It is always important to look at the whole picture and context of a gospel story so as to understand the meaning and to grasp the truth of the kingdom being presented. But sometimes, it is those little ‘throwaway lines’, those almost forgotten details that can open for us a deeper understanding of the person of Jesus. Today I found myself reflecting precisely on two of those details I usually miss.
“They filled them to the brim.”
In response to Jesus’ request to fill the jars, John could have simply said: 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 spilling over the floors now becomes a slipping hazard. 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 his is, is ‘setting us up’ for what will follow in his Gospel. For the next story in John’s 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…
“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 then came the invitation: “Bill – spend time with me in prayer so that I can fill you to the brim.” It is so much safer to let God only fill us a little – to say – we’ve got it from here, because then we can control where that grace will take us. Do you let God fill you to the brim in your prayer?
The second line, though this is more at 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, what do we learn? In this sign that reveals the glory of God, 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. Sure, he could have done that. 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, but each year, I stand amazed at how good God has been. He has saved the good wine, the good year, the good day till NOW.
Secondly, isn’t that precisely what God is asking of me/us today? To give all that is generous for us to give? I think of that specifically in terms of the time I give God in my prayer. Do I give him my most wakeful self, the time of day where I am most up and functioning and alert, or does he get the dregs of the day? Do I squeeze him in while in the shopping line at the grocery, or do I set aside time for him when I can truly give him the best of me?
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?