Vintage Rotgut
It all started with a glass of wine. But before I tell you about it, let me tell you about something else.
Some years ago, I did premarital counseling for Aimee Schimpf and Scott Riley. By the time their wedding came, Lou and Linda had completed their farmhouse in the Lehigh Valley and the wedding was to be held out in the pasture. Lou had prepared a sanctuary space delineated by bales of straw which served as pews. Earlier in the summer, he had sown the surrounding field with wild flowers, now in full bloom. The day was beautiful. Family and close friends were all there. The dining tent was ready for the feast of celebration following the nuptial worship when sacred vows were made.
I’ve presided over hundreds of weddings, maybe some of yours even. I always give a charge to the couple. I think of this ingredient of the marriage service as a “thus saith the Lord moment” which emerges from my own prayer and preparation for that special pinpoint in time when a man and woman stand before God and all the rest of us and make their promises.
Honestly, I don’t remember many of these moments from weddings pastor my words as they recede into history and retreat from my very porous capacity for recall. But I do remember the kernel of what I said to Aimee and Scott that day. I read the text we just heard from John 2 about the wedding in Cana in Galilee. Jesus first sign was done at that wedding. You will recall that Jesus had six huge water jars filled with water. That was their original purpose. They held water for rites of purification, for ritual washing. In those days, cleanliness was still next to godliness. But Jesus had other ideas that day. He went on to change all that water into 160 gallons of the finest wine ever tasted.
Let me finish with Scott and Aimee though before I get too far ahead of myself. I spoke about what a grape has to go through to become wine. They have to be crushed. The end product is worth it, but sometimes the process is painful. This is true of winemaking and is true of marriage making. I assured them that God would be faithful and not abandon them during the pressing down times of life.
As many of you know, several months back Aimee was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Talk about the grapes of your life being stomped on. A godly young wife and mother of three small children afflicted with this dread disease. It’s just not right! We were called to pray. I called Lou and he remembered that charge I gave that day now years ago as well. He said, “Boy! That was prophetic.”
So we have prayed. And so far, the reports of treatment and improvement have been better than encouraging. Her doctor, who is not known to smile that much, had a grin on his face at a recent appointment. We could be witnessing a modern day miracle, sign, and wonder. That’s what we hope and pray. Stay at your post people!
Now let’s go back 2,000 years and pick up the wedding story from Cana. The vows had been made and the holy union consecrated before God. It was time to celebrate. The caterers had brought the food and wine. The wedding host [the steward in those days] was overseeing the festivities. The families had done their best to provide more than enough for the guests to have a memorable feast. Then came the big “Oops.” The wine ran out.
According to the Bible, wine makes the heart merry. It doesn’t tell us what the absence of wine does to a wedding reception. But it can’t be good. Even Jesus’ mother knew that. But having enough quality wine could be expensive and so apparently ordinary, not too well heeled couples had the practice of serving some fine wine to get things going, then when peoples’ sensibilities went under the alcohol haze, the rotgut was passed around. The inebriated guests couldn’t tell the difference anymore, but of course the steward could. The family, not to mention the wedding host, would be facing a red-faced moment if there were no wine of any quality.
We’re not told about the quality of the original wine. Even today, Cana is but a small village. I’ve been there. The chances are that the bride and groom both came from families of modest means. The chances are also good that the wine was nothing special. It was acceptable but not exceptional. I’m sure it was better than vintage rotgut [I had to get the sermon title in here somewhere, so there you have it]. So we have a very pedestrian wine and not nearly enough of it. If you read the Bible like me, you have the sneaking suspicion that this is not a story about wine. It’s not even a story about marriage. It’s a story that John tells us functions as a sign. But what is being signified?
We know that signs point to something. Signs can alert us to danger. They can tell us not to trespass. They can tell us if something is open or closed. They can give us schedules for planes and trains and buses. They can advertise all kinds of products. In this case Jesus performs a sign to elicit faith. He wants the filling of empty jars with water to tell us something. He wants the transformation of water, a very simple and common commodity, into a delicious and satisfying wine to make any host proud, to signify a deeper transformation, one being offered by Jesus to all people. Was he peering down through history to its end when the feast will be what Revelation calls the marriage supper of the Lamb? We don’t know.
