Sermon: 25th January 2009

This was preached at Bourne End

This is the start of Jesus’ ministry. According to John we have heard that Jesus is God, made flesh, dwelling among us. We have heard that John the Baptist’s testimony to the priests and Levites that John is lowlier than a slave in comparison with Jesus.

We have seen two of John’s disciples, Andrew and Peter, turn and follow Jesus, and we have seen another two men, Philip and Nathaniel answer Jesus’ call, and hear his promise of greater things to come.

Now we have a practical demonstration. It is the third day, and in his first public act; a fore-shadowing of the Easter story, Jesus turns water into wine.

This can be read as straightforward story of water into wine to meet a need, and on its own it stands as a wonderful story of Jesus meeting our needs, not just with the minimum that we need, but with the best there is, and in abundance.

Wonderful as that is, I think there is more to be found in this story, because like many of the elements of John’s gospel, it can be read at many levels, and this is part of the beauty of this gospel, and why, I think, it speaks so strongly to so many people. So let’s have a look at some of the detail:

The party was almost over – the wine had gone

What a way to tell a story? They went to a party… …When the wine had gone.

No information whatsoever about the celebration, the toasts, the joy, the dancing. We all know what a good wedding can be like for us, and John didn’t waste words telling us things we know already. His story concerns the tail-end of a party. We have all experienced that too – the moment when we realise that the best has been, that the future is dry and uncertain, and maybe includes a hangover.

The current recession, officially announced yesterday, is an example of that in our time. How many of us realised during the good times that they would end before we were ready?

Are there any hints in this story that might help us today?

First, let’s look at the Water Jars.

These are not ordinary water storage jars used for washing the dirty feet of visitors. These jars were used to store water for ceremonial washing – for the atonement of sins, for purification. 6 jars, each holding 20-30 gallons - suggests a lot of ceremonial washing, and the jars were empty. The resources had run dry.
If we think of all those people going out into the desert to be baptised in water – for the forgiveness of their sins - by John the Baptist, isn’t that the state that the people were in before Jesus arrived?

Isn’t that the state of our lives before we came to know Jesus?

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus performs this miracle, as his first public act after his own baptism – so soon after John the Baptist has said, “the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptise with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33).

I think that this story tells us that faith in Jesus replaces ritual purification with the opportunity of a relationship with God; that the Holy Spirit living in us is far more powerful than washing with water and trying to deal with our sin in our own strength; that the best is yet to come, both in the gospel and in our lives.
Secondly, let’s look at the way this miracle works.

Any competent magician can perform a ‘water-into-wine’ trick – although most wouldn’t do it. One reason is that of the two methods I know, if you were to drink the resulting wine, one would leave you sitting on the toilet for a long time, and the other would kill you.

This is no bang, flash, drifting smoke magic trick. It involves several different things happening in harmony to achieve, parts which are directly applicable to our prayer life? Let’s look at the events in detail.

1. Firstly - Mary initiates this. She does not ask Jesus to do something – she draws his attention to a need. His response was “My time had not yet come”. It sounds as if he is not yet ready to act.

I don’t know if any of you have the ‘fix-it’ gene. In my case it manifests itself as a conviction that I can fix most problems, if only I work hard enough.

Like all personality traits, it is positive at one end of the scale – it means I have sometimes succeeded at things that other people wouldn’t even try. At other times it a failing when I try to interfere with things that are legitimately ‘SEP’ – Someone Else’s Problem, or tell people how to solve their problems when they are perfectly capable of fixing them for themselves. I pray constantly for the wisdom to tread the fine line between the two, and I know that, had I been in Mary’s shoes I would have been tempted to be advising Jesus how to tread grapes by this time in the story.

Yet Mary, far from saying, “Get on with it”, or starting to tread grapes herself, simply asks the servants to obey her son.

When we pray, how often do we tell God what we want the answer to be? How often are we willing to accept the ‘not yet’ message and still say, ‘your will be done’, and to wait in faith? Mary’s faith and wisdom is rewarded when Jesus asks the servants to act.

2. Jesus tells the servant what to do, and they do it, to the best of their ability. The water jars are filled to the brim – no short measures.

There is no meanness in the actions of those who are following these orders, the generosity starts with the servants’ response to Jesus call.

3. Finally, after faith, waiting and obedience, God acts, and the results are better and more generous that anyone could have imagined (except, maybe, his mother.)

This miracle had a purpose beyond providing wine to a wedding party. It revealed Jesus’ glory and we read that Jesus’ disciples put their faith in Jesus as a result.
It can also be a learning experience for us, with significant parallels to our own prayer lives, and I think it’s a good pattern for us to remember when we speak to God – highlight the need, be prepared to wait or to work to the best of our ability, to accept ‘your will be done’, and give God space to act.

Jesus not only refills the water jars – which on it’s own is OK, but it doesn’t move us forwards – he changes the nature of one of the elements of which this earth is made as he turns the water into wine. Wine contains a lot of water, but it isn’t just water. Jesus has come to change, to add to, to transform – not just water, but our lives. He transforms the ritual of purification into the reality of new life through faith in him.

We’ve looked at the water jars – the symbol of the old rituals, the way things were before.

We’ve looked at the way God works when we choose to be faithful, patient and obedient. We may have noticed that the result wasn’t what was expected, but was even better.

Finally, let’s look at the parallels with Jesus’ life.
It is the third day, and in his first public act; a fore-shadowing of the Easter story, Jesus turns water into wine.
Just as the party is nearly over.
Just as the good things seem to have run out.
God heard the need.
Gave us the best.
Gave in abundance.

He transforms the ritual of purification into the reality of new life through faith in him.

Wine in place of water?

When Jesus turns the water into wine, full to the brim, I think he is doing more than just meeting the immediate need of wedding guests. I think he is – at the start of his ministry - making a statement about who he is, and his purpose in coming. I think this is a message about refreshing, renewal, transformation and the power of God to meet our needs in a new and delightful way, as part of a celebration. Remember, this was a wedding feast. Could this be a foretaste of the heavenly banquet? “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb”(Revelation 19:9)

We can share in that now, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, through our faith in him, through our communion.

As a result of all of this, when we think the party is almost over, we can remember the water jars – their emptiness refilled, their contents transformed, we can remind ourselves that we don’t need to fix everything ourselves, but that if we go to God in prayer, and wait, expectantly, obediently, and give space to God to act, that we can also have hope that we too are invited to the wedding super of the lamb, we can be confident that the best is yet to come, the celebrations are just beginning.
Jesus’ disciples saw and had faith.

His actions call for a response.

What is our response to that today?