has intended for us all. Won’t you come to the wedding feast, this wedding feast of extravagance and abundance ? Come to the wedding feast and be transformed so you may transform others. AMEN!
