01.18.04 - When the Wine Runs Out (John 2:1-11)

When the Wine Runs Out
John 2:1-11
January 18, 2004
St. John United Methodist Church
David Beckett, D.Min.

People think I’m weird. At least some people do. My teenage children for example. Most people think I’m weird when they hear me tell them I often prefer funerals over weddings. You heard me right. More times than not, I get more out of memorial services than wedding services. A retiring minister who, in his farewell remarks to the conference, confessed that after 35 years of ministry, the first person saved under his preaching has backslidden. The first persons married under his ministry have divorced. But the first person he buried has stayed there.

All kidding aside, the reason has to do with authenticity. It has been my experience that people are far more real and vulnerable and open to God when grieving a loved one than when involved in a wedding. There are exceptions of course. I have officiated some weddings that were pure delight for me. And I remember a few funerals where family members were already fighting over the inheritance.

In my 24 years of officiating weddings I have witnessed shifts in wedding customs. I’ve seen the advent of the unity candle which is still used today, although it’s not as popular as it once was. Most couples no longer want to be introduced as Mr. and Mrs., followed by the man’s last name. And rarely do people dress up for the rehearsal anymore.

An engaged couple met with their pastor to plan their wedding. The pastor asked, "Do you wish me to perform the contemporary service or the traditional service?" The couple agreed that they preferred the contemporary service. On the day of the wedding there was a tremendous thunderstorm. The groom was running a bit late and couldn’t find a parking place close to the church. Finally, he decided to park in the midst of a large puddle. He rolled up his pant legs and tiptoed through the water. Upon entering the church he was immediately ushered to the front and stood next to the pastor. Just as the bride was beginning to walk down the aisle the pastor leaned over and said, "Son, you need to pull your pants down." The young groom was quite flustered by the request and whispered to the pastor, "Pastor, I've changed my mind, I think we would prefer the traditional service!"

Just about all the weddings I have officiated were traditional, but I do remember a few non-traditional events in some of those weddings. During rehearsals when putting on the rings I usually tell the couple to slide the ring and stop at the knuckle. It can be hard to push a ring over someone else’s knuckle. During one very formal service in a large sanctuary I gave the woman’s ring to the groom. He took his bride’s hand and we both were surprised to see two words inked onto the brides knuckle. She had written, "Stop here." No one else in the congregation understood why the groom and I were laughing.

At the end of another wedding in the same church I followed the wedding party down the aisle. The bride’s garter had slipped off and fell to the chancel steps. I picked it up and in full view of the entire congregation impulsively twirled it with my finger. Hey, we all need reasons to look back and laugh at some things on our wedding days, don’t we?

Like this wedding. It was that tender moment when the bride and groom kissed. That’s when the bride's five-year-old brother, the ring bearer, let out with a "YUK!" The congregation was on the floor laughing. As people left that afternoon, the place glowed with everyone's grins. And in years to come, when people think of that wedding, the one thing they will remember is YUK!

In our gospel story for today we have Jesus attending a wedding in Cana. In all four gospels, whenever Jesus is around food, we are put on alert that something holy is about to happen. Jesus uses the banquet as a metaphor to describe how God dramatically reverses the religious and social status quo. He eats with religious and social outcasts. He changes forever the meaning of bread and wine the night before his death. And he amazed thousands by feeding them all with only a few loaves and bread and fish.

The wedding banquet at Cana is no exception to this holiness alert. The decision to highlight the wedding banquet at Cana is John’s way of signaling us that from the very outset of his earthly ministry, Jesus is the Christ whose every activity must be understood in relation to his glory and messianic mission. As far as John is concerned, it is not surprising that the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs takes place at a wedding banquet. Indeed, considering the messianic symbolism throughout the Bible connected to wedding banquets, it would be surprising if Jesus did not do something miraculous like change water into wine.
The Jews attached great importance to the high moments of life. So a wedding was not just a brief ceremony, but an experience shared by the entire community. The typical wedding feast could last up to seven days. We’re not sure how long this wedding reception in Cana had been happening, but we are told that the wine gave out. Usually the better wine was served first at Galilean wedding receptions. This makes sense, when you think about it. You serve the good wine first, when the palate is fresh and expectant. After a few pints, who cares? Both the guests and their taste buds are dull, and the cheap stuff can be brought out.

But to run out of wine before it is time….that was an unforgettable hospitality indiscretion that would have caused humiliation for the host. If the problem was not hastily fixed it could have been a social disaster.

For whatever reason, Mary, Jesus’ mother, got involved in the wine problem. We don’t know why. Maybe it was the wedding of a relative. Maybe Mary thought that marriages were worth celebrating. We can almost hear Mary saying, "Don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to my son. He can fix anything." So Mary tells Jesus, "They’re out of wine." Jesus replies "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?" In other words, "Cry me a river," or "Why don’t you tell that to someone who cares?"

I have to tell you that Jesus’ response is surprising coming from the Messiah. But it’s not surprising coming from someone like me. This is one of the images of Jesus I appreciate. Here’s a case when Jesus appears very human, like me. Take my role as a father, for example. My kids used to walk into the kitchen and announce, "I’m hungry!" And they would look at me with a face that says, "Feed me!" My response is like Jesus’. "Okay, so you’re hungry. So what? It’s okay to be hungry!"

But Jesus’ heart softens and he performs a miracle. Fill six large ceramic jars with water. Dip a cup. Take the cup to the wedding coordinator. Let him taste. Suddenly there were 120 to 180 gallons of excellent wine. That was no doubt enough wine for the rest of the reception.

Certainly the guests tasted the quality improvement. They speculated: "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now" (v. 10).

So what does all this mean? It means that the wedding at Cana is where Jesus "revealed his glory," and where the disciples first "believed in him."

So what does all this mean to us? It means that if Jesus can change water into wine, he can change us, too. This is a miracle of transformation. As one wife put it after her alcoholic husband encountered the transforming power of the resurrected Christ, "Jesus changed beer into furniture." That is, money that had been spent on beer was now being spent on the family.

The miracle is that Jesus can turn the sour into the sweet. Jesus can turn bitterness into peace. Jesus can turn hatred into love. Jesus can turn anger into joy. But it won’t be the wine that will give you these things.
Nobel Prize author Ernest Hemmingway was a person who lived to the fullest. Here was a man who enjoyed the wine of life. But there came a day when the wine ran out. On a bright Sunday morning he ended his life at the end of a shotgun he used to kill pigeons.

What are you going to do when the wine runs out? What are you going to do when your youthful looks disappear? What are you going to do when that source of luxury spending money dries up? What are you going to do when your source of external pleasure and fun shuts down?

The good news of Jesus is that if we place our faith and trust in him today, life will be full and sweet. The good news of Jesus is that we don’t have to depend on drugs or alcohol to enjoy life. The good news of Jesus is that we can drink the sweet wine of God’s love from a vessel that will never run out. This is the wine our souls truly crave. May we all be in touch with this craving.

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