Water Into Wine

The very first miracle that Jesus performed was turning water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana. I think sometimes when we look at this moment, we get so caught up in the excitement of turning boring old water into something much more fun to drink that we might miss some of the important spiritual lessons that Jesus was trying to teach. The water that Jesus transformed into wine was taken from stone pots that were set aside for the special purpose of purification rituals under the Law of Moses. Water was an important element in the physical rituals of the Law of Moses and it was also a powerful symbol of the Covenant of God with His children. And into what did Jesus transform these waters of the Law of Moses? Wine. Wine which less than three years later Christ would use as an important part of the physical rituals and as an important symbol of the blood of the New Testament that He would institute at the last supper. Turning water into wine was not just a fun party trick. This was the first sign of the true Messiah and it beautifully captures the essence of His whole mission. He came to fulfill the law of Moses. He came to take away their waters of ritual purification and give them instead the wine of the Sacrament of the New and Everlasting Covenant. And as the master of the feast declared, this wine that was saved for last would be the best wine of all. Christ invites all of us to come to Him week after week and partake of the Sacrament and in so doing offer Him our water to be transformed into wine, offer Him our stony and broken hearts to be transformed into new and healthy and whole hearts, offer Him our contrite spirits to be transformed into purified and refined spirits, offer Him our old wineskins to be transformed into new wineskins that can hold the new wine that He has for us. We may be hesitant to surrender the water that has served us so well, but I know that if we can have the courage and the humility and the faith to lay it on the altar, Christ will give us instead the very best wine we could possibly imagine.