It was a ‘throwaway line’, that got me started.
“They filled them to the brim.”
In response to Jesus’ request to fill the jars, John could have simply reported: They did so. But John is careful to note that “They filled them to the brim.” Why to the brim? That would have made transporting them difficult, sloppy, messy. Water spilled on the floors now becomes a slipping hazard. Yet John is insistent. “They filled them to the brim.”
Why that little detail, John? Why was that important to remember in this great story? Since none of the commentaries I read mentioned that detail, I applied the rules of writing to the passage. John, the good writer that he is, is ‘setting us up’ for what will follow in his Gospel. For the next story in his gospel that talks about water is about the Samaritan woman at the well.
We know that story and the woman’s failure and emptiness after 5 failed marriages. This woman who was SOOO empty, so wounded by life, so ashamed that she would come to the well only when she knew no one would be there – at midday – enters into this dialogue with Jesus who promises this woman ‘living water.’ And as that dialogue continues, this empty, broken woman herself is filled to the brim and becomes the first evangelist – running back to her village to proclaim Jesus as the messiah. When you are filled like that with grace, it is what you do – you have to share that good news… That is what John would have us know.
“They filled them to the brim.”
And I wondered if I have let myself be ‘filled to the brim’ in the same way? Have I let the wine of Cana flow without counting the cost into my heart and life? And where would that happen? It was then I heard the invitation: “Bill – spend time with me in prayer so that I can fill you to the brim.” “Do I have to?” It is sooo much safer to let God only fill me a little – to say – “I’ve got it from here!” because then I can pretend to control where that grace will take me. Do you let God fill you to the brim in your prayer?
The second line that caught my attention sums up the heart of the story: “You have kept the good wine until now.”
In this FIRST miracle, the FIRST sign of God’s in-breaking kingdom, we come to know that it is not just any wine, but the choicest wine that God shares with us. The best vintage, not the cheap stuff! Jesus was not content with replacing the wine of the banquet with more wine, one ‘Napa Valley Cabernet’ with another one of the same vintage. Instead, he replaces it with the wine of glory – the very best you have to give. “You have kept the good wine until now.”
Two comments about ‘the good wine till now’.
Isn’t that what you and I experience in life – that God continues to bless each year, to make each one better and better. It is not that the aches and pains of aging are miraculously gone. I have had enough conversations with people who say that the golden years are really rust colored to know how difficult aging can be. Yet, every day, it feels like the good wine is renewed. As I greet the kindergartners and pre-school kids with high 5’s, I ask them: “Are you ready for the best day ever since yesterday?” That is what happens with the wine of Cana. Every day is the best wine NOW. Every day is the best day since yesterday.
Secondly, isn’t that precisely what God is asking of me/us today? To give all that is the best for me to give? So, give him the best part of your day for prayer, and not just what is left over. And, since I have tasted wine of Cana, then I must share the good wine of my love to each of my sisters and brothers.
So, perhaps, on this Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, we might become more than a bit uncomfortable with the continuing govt. shutdown, as it effects our African American brothers and sisters disproportionately. Maybe the best wine is to send an email to our congress about this. Or, on this St. Justin Martyr stewardship Sunday, as we look at our tithing outside the parish, perhaps we could commit a part of our tithing to the Campaign for Human Development, which provides hands up and not hands out to those in poverty.
Perhaps your mind focused on other details in the story. Then let God take you where he needs you to go. In the mean time, what does it mean for you to have kept the good wine until now? And will you let the Lord fill you to the brim?