Phil on ... 

Every so often there comes along a sermon that ‘blows your mind’ by enriching your appreciation of a familiar bible passage you thought you understood. This was the case for me recently when Lee Thomas preached to us. As well as the message being great, we got to hear someone with superb presentation skills that would have captivated the audience even if he had had no message!
The passage in question is the one where Jesus turned water into wine. It can be found in John, Chapter 2 and verses 1-11 if you would like to refresh your memory. If I am honest I had not given this passage much though beyond it representing the first miracle Jesus performed and the fact he showed he had awesome powers and cared for people – even their everyday needs. Lee’s sermon though provided some valuable context and greatly enhanced my understanding.

Here is what I learnt:
1. At the time of this event, much emphasis was attached to doing the right things and not bringing the family into disrepute through mistakes or lack of preparation. So, you can imagine the horror experienced by the mother and father organising the wedding (an event that took place over days) when they found they had run out of wine. Jesus had compassion and helped them save face through this miracle. 

2. Metaphorically we can see that Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is a way of helping us “save face” when we face judgement at the end of our life. Every one of us has sinned to a greater or lesser extent and that sin means we have no hope of gaining salvation through our own efforts. Rather we need Jesus to intercede for us. 

3. Jesus asks for six large stone vessels to be filled with water. There are two important observations linked to this. Firstly, the vessels had a religious function typically being used in Jewish ceremonies where sins are symbolically washed away -  so the link to Jesus removing our sins is there again. Secondly, Jesus instructs servants to fill them. The servants do not question Jesus, they simply get on with their allotted task. This illustrates that there is a partnership required between Jesus and others – exactly as it should be when we live our lives believing in Jesus. Accepting Jesus has washed away our sins is one thing but, if we are to help spread the word concerning Christianity, we need to be prepared to work for Christ 

4. The passage mentions that it was usual for the best wine is served first at a wedding with the inferior wine arriving when guests have already had too much to drink. Whilst not necessarily endorsing excessive drinking, neither is the passage warning that it is especially sinful. This suggests that it is okay to have a good time and celebrate happy occasions with others. If you consider the volume held by each of these jars - some 20-30 gallons – it suggests that the wedding party had plenty of celebrating left to do! Sometimes I think we can be too solemn as Christians, almost being afraid to let our hair down a bit in case it somehow offends God. Maybe we need to relax a little and enjoy celebrating life with others more? 

5. The fact that the wine created by the miracle is a superior wine to the best that has been served up to that point is also significant: the first wine could be an analogy to all the material things we attach importance to and enjoy – things like a job, a nice house, a car or a hobby we are passionate about. There is nothing wrong with these things necessarily, but as we get older we notice that, like the initial wine, the importance and joy we attach to these things runs out. In other words we will never find eternal happiness in earthly things. In contrast, the wine Jesus creates at this wedding is a metaphor for the peace that following him brings, irrespective of how rich or poor we are. That is something that lasts for eternity.