A Need for New Wine

John 2:1-11

Epiphany 2, January 19, 2025

Holy Trinity Cathedral

“A Need for New Wine”

Maybe you are not in the mood for a party.  It’s understandable, with everything that is happening in the world.  There’s the possibility of good news out of the Middle East with a fragile cease-fire in the conflict in Gaza.  But then, there is political turmoil at home and abroad: a lot of uncertainty ahead. Before we turn to what may be solitary and unhelpful coping strategies, consider the message of today’s gospel reading from John chapter 2.  Jesus comes to bring us the wine of new life.  This is something to celebrate!

The release of a new vintage is often the cause for excitement.  In some countries, there are traditions around the drinking of newly fermented grapes that draw people together.  In Austria and Bavaria, “heuriger wein”, or “this year’s harvest” is quaffed in taverns in the Black Forest.  France has a history of converting some of its Gamay grapes into “Beaujolais nouveau”.  The young, light, fruity beverage is released each year on the third Thursday in November and then raced around the world by shippers to delight those who appreciate this particular sip.  One newspaper reports that Beaujolais nouveau is “wine of this vintage, fresh as the memory of the harvest and raw as the experience of the year, unpolished by time, a reflection of the moment.” It is meant to be savoured in community, treasured for its immediacy.  It is not a wine to be put down in your cellars for some special occasion in the future.  Being part of today is celebration enough. 

When Jesus comes to the party, that is reason enough for rejoicing.  The passage from John’s gospel gives us the start of Jesus’ public ministry; he kicks it off at a wedding reception.  For the happy couple it is a time for a new beginning, a new relationship together, a joining of their families and friends.  The music plays, the table is full, the wine is flowing.  Then there is the horrible moment of embarrassment when the liquid refreshment runs out.  Not a good sign.  It’s a good thing the family invited Mary’s son and his friends.

Cana was a town in Galilee nearby Nazareth, where Jesus had grown up.  Recently, though, the carpenter’s son had been rather busy.  This is the third day after he had been baptised by his cousin John in the Jordan river.  In the meantime, he had begun calling disciples.  First it was Andrew and Peter.  Then Philip and Nathanael.  His mom, Mary, probably had to remind him that he had previously agreed to come to his friends’ wedding, and he could jolly well lay down his ministry plans long enough to support them on their happy day.  So instead of announcing his leadership plans or making some sort of inaugural address, Jesus finds himself and his new disciples at a table in Cana with an empty wine glass. 

His mother states the obvious. “They have no wine”.  The implication is that she expects Jesus to do something about it as a good boy and a good guest.  Maybe she is implying that he or one of his followers should nip down to the local off-sales and pick up a keg.  Jesus sounds a little disrespectful when he replies, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?  My hour has not yet come”.  As a guest, he is not responsible for the catering details.  Yet even as one who is just beginning his path to the glory of God, this is an opportunity to demonstrate God’s abundance.  His first sign of the kingdom is water turned to new wine.

We don’t have detailed tasting notes.  But the guests notice a difference immediately.  Not only are their glasses refilled for the toasts; this isn’t plonk, it’s the good stuff!  Wine is important not because it is alcoholic.  It was served in New Testament times at meals because it was actually safer than water to drink.  Wine is a symbol of celebration and hospitality.  It is seen as a gift from God sent to gladden the heart.  Jesus does not abstain from drinking himself, although he condemns drunkenness.  In moderation, in the company of the community, it signifies the joyful blessing of people gathered together to praise what is good. 

The newly manifested wine is a sign of the kingdom and of the Church’s sacrament of the eucharist.  When we gather together for our family meal of bread and wine, we enter into the moment of joy when all God’s people come together in the new life of Christ.  We remember the blood of Christ poured out for us in self-giving.  And we reaffirm that Jesus comes among us like that wedding at Cana.  Every time we bless the cup, we are filled with his new wine.  We glimpse again the hope of salvation.  We are the wedding guests, invited not just to witness but to share in the joy together.  As we raise this chalice today, the miracle of the kingdom is not just water turned into wine, but wine turned into the presence of Christ.  God here among us, light in the midst of us, bring us to light and life. 

Alone, a glass of wine will probably not do too much to help us cope.  And drinking alone might even be a problem.  But even a sip of the wine of new life at communion is better than all the bottles of beaujolais nouveau in the world.  In the moment of looking for Christ’s presence, he is made known in the bread and the wine. God wants us not just to survive but to thrive.  Believe in the possibility of new wine for your life.  Amen.