NEW WINE

John 2: 1-11

Sunday, January 16, 2022

As autumn approaches, each year I engage in a labor of love.  I make wine and have been doing so for thirty years.  I have made wine in basements, garages, and sheds, whatever was available.  Let me say now that I am hardly an expert vintner and consider myself to be more like a perpetual novice. Making wine is a straightforward process and this popular hobby has been with us for centuries. Fermentation is the conversion process whereas the sugar in the grape is converted to alcohol.  Winemaking is much like other life processes.  It requires time, patience, and love. And done correctly, one might just be lucky enough to produce a wonderful elixir that is appreciated by all who taste it.  One of my greatest satisfactions of making wine is giving it away as a gift and yes, even boasting a bit about how I made it from scratch. 

Now to the Gospel reading.  Of the various interpretations, there is one that intrigued me more than others.  We know the backdrop is a wedding ceremony.  Christ is present with his mother and neophyte disciples. Then something unexpected happens.  The wine vat runs dry and Mary prompts Jesus to save the day by turning water into wine. Initially, Jesus resists her suggestion, but Mary will not have any of it.  “Woman, that concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come.” (JN 2: 4-5) The more Jesus resists, the more Mary insists. Finally, Jesus succumbs to his mother’s wish and “poof” the first of many miracles occurs.  The celebration continues.  I gather the old, adage applies here, (even to Jesus).  “Never argue with mother.”

We now witness the first miracle or what I see as the first “great reveal.” Surely, God has a sense of humor and uses unique relationships to reach out to us.  The interpretation mentioned earlier appears to associate the new (perfect) wine with the new (perfect) Messiah.  The One destined   to arrive has now gone public.    

For those of you who are wine-makers or those who enjoy wine, may I suggest that the next time you imbibe, “Raise your glass, and toast the Master-winemaker with gratitude.”  All praise and glory to almighty God for His desire to quench both our human and spiritual thirst.  As I continue my journey, I leave you now with a quote you might be familiar with, “Stay thirsty my friends.”

The Pilgrim.