'God's Dream: A World Filled with Grace and Love

What happens when water turns into wine? You’re probably familiar with the story of Jesus turning water into wine, but what happens when the ‘water’ of our life suddenly becomes ‘wine’?

I love taking photos! When I’m out somewhere different, I often take my camera and look for photos. When I carry my camera, I begin to look more closely at the world. I see things I might otherwise miss because I am looking; I am more focussed on seeing what is around. I look and see differently, with more intent. Whether I’m looking through the camera or looking to discover the next great photograph, I see a world filled with wonder and beauty, grace and depth. I feel joy and awe as I look into the world of nature, in all its diversity, of people and the beauty around me. There is something deeply spiritual in this activity and I sense and experience something of the presence of Spirit, of God in the midst of the world and of life. When I look differently, or through a camera, water turns to wine!

There is a wonderful little story about a magic Folger’s Coffee Can (Folgers is a brand of coffee in the USA). The boy is walking along a creek coaxing a stick floating in the current. In his imagination he is a sea captain sailing the 7 seas. As he rounds a bend, he notices a bridge up ahead. He follows the creek along under the bridge and his eyes, suddenly out of the bright sunlight, his eyes need to adjust. As he looks into the dimness, he sees two beads of light that become eyes. As his eyes adjust, he recognises a troll living under the bridge. This troll has a huge smile that fills his face and radiates out. He asks the oy what he is doing, and he replies, describing his journey across the oceans of the world and his adventures. The troll asks if he is happy and of course the boy is happy. It is summer holidays – no school – and he is out playing by the creek.

The troll then asks if he thinks that he, the troll, is happy. The boy looks more closely and is drawn in by the smile. He believes the troll is the happiest person he’s ever seen. Would he like the secret to happiness, asks the troll? Of course! The troll throws him an empty Folgers Coffee can and says that if he can fill it to the brim, he will be happy!

The boy excitedly ran home and began to fill the can with everything that was good in his life – toys, books, photos… The boy continued to fill the can with everything good in his life, but the can never seemed to fill up. As he grew older, he filled it with his excellent grades, awards, trophies… He filled it with the things of his life that were good and successful – through university, into work and marriage. He filled it with his family and the successes of his life, but still the can never seemed to fill up.

As he grew older and even more successful, he continued to stuff everything of his very successful career and life into the can, but it never filled up! As an old man, still working and head of his company, he sat at his very fine desk in his very fine office at the top of a very fine office tower. Before was a document that when signed would make him one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. He took hi pen and signed and then took a copy of the documents and went to the cabinet near the window and stuffed the document into his coffee can. As he held the still not full coffee can, he gazed out the window at the city and world beyond.

At that moment he suffered a fatal heart attack and as he fell to the floor that coffee can flew from his hands and out the window. It fell to the pavement below and bounced and rolled down the main street of the city, gathering speed as it rolled and bounced. It rolled to the outskirts where other people lived more simply. There it rolled down a street and slowing, bounced up a gutter onto grass and stopped in a yard of a young girl. The girl was playing tea party with her dolls and her toy tea set. She was having fun.

She saw the can and picked it up. As she looked at it, the girl noticed something the boy/man never realised – there was no bottom in the can! If the man had noticed, if he’d ever stopped to look, he would have seen a vast trail of possessions, pleasures, honours and power left behind him. The little girl held the can up and looked through it. There in the can was the sun and sky. She looked at the birds and they filled the can, as did the tress and flowers, her dolls and tea set, people, houses – the whole world! The little girl called out to her mother, exclaiming that she had found a magic Folger’s Coffee can and she was the richest and happiest person in the whole wide world right now! The ‘water’ of her life became the most wonderful ‘wine’! The boy/man in the story never tasted the very best wine as he was locked into his own self-interest, his own success and achievements – he had his fill on his own life but never tasted the ‘wine’ of life in its rich fulness.

This week’s reading from John’s story of Jesus (John 2:1-11) is that story about Jesus turning water into wine.  This story is filled with various symbols that point to God's lavish, over-abundant generosity that turns the world and our cultural expectations on their head! In a shameful oversight they ran out of wine at the wedding.  Coaxed by his mother, Jesus told them to fill 6 stone jars used for the water of purification, which contained around 900 litres between them. In Jewish tradition one glass of water was enough to purify 100 people for worship. Therefore, this picture of 6 large jars holding 900 litres symbolically holds enough water to cleanse the whole world!  The abundant new wine of God’s Reign replaces the old ways of purification and offers blessing for the whole world. The new wine is a symbol of God's new age arriving, the age of shalom. The sign of good wine stands alongside the feeding of the 5000 in John's Gospel. Both point to God's embracing all people and feeding us – body, mind and spirit. The wonder of the steward when he tries the new wine also symbolises God's abundant grace that gives us the very best. God's love is abundantly present to all of us and reaches out to the world with lavish, generous grace that releases and realises the true potential within each person. Not everyone grasps this beauty and wonder. Not everyone sees, hears, feels, experiences the water turning into wine.

What happens in that moment when water turns to wine? What is this new thing God does in the world? What happens for me when the notes and sounds of music suddenly become a song that is rich and beautiful, full of harmony and life? What happens when an ordinary scene comes alive with infinite beauty and a photographer’s delight? What happens when I suddenly see, and the world turns to wonder and beauty? What happens when I listen and begin to hear the gentle depth of another person? What happens when an animal touches me with its gentle bonding love? What happens when a song or story ceases to be ‘another song or story’ and is filled with life and wonder that touches my deepest being?

What happens when we taste the purest, richest wine out of the water of our lives? God is present in this turning moment and fills our world with joy and wonder, with beauty and love, with generous, lavish love! It is everywhere around, if we will taste it.