“Empty Glasses”
By Rev. Jack R. Miller
 
Most scholars divide the Gospel of John into two main parts: the Book of Signs and the Book of Glory. Our story today is the first of seven “signs” most theologians recognize. Others name two or three additional events that should be considered as “signs” or evidence of who Jesus was. Does the number of ‘signs’ in John really matter? John himself shows the fallacy of trying to arrive at a specific number in chapter 20 (vs. 30), where he writes, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.”
 
Notice that John doesn’t say Jesus did ‘miracles’ or ‘marvels.’ He calls them ‘signs’ because they are gestures that point toward something deeper than what our eyes can see. More specifically, the signs he performs tell us something about Jesus as an individual and describe his life-giving power. What happened in Cana of Galilee is the beginning of all these signs. It is the model of those that will follow throughout his earthly ministry. In this act of ‘changing water into wine,’ we find the key to understanding the type of saving transformation that Jesus works and that we, as his followers, must continue to work in his name.
 
It all happens in the context of a wedding feast, the party of parties in Jesus’ day. Marriage remains the most passionate symbol of love and the best image in the biblical tradition of expressing God's relationship with humanity. The salvation Jesus offers must be lived and offered to all, especially when life falls short of expectations and is without fulfillment and joy. When the glasses of life are empty.
 
It’s a sad fact that many people today do not find the ministry of organized religion life-giving at all. On the contrary, they need desperately to see signs of an open, friendly, and life-affirming Church in order to discover in Christianity Jesus’ own capacity to alleviate the suffering and the cruelties of life. Liturgical celebration all too often leaves people wanting, and uninspired preaching bores them. Who wants to listen to something that does not seem to be the “Good News” everyone talks about, especially if the Gospel is proclaimed in an authoritative and threatening tone? Jesus came to provide a way to love and a reason to exist, an example of how to live sensitive and joyful lives. If people today are only exposed to a religion filled with rules and restrictions, condemnation, and judgment and can’t taste something of the festive joy that was spread by Jesus, many will continue to drift away and stay away.
 
At the wedding feast in Cana, the water could be tasted as wine only after it was ‘drawn out’, that is, transferred from the large stone water jars to the waiting empty glasses. Religion that is written on stone tablets is devoid of color and taste. It contains no living water capable of purifying and satisfying our human needs. Religion needs to be freed by the love and the life that Jesus communicates. For his followers to proclaim the transforming power of Jesus, words alone are not enough; gestures of service are also needed. Spreading the Good News isn’t just about talking, preaching, or teaching; even less is it about judging, threatening, or condemning. We need to make our own the example and joyful style of Jesus himself. The church today should be a place of joy and celebration, where people can feel welcomed, surprised, and fulfilled, just as it was at the wedding in Cana all those years ago.
 
Paul writes in our reading from First Corinthians (12: 4-11) that God gives spiritual gifts to each of us; we are, in a sense, God's stone jars of water. Our challenge is to let those gifts be ‘drawn out’ and offered to the service of God, neighbor, community, and family. In this way, the Good News of Jesus ministry continues to bring joy and love to a world chock-full of empty glasses. God has no need for stone jars filled with lifeless potential. The miracle of Cana shows us that Jesus can turn our lives into a living and nurturing testimony to share with those whose lives are filled with emptiness. Let us become the water turned to wine, ‘drawn out’ and given as a sign of God’s love for all. Let the celebration begin anew!
 
Amen? Amen!