We Ran Out of Wine!

Rev. Debbie Cato
Isaiah 63:1-5 and John 2:1-11
Fairfield Community Church
January 19, 2025 

Holy God, we need the guidance of your Word. Help us be honest with ourselves and with you about our need for your Word.  Use this message to speak deep into our hearts and then give us the courage to live as if we believe.  Amen.

We Ran Out of Wine!

 

 

Do you remember what it was like to receive communion during the

high safety protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic? Those pre-filled,

disposable communion cups with a piece of cardboard?  We were able

to take our masks off long enough to eat and drink and then they were

back on.  As sanitary as those pre-filled cups were, they never made me

feel as if I was attending the “joyful feast of the people of God.”

Separating the layer of protective foil from the cup took focused

concentration and nimble fingers; the reward of our efforts, a stale

wafer and an overly sweet sip of grape juice.

 

This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to contemplate Jesus’ ministry

through the miracle at the wedding in Cana. In the biblical tradition,

wine is a rich symbol of prosperity, abundance and good times. When

wine runs low during a wedding party, the host is in jeopardy of

appearing inhospitable — like they were too stingy for sufficient

supplies or secretly hoped everyone would leave early.

 

But Jesus, prompted by his mother, saves the party. Jesus instructs the

servants to fill six stone jars with water, which he promptly turns to

wine. So. much. wine. Enough for everyone at the party and then some.

And fine wine, no less. Not the cheap stuff. The guests are blown away

 by the extravagance. “The host saved the best for last!” they proclaim.

Writing about this first miracle, the Apostle John shows Jesus’

Ministry as abundant, and overflowing.  More than enough for all.

 

Two things are significant here: Jesus performed this miracle not to

raise the dead or heal the sick, but to nurture the joy of togetherness

and sustain human fellowship and connection. Jesus did not want the

wedding party to end.  And he did not want the host to be embarrassed

or shamed because he ran out of wine. 

 

We often find Jesus in the midst of a dinner, in the middle of a

gathering.  I can envision him smiling and laughing along with

everyone else.  Jesus is often the one who extends the invitation.  We

see him having fun.  Enjoying himself. Jesus loved getting to know

people. He was all about relationships.  He was all about joy.

 

The second thing I find significant is Jesus’ mother and the servants

were the only ones who witnessed Jesus’ miracle. The host didn’t even

know there was a problem.  He didn’t even know what Jesus did.  There

was no fanfare. Jesus did not make a big deal about it.  Jesus positions

himself with the servants. The hired help had the best vantage point

and the clearest, most illuminated perspective on this miracle. Besides

Jesus’ mother, they were the only ones who knew.  The first miracle of

Jesus’ ministry was witnessed by servants.

 

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus favors the company of the lowly. What

is that telling us – you and me whose seat at the table is more socially

privileged? What extravagant abundance of Jesus’ have we failed to

observe because we have what we need?

 

 

When we celebrated communion during the pandemic with the

disposable, pre-filled cups, nothing about that sterile communion felt

extravagant or abundant. Before this sanitary form of communion, our

churches could not even be together for worship. We gathered

communion elements individually from whatever was on hand in our

own kitchen, then blessed and consecrated our cookies and Coke

through a zoom screen.

 

I must admit that after that, receiving communion together, even while

observing high safety protocols, was a gift of abundant grace.

 

Today we are able to sit in community and see one another’s faces. We

approach the Lord’s Table, our maskless mouths free to eat the Bread

of Life and drink from the Cup of Salvation together as one body of

Christ.  Communion is a sacred experience. It can and should change

our perspective. No matter where we sit, no matter how we receive the

elements, the joyful feast of the people of God is miraculous and

extravagant.

 

What ministry of this church feels extravagant and abundant like Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding?  Are there things we can do to be an extravagant, abundant community of Christ followers?  Next Sunday afternoon is our annual meeting.  We will review all the ways God worked in us and through us during 2024.  Then, Sandy Lasz is going to lead us through an exercise to plan how God can use us this year.  Ways that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community.  Think about this and come prepared with ideas to share. Are there ways we can share the extravagant abundance of God this next year?  How can we pour God’s abundance out into our community?  Amen.