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I’m going to give you a sermon this morning like you have never heard and frankly, will probably never hear again…at least in a Baptist church!  I’m going to preach a sermon on drinking wine.  Ooooo, and if that’s not bad enough, I went to a wine tasting this week, that inspired the sermon.  I’m sure my tee-totalling southern Baptist grandparents are rolling over in their grave. 

Reminds me of the story about the Baptist preacher who preached a fiery sermon against drinking.  He said “if I could, I’d throw every bottle of beer, wine and liquor in this country into the river.”  Then he sat down and the choir master got up and said “thank for that message brother, now will you all stand for our next hymn:  shall we gather at the river.”

So this is a sermon about wine… but more importantly it is a sermon about miracles.  Now, when I say miracles, you may think of those faith healers on cable television—touch screen say thank you jesus and send a check for $49.95 and you will be healed of your psoriasis…   or maybe the word “miracle” makes us think of the folks who get sucked up into UFO’s and come back to tell of miraculous space creatures.   When I think of the word “miracle” I remember an old article I saw in the national inquirer a few years ago.  It was about a cactus out in Sedona Arizona that had grown into the exact shape of all the disciples lined up at the last supper. 

But, when I say miracle this morning , I’m not so much talking about the last supper cactus… I’m talking about something bigger.  I’m talking about a belief that there is something beyond us… something which we can’t explain, which we can’t take credit for.   And that’s what we usually do with miracles, right?  We try to explain them off or we take credit for them. 

Just like in the story of Jesus’ first miracle… turning water into wine.  I love how this story unfolds.  Apparently, Mary and Jesus and the disciples are all invited to a wedding in Canaan.  The story tells us it is the third day--which would be Tuesday on the Jewish calendar.  And many Jewish weddings happen on Tuesday, because it is considered the day of the double blessing.  Remember in the creation story in Genesis, the third day is the only day where God says “it is good”
twice… “. 

Then, God help us all, the wine runs out.   A very bad thing. But a SUPER bad thing, given that most jewish wedding festivals in those days lasted seven days and this was only day three.  Day THREE and the wine runs out.  OUCH.  So Mary turns to Jesus and says “the wine’s run out!”  Let me just say I love that she noticed.  And basically Jesus says, “And this relates to me how?  Its not my time…I’m not doing the miracle thing yet”   However, Mary being portrayed here as the overbearing Galilean soccer mom  … she turns right around to the servers and says “don’t listen to him--just do whatever he asks.” 

Jesus, not wanting to take on that battle, gives in, tells the servants to fill up six stone jars with water…each holding approximately thirty gallons.  And somewhere in the pouring, the water transforms to wine.  One hundred and eighty gallons of wine.  That’s a lot of wine.  The gas tank of my Jeep wrangler only holds 19 gallons and that’ll get me from Murray hill to state line of NC.  It’s a lot of wine.  And then you gotta wonder, what kind of wine, I’ve always wondered.  Red?  White?  God forbid Jesus created 180 gallons of pink Chablis? 

But, whatever the vintage, Jesus changes the water into wine.  And here is where we start to see some really great examples of human nature when it comes to miracles.  The scriptures say after Jesus had performed the miracle, Jesus said take this to the chief steward to taste.   The steward then tastes the wine and runs over to the bridegroom and congratulates him for being so generous… for holding back the best stuff for last.  I’m sure the Steward knew they were out of wine, but when one hundred and eighty gallons of very good new wine appears, the steward doesn’t even consider the possibility of a miracle.  He immediately assumes that they had the wine on hand, and that the bridegroom was simply generosity.

But, then again… it is easier to explain things away… to speed to obvious, safe conclusions.  Like the movie a Christmas carol where Scrooge explains away Marley’s ghost as a bit of indigested food! 

That wine steward was in the middle of a miracle and missed it.  And like him, we are in the middle of miracles everyday and we miss them.  And we MISS them because we don’t even consider the possibility that a miracle has occurred.  That God has intervened.  At best, we might say something is a coincidence.  Someone appears in our life, something we need is given… an opportunity comes out of no where. wow, what a freaky coincidence.  (twilight zone) But we all know that a coincidence is simply when God performs a miracle and decides to remain anonymous.  Like here, where Jesus performs a great miracle, but doesn’t tell the person in CHARGE of the wine what he had done!  So the steward never considers the possibility of a miracle and explains it away on something else.

Then there’s the bridegroom.  Now this guy is a piece of work.  He knew that he had just run out of wine on day three of a seven day wedding festival, and then all of a sudden, the steward rushes up, holding a cup and saying, “this is fabulous, you saved the best for last.”  And what does the bridegroom say?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  He knew something had just happened that he had nothing to do with—that was beyond him –yet he says nothing, basically taking credit himself.

It’s like the copyright and trademark cases I used to litigate.  You can’t take credit for someone else’s work.  Especially God’s! I mean if you wake up in the morning and don’t immediately say thank you lord, you have taken credit for a miracle.   And everyday we take credit for so much of life—when it reality…it is God’s work, not ours.   We have to allow for the possibility of miracles and give credit where credit is due.

I believe Jesus performed this miracle—all his miracles—water into wine, healing the sick, raising the dead, walking on water, to remind us that that there is something beyond us…beyond our understanding… a holy presence … protecting us… watching out for our us… reminding us that life is about possibility and hope.  And trust me, we need reminding.

The word miracle comes from the Latin word miraculum meaning “something wonderful.”   I’m afraid some of us have stopped believing that something wonderful is still possible.  We are so locked down, buttoned up, sure about everything and everyone… ready with explanations and oversized egos… that we are incapable of awe and wonder anymore. Sometimes life beats us down so much that we are simply unable to allow for the possibility of a miracle. 

But, understand, it is our choice.  If we believe miracles aren’t possible, then they not.  Because miracles only happen when we open the door and allow them to happen.  And if we believe miracles are possible, then they are.  Does that mean our brita water filter will turn into a Château Lafite Rothschild?  No, but to believe is the first step.  It is opening the door to the possibility of things unseen!  Things beyond our limited human expectations.  The Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor said, “the shadows cast by a tree on the ground may hold more possibility than the tree itself.”    Believing is the first step.

I wanna live in a world where things are possible…where  miracles are possible.  Where life is about possibility and hope, not simple explanations and easy answers.   We’ve all heard the saying, Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.  How long has it been since we have allowed something to take our breath away.        

 That’s what I want.  And that’s what I wish for you.  A life where we still allow something—anything to take our breath away.   A life where we don’t try and explain away or take credit for things that are beyond us.  What I wish for us is a life where hope and joy and, most importantly, miracles are still possible. And the people said…