The First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 12, 2025
January 1, 2025 | by Nichole Torbitzky
Reading 1 | Reading 2 | Reading 3 | Reading 4 | Reading 1 Alt | Reading 2 Alt |
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Isaiah 62:1-5 | Psalm 36:5-10 | 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 | John 2:1-11 |
Today is the first Sunday after the Epiphany and in this season we focus on those places in the Bible where Jesus is revealed to the world. We read this passage, because in Christians tradition, this is counted as the first miracle Jesus performed. As his first miracle, it revealed who he was. What it reveals, is telling. For this Sunday, let’s dig into some things this first miracle reveals – the importance of family, and faith, and good wine and the goodness that God wants for us.
First let me describe the action of the story to you. Mary, Jesus, and the disciples along with a household of other guests have been invited to a wedding. According to this story, the reception lasts three days, was held at the Groom’s house, and included wining and dining the guests the whole time. For some reason, the wine runs out at this particular reception. We’re not told why, just that it does. Mary, realizing that Jesus could prevent embarrassment, asks her son to solve this problem. Now, running out of wine would be embarrassing, and might make the Groom’s family a butt of jokes for years to come, but this is not a life and death situation, nor does it nullify the wedding contract. It’s just like running out of wine at a good party, and there’s not a QT around the corner to go pick up some more. So, Mary instructs Jesus, and makes the servants fill up several huge jars with water. Jesus turns the water in them to wine. If we have done our math right, there would be about 120-180 gallons of wine, about 680 liters, that’s about 1,000 bottles of wine. I don’t know about you, but I’m done after about two glasses. The story tells us that Jesus made not just enough, but more than enough. The servants take a taste to the wine steward who compliments the groom on saving the best wine for last. Day saved! The new couple will literally be the toast of the town.
Even Jesus needs a good nudge now and then. Jesus’ mother ignored his protests (cf. John 2:4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.”) and told the servants what to do in spite of Jesus’ protests. It is not completely unusual for Jesus to have strong words for the people he loved. It is a little unusual in this instance because his strong words seem a little uncalled for. When he rebukes Peter, Peter kind of deserves it. When he mildly insults his mother, it’s a little shocking. But here’s the beauty of this story. Mary ignores him. Thoroughly, completely, and utterly. She doesn’t even bother to respond to his remark. She simply looks at the servants and tells them what to do. Her response to her son is very clearly, “You will do what I say, and you have no choice about it. Be a good boy.” Since it is such an awkward scene, so unlike what we would expect to hear about Jesus and Mary, this story makes me think that it might be an accurate reflection of their life together. Parents and kids get snippy. It happens and life goes on. It should be a great example for us. They both do exactly what a good family often does after one of us behaves badly: just get on with it. No need to be offended. Mary just ignored him. Jesus just did what his mother said. Seems like normal family to me.
Now there is another dimension of meaning to this story – like there almost always is in any Bible story. If we don’t get too bogged down in the metaphor, this story works as an example for our spiritual life. Often, when we’re dealing with a problem in our lives, and we pray for a solution, the answer we feel like we get from God is: “What does your problem matter to me?” Mary’s example is the one we’re supposed to follow: that implicit faith that God will do what is right and wants the best for us. No matter what life throws at us, the best thing for us to do is to go on behaving in the sure and certain knowledge that God wants only the best for us and expects the best from us. Mary knows full well who Jesus is and what he is capable of. We are supposed to walk through our lives, the good and bad, knowing full well who Jesus is and what he is capable of. And get on with the business of putting out the jars, so the water of our lives can be turned into wine. Maybe that is too much metaphor. But, maybe not. One of the important points of that exchange is that Mary fully trusts who Jesus is. We too, can fully trust who Jesus is. We call that faith. We’ve all got it, or we wouldn’t be here. But, sometimes, it’s nice to be reminded how important it is. Sometimes, it’s good to stop and pay a little attention to how much our faith sustains us.
