Jesus Christ was not dropped as a bundle from the sky with a label around his neck saying ‘I am the Son of God’; he was a human being who lived in a community and who participated in all the rituals and social structures of his world.
In the same way, as I imagine Finn’s parents can say with some feeling, neither did Finn land in the world neatly packaged and with a label around his neck saying he will one day be known as a brain surgeon, a train driver, prime minister or whatever he might become.
It was because of the things Jesus did that we learned to use the name of the Son of God for him. The life he lived, the life that let us see he was the son of God, was not a life of pious conventionality. Very often he did something entirely different from the accepted habits and norms of his community. He often turned the social hierarchy on its head- valuing time with children and women for example, or prodding the religious hierarchy in the places where it really hurt.
In today’s gospel passage we hear of Jesus at a wedding feast with members of his family and his disciples. The wine runs out and Mary- who appears here as a pushy, Jewish mother, “JESUS! THEY NEED SOME MORE WINE!”
Then to the stewards ‘Do whatever my son tells you’,
She wants Jesus to respond to the needs of his community.
Whether a lack of wine can be termed a ‘need’ is debatable. It’s not as if there hadn’t already been a plentiful supply of wine. From what the steward says, perhaps a few of the guests were already drunk. Jesus’ actions seem more indulgent than needful: wildly extravagant rather than measured and careful.
But this miracle is not about what Jesus did but is about who he is. Producing such an abundance of fine wine is a sign of his divinity. By turning water into wine he is also transforming the Jewish rites of purification and showing that salvation comes by other means entirely. It comes not through adherence to the law but to belief in, and relationship with, the person of Christ.
This is a story which has traditionally been part of the season of Epiphany when Jesus- the light of the world- shines forth and is revealed to us. Jesus is light, a bright, extravagant light.
This miracle is the first miracle Jesus performs in John’s gospel and is a sign pointing towards Jesus’ true identity, who he really is. That’s why it’s overflowing, over-the-top even. And it’s not only a sign of who Christ was and is, it is also a sign of who we may become. Of the overflowing abundance of life God wishes for every human being.
This wedding feast- with more wine than even the most extravagant host would provide- is a symbol of the heavenly banquet in which we will all come to share.
Today Finn will be baptised and in this he will share in Christ’s identity. This identity won’t take anything away from Finn’s wonderful, unique human personality. It is something given over and above, like the extra wine at the feast. Finn, like Jesus, will grow in this identity as he lives in community. In Finn’s case with his parents and his siblings, and through the wider community of which this Church is an integral part.
Now there are two vantage points from which baptism can be viewed: It is the sacrament through which Finn today is adopted into the Church family and through which he is incorporated into the Body of Christ- it is something which happens in community, among God’s people gathered for the Eucharist. Christianity is more caught than taught- which is why it is something which can only be done in community.
Baptism is also something we do which glorifies God and is a moment of his self-revelation. All of us are greatly blessed to be here, because we today witness an epiphany. A miracle as great as turning water into wine. We see a human being, full to the brim with life and potential, and we see our abundant God add even more.
So Finn’s baptism changes him and it changes us. His baptism reminds us that our God is a God who always brings more wine to the party, [and vintage wine at that,] and whose blessing always outnumber our capacity even to count.
Amen
Sarah Eynstone