If you've ever been part of putting on a church supper and tried to guesstimate how many would be there, you know it can be a little hard on the nerves. Will there be enough? That's the primary question. And only slightly less stressful: will there be too much? I've seen a couple of events that came close to running out, but a quick run to the nearest store made things right.
This is a story about almost running out—but then the power and presence of Christ intervened to save the day.
In Biblical times a wedding was a huge social event. Some of us have been to weddings and receptions that were big parties, sometimes going on until the wee hours. But in the time of Jesus, weddings lasted up to a week. A good wedding was thought to be a reflection of the quality of the families, so people really wanted to make a good impression. A wedding festival poorly carried out would be remembered for a long time in the community, for all the wrong reasons. That's why running out of wine was a real crisis. It would have been humiliating to the young bride and groom and their parents. The party would have come to a crashing halt.
Mary was concerned. She wanted to help spare the couple this embarrassment, so she turned to her son. Now: mark this well. There was a problem, there was compassionate concern, and there was telling Jesus. Oh, we don't like problems: but living faithfully means problems are more than irritations—they are God's opportunities. If there hadn't been a problem, there wouldn't have been a miracle. And a miracle is God's gracious response to human need.
Mary turned to her son—and there is the whole core of the story. She turned to her son to express a real need. It wasn't necessarily a spiritual need. It wasn't a matter of life and death, or people hungry for lack of food, or a terrible illness. These are issues for prayer and action. This was an ordinary need of everyday people; it was, nevertheless, very real. So, there's a lesson here. We shouldn't hesitate to bring all sorts of needs to God. We don't have to judge if they are important enough for God. A lady of the English aristocracy once told C. S. Lewis, she didn't like to bother God with all the little things in her life. Lewis replied, Madame, do you really think there's anything in your life the Almighty would consider big? In other words, take it to the Lord in prayer. No matter how little, or how big. When in doubt, pray. Notice also, Mary stated the situation. With total simplicity, Mary said, "They're out of wine." That was enough. She didn't need to explain exactly how Jesus ought to solve the problem. She just needed to tell him about it. God's solutions are usually better, and other, than what we can think of. Maybe the best prayer is to state our concern and leave the rest to the Lord. Otherwise we might find ourselves in the position of saying, Lord, you responded to my need, but not the way I thought you should have. Can we think about putting our most pressing concerns in God's hands, and leaving the solution up to God?
Now notice Jesus says, it's not my time yet. We're not sure what this means. He might have meant, I don't want to reveal my identity except according to God's timetable. But Mary said to the servants, Just do whatever he tells you. It's another way of leaving it up to him. She's saying, I'm not in charge here. He is. But just do what he tells you. That's a pretty good definition of Christian discipleship. Do whatever he tells you. Lord, here am I. Send me. Where will the Lord send? Maybe to that person at work you can't stand—to try to heal the rift. But Lord, I thought there would be something bigger—more glamorous. Maybe it's to your friend or spouse—you've got to focus on the home front. I want to tell you a story. Early in our marriage Leslie and I had a crisis—but I was the last to know about it. It's a guy thing. We had moved up to Kalispell, Montana in December just in time for the worst winter we'd ever seen. We had rented a house that turned out to be basically a summer house on Flathead Lake. As the thermometer dipped below zero and stayed there for weeks, this house had ice forming on the inside of the window sills. We'd have to haul firewood in to the house to that it out before we could split it. And every day I'd drive the 20 miles into town. And Leslie stayed behind in this ice box of a house, with a one year old, up on a mountaintop. No TV either. No neighbors. A mountain lion or two. And I'd drive in to town and some days I'd just stay from 8 a.m. until 9 or 10 because I didn't want to drive back and forth for supper. Well, that was a tough winter. And I had an adjustment to make. Did I want to change, or did I want to lose my wife and family? I forgot that my primary ministry is to those God had called me to take care of. That spring we found a nice house in town—and it had central heating. Maybe we're neglecting the ordinary things, and that has to be fixed before we go on to do the big things.
Like everything in John's gospel, there are multiple levels of meaning. There were huge jars of water for the purification ritual. Commentators point out that these were way bigger than they needed to be—a total of 180 gallons. It's to show the spiritual abundance that will soon come. It's water not for drinking but for use in washing hands and dishes. Outward stuff. But then it was changed into wine. Not many people wash themselves in wine—although I've heard of champagne bubble baths. Wine is to be taken internally—and it brings about an inner change. The sign is clear—inner change, new person. Only—it's the wine of the Holy Spirit. This wine is spiritual—it brings joy and love. Would you have chosen this for your first miracle? I wouldn't. That's why I'm not the savior. Among many other reasons. But what a beautiful sign it is.
In our mission statement we say, "First Presbyterian Church is a lifeline for everyday people to find love and serve Jesus." We derive our calling for the church by what we know of Jesus. He's our model for this—he's THE lifeline. He saved the day at this long-ago wedding. In his name, we're to be a lifeline, too. We can change water into wine. We can alter the dynamics of a situation, bringing affirmation and hope. The caterers came to the bridegroom and said, You've served the best wine at the end. Usually they serve it up front, and then comes the cheap stuff. Isn't that amazing? Jesus did the miracle, but the bridegroom gets the glory. It is not recorded that Jesus came and said, Hey, I did that, not him. He wants to bless. He brings joy—he's not that interested in taking the credit. A great preacher once said, You can achieve almost anything you set your mind to—as long as you don't care who gets the credit.
But there's that other, mystical level of meaning that we find in this the fourth gospel. Jesus has saved the best for last. From outward to inward. From observance to celebration. The world had been waiting for that spirit. Still is. We have the gift. Let's grow in the gift. And let's share it, too. That's our calling. |
