John 2:1-11
We’re in the season of Epiphany when we celebrate the many ways that Jesus, his teaching and his living, are light to the world. We’ve left our Advent lanterns on the altar to remind us that the light of God shows us the way in our journey through life. People who knew Jesus in the first century believed that God’s light was clearly visible in him, and they told stories about how and why they came to believe he was The Way – creating a new community of people who lived under God’s rule in spite of also living under Roman Empire.
Today’s story comes from the Gospel of John. John’s gospel was the last one written of the four which are in our scriptures. That gave him the advantage of perspective over time. It meant that the meaning of Jesus has been considered by many different groups of his followers by the time John wrote about it. It also removes him somewhat from the immediacy of Jesus’ life. Our life stories improve over time, and John’s Jesus stories were refined to make his point about Jesus’ importance. John’s gospel is organized around fewer, longer stories from Jesus’ life, each one being a “sign” that Jesus is the Messiah, the founder of God’s new reign among the people. The story of the wedding at Cana is the first “sign.” Its purpose is to show that Jesus was able to work miracles because he had great power given by God.
John wants us to believe in the power of Jesus, so he shows him doing powerful things. He turns water into wine – a skill many people have longed for over the centuries. In many stories John shows that Jesus has authority and power over the natural world, able to heal, cast out demons and manipulate reality (water into wine) because he wants people to know that Jesus has more power and authority than the Empire. The Empire is in charge of people’s external world, but behind the scenes, Jesus and God are really in charge. John is writing in a time before much scientific discovery when people thought most of what happened in the natural world happened at the whims of the gods. When we hear miracle stories, we are scientifically skeptical in ways they were not. These stories aren’t about HOW Jesus was able to do these things. They were about his power to change life.
So we need to hear these stories mystically, not scientifically. How can we identify with the power Jesus wields in this story? How does “real life” Jesus give us hope as we read this particular story about his life?
This Jesus lives in relationship. He’s gone to the multi-day wedding celebration of a friend. He brought his friends – his new disciples – with him. His family is there. He gets irritated with his mother for asking him to fix the wine problem, and for assuming he’ll do it, even when he said he would not. And then he does. This feels like real family. How much do we love all our relatives, and how irritating can they be at times? Remember that John’s audience was people who followed Jesus in the first century who formed family groups. They ate together, talked about life together, looked out for each other. They took turns bringing the wine for dinner. This story reminds us that there’s strength in community. Jesus connected people and he still connects people today. We gather because we share a commitment to his teaching and his way of living. There’s power in the people together.
This Jesus knew how to have a good time. He came to the party. He made great wine to keep the party going. This story probably isn’t about drinking gallons of wine, but it is about finding joy in being together. It’s about celebrating milestones – weddings, births, new houses, finding lost coins and lost sons. Jesus people in the first century lived hard lives, but that didn’t keep them from having a good time together. Jesus is in favor of joy, wherever you can find it. Just being together is a good place to find joy.
This Jesus worked with what he had. There wasn’t wine, but there were six big jars standing empty. He told the people standing around to fill them up. That was a big job, drawing that much water from the village well. It took time and they had to work together. When they were done with all that work, whatever was in those jars, water or wine, would have tasted cool and cold and sweet. A friend of mine in Seattle used to say whenever we had coffee, “Toothpicks and water is a feast among friends.” You take what you’ve got and you enjoy it. These days we’re inclined to think any new idea needs to become a program, find grant funding, meet goals and objectives. I like it when Jesus’ people just do things with what they’ve got because something needs to be done. Family of God is good at that. It’s one of my favorite things about us.
This Jesus believed that God was at the heart of everything good that was happening. If friends gathered for a wedding, God was with them. If they found more wine, God helped them. If someone needed healing or feeding or loving, God was in that healing and feeding and loving. The people who followed Jesus also believed that God was in the thick of whatever they were able to do for one another. That’s a good way to see the world. Yes, there’s much that’s broken, but God is stirring the pot to bring healing through the community. When we care for each other, God is in the caring. When we help strangers, God is in the helping. When we extend welcome or encouragement or compassion, God is in that.
John wants us to know that Jesus matters as much, even more, than Empire. People experienced the difference Jesus made by coming together in community and caring for each other in the way he showed them to care. It changed their lives and it changed their world. It still is. We are the Family of God and Jesus is in the heart of our life together. With him, we are bringing the love of God to heal the world.