"Wedding Gifts"

John 2:1-12  Chapter 21 of We Make the Road By Walking by Brian McLaren

Have you ever wondered why miracles seem to happen so often in the Bible, but not anymore? Are you one of the skeptics who can't buy into the fact that the miracles of Jesus actually happened?  Miracles in the Bible can test our faith.  You either believe the stories and then get disheartened because children aren't risen from the dead or blind men cured of their blindness anymore, or you don't believe them and, in so doing, reduce your life to a smaller disenchanted version of a world where the impossible never happens.

In We Make the Road by Walking, we read of a third way to look at the miracle stories. Ch. 21 asks what if we look at the miracles in the Bible in a way that asks us "what happens to US when we imagine miracles happening?"  It suggests maybe the miracle stories are meant to shake up or normal assumptions and inspire us to imagine what might be possible if we can look at the world in more miraculous way.

The wedding in Cana, the setting of Jesus' first miracle, has run out off wine. Jesus' mother Mary encourages him to fix the problem, but he doesn't want to try. Doesn't think it is his place or time.  Off to the side, there are all these stone containers used to store water for the ritual baptisms we spoke of a few weeks ago. Containers, then, that are supposed to be a way to separate you from the unclean.  But they are empty.  And Jesus asks the servants to fill them with water.  And then he asks them to get some out and let the head of the banquet try it.  Suddenly, the water has been made into wine... the best wine... and all is well. The head of the banquet can't believe that the wedding party has saved the best wine till the lasst.

John says that this miracle in Cana is a sign. Signs point to something else. Send us in a deeper understanding of what is going on. They explain things.  What is this sign explaining?

What does it point to... the container that used to be used to separate the purified religious from the 'other' now being used to hold a celebratory beverage? An ABUNDANCE of celebratory beverage, in fact?  What does it mean that Jesus reimagined what the baptismal waters might be used for ONCE again, just as his cousin John did by baptizing in the river?  What does it mean that God shows in this miracle that the best is saved for the last?  (Ch 21, McLaren)

You see, the miracle stories are gifts to us.  This wedding story is a gift to us. We can see all the signs we see in this story as gifts... Gifts that keep on giving because they show us different ways of interpreting the message.  We can create new life in an old party by turning our own old water into a new wine.  We can reimagine our own church traditions and rituals in new and interesting ways. We can listen to the nudging of others who believe in us when they tell us we can indeed begin a ministry here and now in a new way.

What signs (messages, directions) do you get out of this story? What water into wine experiences might you want to be a part of in our church or in your own life?    Have you ever experienced a miracle? Have you ever prayed for a miracle that never came?  Sit with the words "empty," "full," and "transformed."

 I would love to hear your thoughts. Email me or comment below.