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Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Fr. J. D. Ousley
January 18, 2004"Vintage Faith"
In the Name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Amen.
In 1978, I was called to serve the Episcopal Cathedral in Paris. Shortly after we arrived, a member of the congregation invited my wife and me to attend a wine-tasting.
This was not your average wine-tasting! The event was sponsored by an elite international society of wine connoisseurs. The tasting was held in a dingy warehouse on the outskirts of Paris owned by the distributor of one of the most famous Bordeaux wines, "Haut-Brion." (Today, a bottle of recent vintage will cost you a couple of hundred dollars.)
Now such an event would have made an impression on any newly arrived American in Paris. But even more memorable was an argument that took place toward the end of the evening.
The distributor had agreed to let the wine society members taste four vintages, starting with a recent one and going back to wines that were ten or fifteen years old. But several of the members disagreed with the wine expert's opinion about the respective merits of the vintages we had been drinking. (I can't today recall the details of this debate, which was conducted in an increasingly rapid and agitated and French!)
In any event, at one point the distributor felt his honor had been challenged. So he ordered a fifth vintage to be uncorked, even older than the others. We were surprised at this generous gesture -- though no one protested! The debate continued and more bottles were brought out until we were drinking wine that was a half-century old!
By that time, there was no question that the distributor's munificence had won the day. As in today's Gospel, the best wine had been saved until last!
The Gospel text occurs on another occasion when wine was enjoyed: a wedding reception. Jesus and his disciples were attending the reception, and everything was going well when suddenly the wine ran out.
We can easily imagine the embarrassment felt by the host of the reception, who seems to have been the bridegroom. A wedding feast was a major event in the lives of rural people at that time.
The biblical scholar, Marcus Borg, remarks, that "a wedding banquet was the most festive occasion in Jewish peasant life. A celebration lasted seven days, it involved dancing and copious amounts of food and wine, in sharp contrast to the basic peasant diet of grains, vegetables, fruit, and an occasional fish."
But at this wedding in Cana of Galilee, the wine had run out. All those happy guests, ready to toast the newly-married couple -- and there was no wine left in their glasses!
Fortunately, according to St. John, Jesus saved the day. He saw some large jars which were standing there to be used for Hebrew ceremonial washing.
Jesus asked that the jars be filled with water and then taken out and given to the steward in charge of the reception. When the water reached the steward, it had become wine.
The steward was amazed -- not only that wine had appeared from nowhere, but also that the wine was so good. He complimented the bridegroom for keeping "the good wine until now."
Now this story, in the form St. John has presented it, is filled with symbolism. For example, reading between the lines, the story seems to say that the old rites of the Hebrew law will be replaced by the new rite of Communion. Our souls will be cleansed not by ceremonial purification with water; rather, they will be spiritually "washed" with the blood of Christ.
My favorite symbol in the story derives from the fact that the wine appears at a wedding party. The marriage service in our Prayer Book notes that this event showed Christ's approval of marriage.
But the changing of water into wine also suggests that Christ wanted to endorse the human side of marriage -- the sheer joy of relationship. Christ wants the party to continue: Let the wine flow! Let the celebration continue because human love is one of the greatest gifts of God.
In order that the point is not missed, Christ in the story creates a stupendous amount of wine, more than 120 gallons! Enough to satisfy even a party of thirsty New Yorkers!
Such a gift is an unmistakable sign of the generosity of God. God gives us more than we can possibly consume.
Again, this is a highly spiritual, even a mystical symbol. It's not about drinking, but about love.
So the Church has sometimes been portrayed as the Bride of Christ. God's love flows out to human beings with such abundance that we can barely begin to appreciate it. God's love is always there for us; the celebration never ends.
This story tells us something important about human relationships, too, I think; it tells something important about romantic attachments and close friendships. When God's love has flowed out to two people, and they have come to share that love, their relationship is touched by the mystical. What practical impact does this have? Well, if God is always ready to share more of his love, that means there's always more love out there. There's always more love "on tap." The generosity of God never runs dry.
So if a relationship goes through a bad period, the partners shouldn't despair. Instead, they should look for new love to freshen and rejuvenate what's gone stale.
Such refreshment may not always happen between two people; relationships are damaged by human imperfections, and they don't always endure.
That said, though, I would still claim that relationships are more salvageable than people think. Too many people give up at the first sign of trouble.
It's as though they believe there is only a finite amount of love to be found in any relationship, and when the love has run out, it's time to move on.
This can be true of friendships as well as more intimate relations: people give up too quickly. They fear that love can never flow again.
This is just my interpretation. Maybe I'm too optimistic.
But I have so often seen love blossom in lives that seemed bereft of human companionship. I've seen friendships granted to people who thought they could never form close attachments. The divine love is inexhaustible.
And as we as a parish gather later today at our Annual Meeting, and as we celebrate the many gifts God has given us in the last year, we can also look forward with faith that God will surprise us with new blessings in the year ahead.
Perhaps for us, too, God has saved the best wine until last!
And now unto that same God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion and praise, now and forever, Amen.