Even Jesus and Mary enjoyed wine. This may be unpopular among some Christian circles – allow me to provide an anecdote. This is the story of Jane, from my very first congregation and the discussion we had about wine. She told me about the Baptist church she attended when she was living in Ohio, and how they had listened to a speaker who was also a scientist, explain to them that wine in Jesus’ time wasn’t really wine. It was mostly just grape juice only slightly fermented, so that the alcohol content was so low that it really doesn’t qualify as wine. She went onto tell me, that she didn’t appreciate my stance about alcohol consumption. She was going to continue to drink, but she expected me to tell her not to. Now, what I have to say to that is balderdash! Wine, beer, and spirits have been made with relatively the same alcohol content as today since we have records of humanity. The people in Jesus’ day were not cavemen. They were fully human and sophisticated just like us, and they most certainly had the technology to make wine much like we do today. I also have to say balderdash to the idea that good Christians don’t drink alcohol. This miracle story which comes from a source that we think might be as early as Mark, maybe earlier, shows that good people, Jesus and Mary included, drank wine. Sometimes they drank wine for three days. Maybe (and I might get in trouble for saying this), Jesus would not have been quite so sassy to his mother without the wine. What I am saying is that when responsibly used by adults, wine is fine. This story shows us that Jesus had a social life, he liked to have fun, and he had a drink now and again. I like it that my savior is fully human, and enjoyed it.
Here’s one of the truly lovely things about this story: Jesus knows the difference between good wine and not good wine. I can only guess, but I bet that in the miracle making process, Jesus has a little control over the quality of the wine. Not that it’s in his nature to do so, but I bet Jesus could have made 120 gallons of knock your socks off strong, super grapey, way too sweet wine. Or, like he did, make the good stuff. It makes me feel better to know that even though his mom had to order him to do it, he still made the good wine. I like that not just because I enjoy good wine, but because I know that this is how God deals with us. When Jesus answers our prayers, it is with the good wine. So when we pray for wine, just wine, God answers with the good wine. There is a myth out there in Christian folklore that “you’d better be careful what you pray for, God just might give it to you.” This bit of folklore ignores the importance of our Scripture for today. Jesus only wants what is best for us. Jesus is not a genie, trying to trick you by giving you exactly what you wished for, like “I prayed for patience, so God sent me suffering/children so I could learn patience.” That’s funny, but not consistent with what we see Jesus do here. Ask for wine and God will give the good wine. Ask for patience, and God will give you what you need.
Jesus didn’t just make the bad good, but made the good better. I’d argue this applies not just to wine, but to the lives of the already saved sitting in our congregations. If we’re already good people, making good choices (for the most part), living good, ethical, lives, then why do we need Jesus? Because Jesus makes the good better. Better in several ways. First, because the way of living that Jesus describes as Kingdom Coming, caring for the most vulnerable in society, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and acting as servants to all, goes beyond just being a “nice” person. The ethics of Christian life, when followed to the best of our ability, make our life together better. Second, because Jesus as Savior makes our life here better because we are reconciled with God. Through him we are made right with God. And, because of him, our good life here has meaning beyond this mortal life. Through Christ, this life gains meaning because there is a next life. What we do here does not end. Who we are does not end. Because of Jesus Christ, this good life is made better.
Let me close with one of the other really lovely things about this story, and the subversive nature of Jesus’ ministry: did you notice when we read this story who it is that get’s the epiphany – the revelation of who Jesus is?
It’s the servants who get the revelation, the epiphany, and not the invited guests, or the bride and groom, or the wine steward, they just get to reap the benefits of the miracle. This first miracle reveals a great deal about what Jesus’ mission on this earth will look like, who is welcome at the table, and what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like. The servants get to be first. They might be last in the feast, maybe even never getting to taste the wine Jesus made, but they get something better, the truth about who Jesus is. All throughout the Gospels, we are told by stories, and point blank by Jesus himself, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. All of the Gospels attest to this, that if a person wants to be first in the Kingdom of God, that person must be a servant to all. Those who are not rich or powerful have a special place, one that Jesus recognizes as important. As a congregation of “good” people, we have to remember that Jesus tells us very clearly: our job is to serve and our attitude is to be loving toward those who do. When the dignity of each person is upheld, then the Kingdom of God is drawing near. Then, the perfection of this world can be seen. Then we can live in the peace and harmony that God wishes for us. Then, the good will be better. And we can all enjoy the good wine together.