Homily: January 14, 2007
Some of you have probably been to wine tasting parties— those events where different wines are served with a variety of hors d’oeuvres. These are quite often fundraising events and they tend to draw lots of people who like wines. Others have probably visited wineries where you can sample different wines and even purchase your favorite bottle individually or even by the case. There are probably some serous wine connoisseurs here today. And probably others who couldn’t tell a merlot from a chardonnay from a pinot noir but purchase wines because you like the label!
When you’re out to dinner with friends you can usually tell if there’s someone who knows the most about wine. They’re the ones looking at the wine list when everyone else is looking at the main menu. They’re the ones making suggestions about the wine to drink— the ones the waiter brings the first glass to, to do the ritual swirling, smelling and tasting. Occasionally, a wine may be rejected.
Wine tasting is an art. Like a lot of life, it comes with experience and an acquired taste. We may not use these words, but our lives are a lot like a wine tasting. We might think of our varied experiences in life like different wines. Whether we are talking about our careers, our relationships or our emotional or spiritual lives, they are as varied as there are varieties of wines. Sometimes, like wine, our experiences are rich and extravagant— full bodied and truly enjoyable. Sometimes they are bitter and sour. Sometimes our experiences, like wine, are dry or simply flat and leave us with a bad aftertaste in our mouths. And, of course, there are times in our lives when there is no fermentation at all. Life might as well be ordinary water.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus begins his public ministry by attending a wedding. This wedding at Cana was probably not out of the ordinary except for the fact that Jesus and his disciples and his mother are present. And, like all weddings of the day, wine was served. Wine, which is a symbol of celebration and a source of good-cheer. But, at a certain point the wine runs out and Jesus is called into action.
We are told that there were six stone water jars present. These jars of water were used for Jewish ceremonial washings. The number six suggests incompleteness— falling short of the ideal. It suggests that something was missing, not simply from the wedding itself, but from life. Isn’t that the reality for all of us? We are always looking for the source of true happiness. We are always striving for something that will make us happier and more fulfilled. As good as some of our lives might be, there is always something lacking— something incomplete. We are always thirsty for that which will satisfy our deepest desires. And we often taste and drink from different sources of happiness, deciding what is most pleasant to us.
At the wedding in Cana, the shortage of wine indicates that something more is needed to bring complete happiness to the guests and, perhaps, to Israel itself. So, Jesus tells the servers to fill the water jars. Each holds twenty to thirty gallons, a sign of abundance. Then Jesus tells the servers to take some to the chief steward for a tasting. The steward is amazed. He has no idea where this exquisite wine has come from. “Everyone serves the good wine first” he tells the groom, “but you have kept the good wine until last.”
Isn’t it interesting how some of us do save the best for last? We may think of our lives as a succession of mediocre accomplishments and half-hearted attempts to find happiness. For many of us, life is like an ongoing wine tasting party. We’re searching for something that will satisfy. Then, at some point, we discover what we have really been looking for. We find that new wine either in a loving relationship; a fulfilling career or even by embracing the spiritual life as we have never done before. That good wine comes from God. It is a gift to those who have been sincerely searching for something better. It may come later if life or it may be discovered early on. Either way, that new wine is a gift from God and we are invited to drink deeply of it once it is tasted. It doesn’t mean that, from time to time, we won’t have disappointing experiences. On occasion, we get a bad bottle of wine and taste something which has already turned to vinegar. Still, we know where the best wine can be found and we return to it better for the experience.
Every time we gather here, we participate in that new wine. This is the wedding feast which offers the best wine in the house. We drink from our fellowship with each other. We feast on the word of God as it is shared with us from this pulpit. And then we come forward to taste the goodness of the Lord himself under the form of bread and wine. Even though the bread may be simple and the wine comes from a boxed variety, it is transformed into something new so that we are really tasting the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.
At the Lord’s table, Christ comes among us to fulfill our deepest desires. We don’t need to turn to anything else to drown out our sorrows and disappointments. Rather, we turn to God for divine joy, peace of mind, and a hopefulness. The presence of Christ at this wedding feast causes the ordinary water of our lives to be transformed into the extravagant wine of God’s Kingdom. Amid the dullness of every day life, Jesus invites us to this wedding banquet and serves us a life that is more than we can ask for or imagine.