A vicar was pulled over for driving erratically. The police officer thought he could smell alcohol on his breath. The vicar said, "But all I've had to drink is half of this bottle of water." The officer looked at the bottle and said, "That's a bottle of wine!" "Praise the Lord!" said the vicar, "He's done it again!" The story of the turning of the water into wine does look, on the surface of it, like Jesus was just mucking around with the laws of nature for a relatively trivial reason, but, to my knowledge, Jesus never did that. His miracles were either acts of compassion towards those in great need, or they were things that Jesus did to teach people something - sort of visual aids that people would never, never forget.
Our gospel reading said that the first miracle that Jesus did - the turning of the water into wine - "revealed his glory" - it was an epiphany - which is why we have it at this time of year. The gospel writer is telling us with this phrase, "Look harder at this - it is not just an amazing occurrence - it tells you something deeper about who Jesus is - it reveals his glory." He even uses a different word than the usual Greek word for a miracle. He called the turning of the water into wine a 'sign'. A miracle is just amazing - a sign says something, or points somewhere. We are supposed to look deeper at this story to find out something about Jesus - it is a sign.
Turning water into wine wasn't just about, "Let's have a party!" and Abracadabra! There it was. Though I'm sure the embarrassed hosts at the wedding were grateful for it. It is also about what Jesus does, or can do, to our lives. Jesus is sort of setting out a manifesto with this first miracle, saying, "This is what my ministry will be about - turning your lives from water into wine."
Now water is good - it sustains life - but it's not much of a drink for a celebration. The gospel of John says again and again in many different ways that Jesus can turn your life from mere existence into a celebration - into something much richer and fuller. Elsewhere he says things like, "I have come that you may have life... in all its fullness - life abundant." The phrase he uses most is 'eternal life'. Jesus wants to give us eternal life. By which he doesn't mean ordinary life, but just going on forever - he means life with an eternal quality. Yes, you can exist without Jesus, but why would you want to?! He offers to make our lives into what God first intended then to be - far more than just existence - a joyful celebration and a sharing in the life of God - life eternal - life abundant!
There's also a sub-text here as well. This is what Jesus intends to do to religion and the part it plays in our lives. The reading particularly draws attention to the water that was used for the miracle. It is water in special jars set there for Jewish ritual washing before eating. The water is a picture standing for ritual and religion. Now we all know that can be pretty stale at times - pretty flat and bland - like water. So many won't come to church because they feel they get little out of it. Particularly the young complain that it's 'boring' - it's like water. Frankly religion without Jesus is boring! But when Jesus is at the heart of our worship we experience it differently.
In the situation where Jesus performed the sign the wine had run out. What had once been richer and more satisfying had run out and now was bland - the life - the sparkle - had gone from it. Most of us go through phases like that. Even though our faith once seemed so exciting, so meaningful, was full of so much promise - sometimes the wine seems to run out for us - it all goes flat and bland and doesn't seem to speak to us anymore.
That's the time to call in Jesus - to invite Jesus to the party - bring it to him and he will not just restore it, but make it better than it ever was before. Sometimes we get the image that being Christians involves not having any fun! But the wine Jesus created was far superior to what the guests had been drinking before. Life abundant - he is saying. And also Jesus is saying that the approach to belief in God he is bringing, when you taste it, is far better than anything that went before - God has saved the best wine until now.
But in what way can our lives become richer when we give them to Jesus? In some ways it's a bit like adding salt to a meal. Jesus himself used the image salt - saying the Kingdom of God was like salt. If you don't add too much you don't taste the salt itself but it brings out the flavours of the food that are already there. What Jesus does is make the experience of life more intense - richer - fuller. To change the image to make the same point... You know that sometimes when you look into your garden, or at a particular view that you're familiar with, you don't really see it - it's just there - it exists, but so what? But at other times you can look at exactly the same scene and be full of wonder at the colours, the way the light falls, the life you see - you see beauty. Actually that seeing anew with wonder is pretty much what the word 'epiphany' means. Well that, I think, is what Jesus can do to all of life, if we invite him in to it - as if he were a guest at the wedding. He turns life from mere existence - something that is just there, but so what? - into something wonderful, something beautiful, something full of meaning.
But this life abundant that Jesus offers isn't - or shouldn't be - just something passive. It's not just about experiencing things differently - it also ought to affect the way we live. Life abundant doesn't just consist of giving the same old life a richer flavour - it has practical out-workings. And that is what St Paul was talking about in our first reading from the letter to the Romans. He lists off some of the differences being a Christian ought to make to our lives - some of the flavours, if you like, in the wine.
He starts talking about having gifts that God gives us and using them. 'Prophesying', for example, is about speaking out the new meaning we see in things - not just keeping the wine to ourselves. If our gift is ministering to others, use it - if it's teaching others, giving, leadership, showing mercy - these gifts should be used to the glory of God. But mostly it's all about sincere love - genuine love for one another. That is the flavour of Jesus.
If Jesus has transformed our lives from water to wine, that ought to affect the way we live. Paul talks about brotherly love, honouring others above ourselves - putting others interests over our own - being 'joyful in hope' - that is looking at things optimistically - being patient in affliction (he doesn't say we'll be spared affliction, but that we'll be able to be patient and loving in the midst of it) - being faithful in prayer - that is mindful of God - and, of course, giving to and caring for those in need. We should live in harmony with one another - not focussing on the things we disagree over. We should not be proud or conceited but willing to associate with the lowly - not treating the better off better because they can return the favour, but treating all equally.
There's quite a list there - the point being that the life in all its fullness that Jesus offers involves living differently so that our own lives become signs to others. Our own lives become a sort of miraculous visual aid - they say something and point somewhere - they point to Jesus and the difference he makes. Our own lives can start to be epiphanies - they can 'reveal his glory'.
