I wonder if Jesus’ mother, Mary, is related to my mother, Elaine. When Mary comes to Jesus saying, “they’re running out of wine---you must do something!” I’m reminded of the many parties my parents hosted when I was young….the biggest worry leading up to those parties was whether or not there was enough food and drink---especially drink! Now, whenever I have people over, or have a wedding reception, I am stressed and worried that there won’t be enough.
Both my mom and I have a fear of scarcity, of there not being enough. But that’s not what was going on with Mary. You see, Mary’s always the smartest one in the room, the most intuitive, so when she says to Jesus—“you’ve got to do something, we’re running out of wine,” she wasn’t acting out of fear or face-saving, she just knew that it was time, time for her Son to live into the ministry he was born to do. Time for her son to take the old and turn it into the altogether new.
Jesus doesn’t think it’s his time, but Mary doesn’t really care what he thinks, she knows it’s time and he must act. So he does. Whether or not his time has come in his mind or not, Jesus’ ministry has begun.
But, because this is John’s Gospel, it just isn’t as clear as I’m making it sound. This Gospel is full of symbolism. Unlike Matthew, Mark and Luke; John makes no pretense that his Gospel is a straight-forward, historical narrative of the life and ministry of Jesus.
When reading John we must always remember that what’s presented is only part of the story, with John there’s always more symbolism than our brains can take on the first read through. It’s a little bit like reading William Faulkner or Toni Morrison. Or watching the TV show Lost.
In this Gospel, things are always different from how they seem, so it can be a bit tricky to figure out what John is getting at.
A prevailing theme for John is the dawning of a new age. To John, the coming of Jesus as the Messiah has changed the world from what it used to be into something altogether new.
This is why John prefers to use the word “signs” instead of “miracles.” The things Jesus did, like turning water into wine, were signs to the faithful that the way we experience God and the way God experiences us is now changed.
What Jesus did was not about an obedient son reluctantly doing what his mother asked; nor was it about Jesus making sure the host of the wedding was not embarrassed by the wine running out, nor was it about making sure those attending the party were able to keep drinking.
What’s really significant in this story is that the water is special water. It’s water that’s been set aside for the Jewish purification rites. It’s there for the people to use for washing. But it wasn’t about being sanitary or comfortable. This washing was a religious ceremony; a ritual cleansing in order to go before the Lord during the wedding feast. In this sign Jesus takes the old- the ritual bath water- and turns it into the new- fresh wine.
It’s important to realize that this is not an anti-semitic reading---Jesus didn’t take the bad or the wrong and turn it into the good and the right! He did not take the useless and turn it into the useful. He took good things from the past and transformed them, changed them, into other good things for the future.
On this annual meeting Sunday we ask, where have we been and where are we going? Or to expand the metaphor of this gospel: What’s our water that Jesus has come to turn into wine? What are the good things from our past that can be changed into good things for our future?
[GOOD SHEP: We continue a very steady growth. We have lots of children in our midst, our Sunday School program is thriving. How else can we serve the young families of our parish and in our neighborhood? Would some of the older couples in the parish like to engage in a parenting support group, sharing the wisdom of years with the younger members? Do we want to have more intergenerational events? How shall we engage the new demographic taking hold here?
We are at a crossroads with the Elam Jewett Café, it may or may not re-open. If it doesn’t re-open what will we do with that space? If it does re-open how can we do more to support this effort? As we look at our role in the greater community, what can we do to make a bigger difference in this city? We’ve expanded the hours of the Food Pantry, how do we get more of us involved in this major outreach effort? What else can be done? How else can we be the Body of Christ, the Light of Christ in our neighborhood, our city, our state, our country, our world?]
[ASCENSION: We have new parishioners, people who have started to attend here over the past two years who are taking on more leadership roles. Some of our long-time leaders appear ready to hand over the reins…but this transition can be difficult. New leaders may do ---new leaders will--do things differently. Are we ready to let some new people try some new things? Can we let go of the old water and allow it to be turned into new wine? It’s tough to do, but it is vital to our future.]
The new age brought by Jesus the Christ is an ongoing age of transformation and growth.
We’re not the people we once were; nor are we the people we will someday become.
We’re in a state of fluidity; we’re water being changed into wine.
We have choices, as individuals and as communities of faith. We can face the future's changes with fear of scarcity and resistance to change; or, we can embrace them with abundant faith and overflowing excitement.
Either way, change is going to happen, the new age is upon us, the water is beginning to change, and whether we’re ready for it or not, whether we think the time has come or not, God is smack dab in the middle of it all: past, present and future.
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