But we do know this: life apart from Jesus is an empty thing. We don’t always know or notice how empty such a life is;it takes some of us quite awhile to discover just how empty. Sometimes it takes great loss or suffering to get our attention and to a situation announced in one way or another, “They have no more wine. The wine has run out.” On that day long ago, Jesus was not about to become known as the little old winemaker, so in essence he says to his mother who made the announcement to him, “So what? That’s none of your business or mine. Besides, it is not time for me to do what I’m to do, not yet.” She knows her son better than that. She knows that whatever the big plan and picture and purpose Jesus is about, he already cares about simple human need, so she tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” She knows he’s going to give direction. Signs often point the direction to go. She knew that Jesus compassionate heart would not be able to turn a blind eye upon ordinary people like this young bride and groom.
As is so often the case in the spiritual life, the direction Jesus gave must have seemed odd to the servants. “We need wine, go get water.” They must have been thinking, “The guests expect more wine and this fellow wants to give them Perrier. Oh well, let’s humor him, if for no other reason than out of respect for his mother.” I can see Jesus warming to the moment. In the sweat of their brows, the servants haul the water, bucket after bucket. “Is that good enough Jesus?” “No, not yet; fill them to the brim,” says Jesus. They must have been thinking, “Not only are we engaged in meaningless labor, but he’s even being picky about it. Fill them to the brim. Hungh!” “Now draw some out and take it to the steward of the feast.” “Oh great. We can hear the steward now: ‘I need more wine, not a drink of water, you chuckleheads.’ How did we get into the middle of this?”
When Jesus by the Holy Spirit sets out to transform your life and mine, it’s rarely obvious to us what is going on, at least not at first. Sometimes he works through unexpected blessings. Other times he closes a door and opens another unexpectedly. Sometimes he uses suffering or hardship, or sorrow. Sometimes he uses our inner poverty to make us realize just how much we need him. Jesus is capable of using every circumstance as a sign pointing us to a deeper life in him.
The emptiness is filled with living water. And Jesus is not content with jars half full or even almost full. He wants to fill us up. He wants our whole life to be saturated with his loving presence. The life of Christ takes up residence inside our very heart by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. Then the living water is further transformed. It becomes the best wine ever. People trying to live a meaningful life apart from Jesus are, dare I say, settling for rotgut. The selfish, self-centered life is no way to live. Jesus put it this way: “Those who save their lives [who hoard away their untransformed life and try to live in both worlds, in flesh and spirit simultaneously] will lose it. You can’t have it both ways. You either belong to me or you stay in the grip of emptiness. Only my Spirit makes life new. Only my Spirit makes it fully delicious. Those who lose their lives for my sake and for the Gospel will save it. You will get to imbibe on the best wine that has been reserved until the last, until my work of changing you is brought to completion.”
An experienced connoisseur of wine can tell what grapes were used, where they were grown, what kind of soil the vines grew in, what the weather was like in the year of its vintage, and in what kind of casks the grape juice was allowed to ferment in order to become wine. They look at it for pleasing color, swirl it around the glass to accentuate its aroma, smell its bouquet, take a sip, and roll it around their tongues to savor its distinct flavors. Only then do they actually swallow it.
Our life in Christ is deliciously distinct. The “vintage you” will bear the marks and the evidence of your growth experiences. The ways in which you have been transformed are unique by God’s design. He fits the working of his grace to suit you to a “T”. God wastes nothing, not even your sin. Everything about you will be made to serve God. In the end, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Sometimes the servants whom God has appointed to assist you will feel like they are on a fool’s errand. Sometimes even they won’t see the point. Sometimes they might give up hope that you will ever get it. But the grace of God is relentless. God can change water into wine. God can change sinners into saints. God can change your life from empty to full, from dry to wet, from disappointing poverty to refreshing and joyful celebration.
John tells us that when Jesus performed this sign, many believed in him there. Transformation is the ultimate tool to convince the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. As we submit ourselves to the Lord, the work that he does in and through us is a blessing to us personally and is evangelical in the world. Our lives become living witnesses to the glory and power of God who walked among us and abides among us still. The sign that pointed to Jesus that day put an astonished look on the face of the wedding coordinating steward. It all started with a glass of wine. I wish you astonishment and joy as you discover ever more deeply the matchless worth of Jesus Christ.