Genesis 14:17-20.
Revelation 19:6-10.
John 2:1-11.
Signs lead us to Jesus, to believe in him as lord and saviour.
I don’t expect many people set out on journeys without knowing where they are going. In these days of car navigation systems, a map is no longer absolutely necessary, although it might be a good idea to have one, and there are always the sign boards at the side of roads to confirm that you are heading in the right direction. Our world is full of signs.
Some accepted signs change with time; Ordnance Survey maps no longer use a cross for a church. That has been replaced with the capital letters PW so that all places of worship are now marked on their maps.
Signs that are relevant to a group on a treasure hunt are not much use to someone who is looking for a particular place.
Signs that are relevant to long distance walkers are not much use to an ambulance driver seeking a particular hospital.
Signs telling us to slow down because there are school children are not much use in the middle of the night.
We look at the signs, weigh up whether or not they are relevant and then use them or discard them.
This year Epiphany has been a sequence of signs. And today’s readings are no exception. Bread and wine. Well we all know what that means. Well I hope we do. Bread for his body, wine for his blood; these are gifts from God to help remind us that his Son was sacrificed so that we could be saved. Eat and drink in remembrance of me as words, which are etched on our hearts as the communion prayer unfolds.
But the bread and wine is being offered to Abraham. Abraham the patriarch, the founding father of the people of the book. Abraham has returned from rescuing his nephew Lot, having taken a group of men into the fighting area between a coalition of kings. Abraham’s small force of 318 fighters is able to defeat the coalition of forces and Abraham rescues his brother’s son and his family. Abraham’s concern for Lot is an example of Abraham as a blessing to other families of the earth.
And two kings come out to thank Abraham for defeating the coalition who had attacked them. The Canaanite King Melchizedek of Salem, and Salem is another name for Jerusalem, was also a Canaanite priest of a god named God Most High, and those of you who read the old testament will have quickly spotted the sign that Most high God and God Most High are ancient divine titles used also for the Lord in old testament writings, especially in the psalms. The king priest Melchizedek is mentioned only once elsewhere in the old testament, in a psalm addressed to one of Israel’s later kings yet this king priest brings bread and wine and a blessing to Abraham, he brings God’s gifts and perhaps the reassurance of God’s blessing which Abraham probably badly needed at the time.
Melchizedek, a strange shadowy figure that emerges briefly in this account in Genesis is more a sign than character. Abraham’s meeting with him is mysterious because there is no further information about the king. And yet in Hebrews, the figure of Melchizedek is used to explain the existence of a separate and greater priesthood, alongside the Levitical priesthood to which Christ belongs.
Melchizedek represents the permanent presence of that which we only occasionally see, and even more partially understand. Melchizedek reminds us that what we are given to know isn’t all that there is to know.
The meal that Melchizedek and Abraham share may have been a sign of a treaty between them.
In this respect it has resonance for us of the mysterious covenant meal of bread and wine that we, the offspring, through faith of Abraham, are given to share with the king priest Jesus.
God will use all kinds of unexpected people and situations to speak of his love to us and like Abraham it is often just when we most need to be reassured.
The changing of the water into wine at Cana is described by John as being a sign of glory in Jesus, which led his disciples to believe in him. This is a strange mysterious sign unlike any of the other Gospel stories. In John’s Gospel it is recorded as the first sign that Jesus did and takes place immediately after the disciples are called. Mary, never named in John’s Gospel, always referred to as the Mother of Jesus, is aware that the wine is about to run out. It is characteristic of John’s Gospel that this miracle has many layers of depth; it is not the case that Jesus simple has compassion and so decides to save the acute embarrassment of the bridegroom.
Jesus indicates that this is an act that carries particular significance by his statement that his hour has not yet come. This invites us to consider what hour Jesus may have been referring to. And could it be that the hour is Jesus’ ultimate provision for the Messianic banquet?
John is very clear that the miracle reveals Jesus’ glory so that his disciples put their faith in him. If Jesus’ glory is that he is the Messiah, rather than simply that he is a welcome guest at a party, then the act of abundant wine provision, more than 100 gallons on this occasion, may be seen as an important clue as to his identity.
This miracle is not a healing, it is not a matter of great importance and the family did not ask Jesus for help, the disciples are not asked to act in faith, they are mere onlookers and the only person who has absolute confidence and trust in Jesus is his mother, the woman who according to Luke kept all these signs in her heart and treasured them.
Mary is the first person to acknowledge publicly her son’s power. It is to the servants that she says do whatever he tells you. She does not know what he will do, how he will do it or any other aspect of the miracle. What she does know is that Jesus will solve a difficult situation. Mary herself is a sign in this account directing the servant and all of us to do whatever he tells you.
We may wonder why Jesus’ power was used in this parochial way at the start of his ministry at Mary’s insistent request and whether the bridegroom ever did find out where the wine came from, but what is very clear is that in this miracle we can glimpse life in terms of eternity. Water does change into wine; it is a natural process that takes a long time. By changing water into wine in the time it takes to fill six stone water jars each holding 20 to 30 gallons, the disciples and we are led to see Jesus in terms of eternity and authority. The quantity and size of the stone jars is unusual and emphasizes the extravagance of the sign. Signs point to the presence of God acting in Jesus.
Throughout John’s Gospel there are references to eating and drinking with Jesus. It is as if John is seeking to invite us to identify with the characters of his Gospel not only in imagining their experiences but also in participating in them.
So later, when we take the wine of communion we become another of the guests at the wedding and also perceive his Glory. And we can hold on to the sign that points us to the great banquet, which will be celebrated at the culmination of history.
AMEN
Rev’d Edwina Wallace.