The first miracle that Jesus performed was at a wedding- recorded in John 2 1-11.

Why does John choose to tell us this strange story? What was Jesus doing at a wedding, encouraging people to drink to excess?

The use of wine as an analogy of plenty, of blessing, of the fullness of life, is found everywhere in the Bible. Amos talks of wine running down the mountains in streams, as a sign of the restoration of the land of the Israelites.

It occurred to me, not for the first time, that although we can not command blessing – we can never presume that life is going to be full of plenty, or without challenge – we can still live in ways that become shallow imitations of the life of outrageous grace we see modeled by Jesus. We cease to be people of passion, and become instead bound by cynicism and small boundaries.

So, open up a bottle, raise a jar, uncork the fizzy stuff.

Symbolically speaking of course…

Three Jars

 

Three jars are waiting by

One of water, one of wine

The other one lies empty

 

Like Jesus at a wedding feast

These jars are waiting to release

The living waiting for us

 

The empty jar is hollow life

Like a married man without a wife

Like a cake that’s never eaten

 

The water jar will fill us up

Then leave us staring in the cup

Wanting something other

 

But rich red wine will satisfy

Blood will flow, the days will fly

Our passion consummated