Water turned into wine - a description of Life in Christ

 

Sunday 24^th January – Epiphany 3

Genesis 14: 17-20. We have two of my favourite, most enigmatic Bible readings today. The first one centres on Melchizedek the priest-king of Salem (Jerusalem) the “priest of God most high” who brought Abram bread and wine and Abram pays him homage by tithing his possessions. Melchizedek has always been seen as a pre-figuring of Jesus Christ and the next time his name appears in in the new testament book of Hebrews where Jesus Christ’s priesthood is likened to that of Melchizedek

Revelation 19: 6-10. The church is the “bride of Christ” at the final consummation when all will be revealed. Another notable tenet here is the injunction to worship God alone which reinforces the original impulse of the first two of the ten commandments.

John 2: 1-11. My other favourite story today is the wedding feast at Cana. This acted parable is the entire gospel encapsulated into one beautiful story. It is the first and key-note sign to which all other signs in John’s gospel refer back to. Note that John never uses the term miracle but always calls them signs. John does that because they are signs that point to a greater truth rather than just a collection of spectacular happenings.

 

Turning water into wine is the first and key-note sign in John’s gospel and the sign that every other sign refers back to because it encapsulates everything that the gospel brings to a human life.

The water of your very existence will be transformed into rich intoxicating wine when Christ is fully engaged with your life.

And that this is a new thing – a fresh revelation – that builds on the legacy of Israel – Christ doesn’t ditch it but fulfils it.

When it happened. This wedding feast happens on the third day. Those are the opening words of this story. What else can you think of in Christianity that happened on the third day? The wedding feast at Cana is a picture of the new reality revealed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ

All the symbolism is there for those with eyes to see and perceive;

The wedding scene itself is a time-honoured way of symbolising the marriage of earth and heaven which is where this story points towards.

The six water jars for ritual washing share a two-fold symbolic function. They represent the imperfection of the old covenant and the Temple cult – the ritual washing – and the fact there were six of them is also symbolic because the number in Hebrew numerology that represents perfection is seven and the fact that there are six ritual washing jars tells us that the old covenant was imperfect.

Even the sharp way Jesus talks to his mother casts Mary in the role of representing old Israel and Jesus ushering in new perspective and appreciation of God life and the world.  “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?” is a device meant to draw a distinction between what went before and the new thing that is going to happen when Jesus transforms Judaism by fulfilling its promises – setting some distance in the story between the old and the new.

The message is clear.

On the third day, rejoicing in the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit of resurrection life fills every aspect of our seeing and doing thus transforming every aspect of our lives.

On the third day the ritualism of the Temple – represented by the six water jars – is transformed into the Christ filled Eucharist. The imperfect Jewish temple cult is being fulfilled in Christ.

We need to inhabit that same spirit of Christ that transforms water into wine to help us to see this story in a fresh and life giving way.

It raises the story from being a prosaic neat trick at a family celebration to being a much larger symbol of the life transforming nature of the gospel itself.

That‘s the reason John’s gospel never calls any of these events miracles but signs. A miracle can be just a flashy surprising event that makes a big splash but has little lasting effect but a sign is a signpost pointing the way to something much more profound and life-changing.  

One of the things revealed is that Christ can be apprehended and experienced through and in the ordinary stuff of life, through beauty and art, through life and love, through pain and suffering, through water and oil through bread and wine.

This is a new way of perceiving everything in Christ that enigmatically and beautifully described here in this key-note sign of John’s gospel is the gospel in miniature. It holds the power of life for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.  

In John’s famous words in chapter one of his gospel he explains the universal and eternal nature of God made manifest in Jesus of Nazareth and that believing in him makes us “children of God”.

Chapter two seeks to tell us what that means – what effect that information has on our lives and outlook.

The Spirit of Christ transforms our lives which is exactly the point of the mission, ministry and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus preached “Repent – change your whole being – because the kingdom of God is at hand.”