Our Story
"Water and Wine"
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In this edition of Our Story a Local Preacher from the Circuit considers Jesus's first miracle - the Wedding at Cana.
Scripture Text: John 2: 1-12
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I love a good story, I particularly enjoy stories that have the concept of magic in them. The idea of summoning creatures, throwing fireballs, lightning bolts, moving objects, reading minds, potions and then a little thing called Alchemy. The idea of transforming something into something else, there’s something wondrous about that, something new, something purifying.
The wedding at Cana, is a lovely moment in the gospel narrative, it’s early on, it’s a rare glimpse of Jesus interacting with his mother and there’s even a comedic element to it, Mary the knowing mother tells Jesus there’s no more wine, gets the equivalent of “and?” in response as if to say I’m not doing anything about it, and then Mary in that way that mothers do tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says, she knows her son she knows he’s going to do something. So what does Jesus do? He turns water into wine, now calling this a purification may seem a little weird because water is the purifying element but consider it in a different light, consider it in the context of everything that we know, why would wine purify water? Think about the symbolism at play, the wine – the blood that will one day cleanse the world, it’s a foreshadowing of what is to come isn’t it? This is a huge hint at the last supper, it’s a huge hint at Good Friday. This is almost like saying “This is who I am.” Without speaking a word.
Take it that step further, saving the best for last – it’s a logical thought, often seen in the world of sport around relay events, save your strongest athlete for the final leg, that’s the winning formula, and again even this sentiment is wrapped up in the foretelling, in the words of Gandalf the Grey “A wizard is never late Frodo Baggins, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.” Well apply that here, the Messiah isn’t late, nor early but right on time. But here again see the transformative nature of plans of strategy see the symbolism, the Messiah, the wine, the blood in place of the water, the destructive element of the flood. Now it’s what might be called Covenant season, at least as the son of a Methodist minister that’s what January always becomes, so again we hark to the promise destruction, removed from the equation and replaced with redemption.
Amen