Sermon for 2004 January 18, Matins, St Mary Magdalen, Sheet

Bible readings: Isaiah 62:1-5, John 2:1-11

The story of the wedding at Cana in Galilee, when Jesus turned the water into wine, carries a lot on its shoulders. There are so many messages, so many lessons, so many ways in which this passage of Scripture has been used – and I don’t mean that in any negative way. First of all it’s the story of a wedding and so it indicates Jesus’ special blessing on the institution of marriage, so that it is mentioned in the marriage service that this was the occasion of his first miracle and therefore an endorsement of marriage – perhaps particularly important as we have no indication that Jesus himself ever married.

Maybe he never married, but John the Baptist referred to him as the bridegroom, which is also behind our reading from Isaiah who says as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. And Jesus in providing the wine is doing the job of the bridegroom, when the first one has let his guests down.

Then of course it’s the turning of water into wine, not making someone well but simply ensuring people’s enjoyment, with all that implies. Jesus believed in having fun, in feasting as well as fasting. You may remember that on Christmas Day I mentioned this story to show that Jesus didn’t disapprove of alcoholic drinks – which is a relief!

But there’s more. The wine came from water jars which were used for Jewish purification rites, and by turning this water into good wine Jesus highlighted what was to become a favourite theme – that the Jewish rituals of cleansing were an inadequate answer to the evils of the world.

Then again there is the special place of Jesus’ mother, Mary, and the enigmatic statement Jesus made when he said – and this is actually somewhat gentler than most English translations – "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." Was this "hour" referring to a little while, when it was the right time to do the miracle? Or was it the "hour" of his suffering and death, because three times in John’s gospel Jesus says "my hour has not yet come" and three times he says "the hour has come" as the Cross looms larger.

And the story has a very important place in understanding the nature of miracles and of creation itself. One of the few times I can remember almost feeling my brain being churned about was when someone asked "so this was a good wine Jesus made – so what was its vintage? How old was it?" I realised that if someone could have dated that wine scientifically on that day it would have turned out to be several years old, even though it had been created only hours ago. So how old is the universe?

So there are six important things to read into these eleven short verses. And I don’t feel I can really do justice to any of them. I’d actually like to talk about a seventh message from the story – perhaps a bit of a sideways look, but something I have found very helpful when trying to understand the miracles Jesus performed. You see the sceptics about miracles do tend to portray Jesus as some kind of magician, seeking to draw attention to himself by pulling a hyrax out of a head-dress as it were. "Here are six perfectly ordinary water jars – come and taste. Now before your very eyes I am going to turn this water into wine. (Trumpet blast) Now sir, would you come up and take this glass. Now dip it in,…" etc.etc. This is absolutely not what happened. The way in which Jesus performed this miracle was the complete antithesis of the classic conjuring trick.

First there was his reticence. However you read his words to Mary, it’s clear he didn’t say "I’ll be right with you". He waited for the right moment.

Then there’s the fact that he was meeting a need. Not feeding the hungry or healing the sick on this occasion, but by all accounts a wedding without wine would be pretty unthinkable.

But thirdly, and this I found most inspiring, is the involvement of other people. Not as spectators, not as assistants from the audience, but as genuine helpers and partakers in Jesus’ miraculous work. First there’s Mary herself, seeing the need, gently requesting and faithfully instructing the servants. And the servants, who did as Jesus asked them with Mary’s prompting, and knew where the wine had come from. Then there was the chief steward, completely oblivious to what was going on, wondering why the bridegroom had kept the good wine back for so long. And finally the merry guests including Jesus’ disciples, not just spectators of the miracle but participants by drinking this wonderful wine. Jesus was not showing off his magical powers in some kind of vacuum, he was involving everyone present. He chose to need others, and he doesn’t change. He chooses to need us for his working of miracles – we are not bystanders but participants. It’s as if we too are being told, "Do whatever he tells you", or maybe we’re taking Mary’s part in encouraging others to listen to him. If we obey in the simple act of drawing water at his request, we too may expect to go to our friends bearing rich, golden, fragrant cups of wine. And we can wake every day thankful that he has saved the best of what he has to offer for us as his invited guests.

It’s a delicious irony that while Jesus was performing this wonderful miracle in a very humble way by involving everyone and not seeking any glory for himself, John tells us that in doing so he "revealed his glory". He did do that, not as a conjuring trick but by revealing his true glory as God the Creator who gently and yet outrageously meets the needs and desires of his people.

I’d like to leave you with the words of a favourite songwriter of mine, Michael Card. These words make a prayer which will be my closing prayer:

Lord of light, O come to this wedding;
Take the doubt and darkness away.
Turn the water of lifeless living
to the wine of gladness we pray.
Mother Mary gently requesting
that you might do whatever you can.
Though she may be impatient, she loves you;
and so she asks what she can’t understand.
So amidst the laughter and feasting
there sits Jesus full with the fun.
He has made [us] wine because he is longing
for a wedding that’s yet to come.
Lord of light, O come to this wedding;
Take the doubt and darkness away.
Turn the water of lifeless living
to the wine of gladness we pray.

© Mike Knee, 2004