John 2:1-11

Poured Out for You!

            Every now and then, I see a recipe online for some famous restaurant dish. It claims to copy the restaurant’s recipe exactly so you don’t have to go out to said restaurant to enjoy the delicious taste of their food. Of course, you know whenever I try to make it... it just doesn’t taste the same. Whether it be the different ingredients, that it was prepared a different way, or the fact that I’m not a trained chef, the fact remains that the only place I can experience the taste of that food is at the place that makes it. And you know, it doesn’t always have to be a restaurant recipe. Yes, I’m sure we’ve all had that experience of tasting something that was the most delicious, melt in your mouth dish ever. We enjoy it while it’s before us, but what happens as soon as it’s gone? It doesn’t really take all that long for that taste and experience to slip away from us... before we even become hungry again. And like I said at the start, there’s often no substitute. We can’t easily replicate it... or the other issue is that it loses its charm pretty quickly. This is just a part of life, we come to learn, that food satisfies for but a moment. No matter how well fed we are, we’ll be hungry and thirsty again soon. 

            In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is invited to a wedding feast. No, the focus isn’t necessarily on the food, but rather the drink, the wine. And no, it’s not that it’s so great that people can’t get enough of it. Rather, the problem we’ll see is that there ends up being no wine whatsoever. An issue that may seem so small to us, though, points us to a larger reality, just as the answer that seems so small a thing also points us to a greater truth. As we join Jesus in the wedding feast, let us come to learn these greater things. For the answer we seek today is to:

TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD!

I.

            Jesus had only recently made his appearance on the scene. That is, this is so early in his ministry that many people are still unaware of who he is. Jesus had already called his first disciples as we’re told that they’re with him. But otherwise, Jesus hasn’t done anything to make a big splash. It’s noteworthy though that Jesus attends this wedding as he shows his approval of God’s holy institution of marriage. By simply coming, Jesus wants us to know how much God approves and blesses this holy estate. Yet, as we continue reading, there’s something that goes wrong in this particular case, as we read, “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.” John 2:3. Now, we must understand some of the cultural backdrop of this statement. Something that seems so little to us meant a whole lot more to them. To have no wine at this feast was assumed to be a divine condemnation or rebuke of the marriage. To have no wine meant that the community would ostracize the couple because they failed to gain God’s favor. To have no wine meant that this marriage was doomed to fail from the very beginning. Yes, the lack of wine was a pretty big deal for the couple and a sign of their future together which wasn’t looking promising.

            Notice who intervenes though. It’s not the bridegroom. It’s not the family (though we don’t entirely know if there was some familial connection with Mary). It’s Jesus’ mother... Mary. She petitions Jesus for the sake of the couple... and why is that? Maybe she just cares about the couple. Or maybe it’s because Mary alone knows who Jesus is and what he’s capable of. For so Jesus responds to Mary, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you,” John 2:4-5. Despite its appearance, Jesus isn’t being disrespectful to his mother. He’s a grown man who doesn’t need his mother’s supervision. Even so, Mary persists. And so, Jesus does. He tells the servants to fill the larger barrels with water and once filled, draw a cup from it and take it to the master of the feast. Then we hear, “When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine...the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now,” John 2:9-11. Jesus blesses this gather and holy estate not only with his presence, but also his first miracle.

II.

            Of course, we know that no miracle of Jesus is such a small thing even if it may seem that way. For the problem of the wedding feast isn’t just that there’s no wine. The lack of wine is rather a sign of the larger issue we all face... one of hunger and thirst. The ground which yields us it’s increase has been corrupted because of our sin. The fall of our parents in the flesh has left us with a limited amount of food and drink. The sustenance of our bodies is left to meager rations. Yes, the problem of sin looms over all of our doings, even food, drink, and in marriage. There’s nothing that sin hasn’t touched and corrupted. The lack of wine was a sign of something else also. Not only does it remind us of the stain of sin in our lives... it also reminds us that this is no longer paradise. For all Jews knew the expectation of the heavenly, eschatological banquet. As Isaiah foretells, “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married,” Isaiah 62:4. Every day that food runs out. Every day that we grow hungry and thirsty again, is another day that tells us it’s not yet the heavenly feast. 

            But dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is also the great truth we should come to see through this miracle also. In Cana, Jesus was but a simple guest. He was invited and through his grace, he blesses the wedding feast. But today, Jesus isn’t a simple guest. Rather, he’s the host and feast. Here on the altar, Christ comes to us, inviting us to join in his wedding feast. Yes, in holy communion, God brings you to the table that you may eat of the feast that has no end... the very body and blood of Jesus. Here, it’s not water turned wine, but the blood of Jesus poured out for you on the cross. Bread is not simple bread, but also the body of Christ sacrificed for all of your sins. Like the miracle in Cana, let us see this great sign that our Lord does in our midst and believe... be strengthened in faith. As Jesus turns water to wine, his disciples believe in him, so as he transforms this meager food into a holy feast, may we also believe in Jesus.

            Come to the table and taste and see that the Lord is good. He has blessed the holy estate of marriage with his presence and miracle, but he also blesses us as he marries his holy bride, the Church, you and me, and brings us to his table, that we may eat and be satisfied unto eternity! In Jesus’ name! Amen!