In 1912 my grandfather was 19 years old and, like many others he had decided to leave his home and head to America. I'm sure he was looking for new opportunities but I think he was also looking to relieve his family of the burden of a teen aged appetite in very difficult times. When he left home he had two things. A steamer trunk had "Joseph Gustafson" written on it and a ticket for passage to America on which was written "RMS Titanic."
For some reason, now lost to history, my grandfather literally missed the boat. There is only a story in the family as to what happened that made him miss the boat, but its a good story. The story is that somewhere between the small, central Swedish town of Laxo and England where the Titanic left for its maiden and final voyage, he met a girl. To add some extra spice to the story that girl was not my grandmother, but she delayed him long enough to miss the Titanic. He had plans, but his plans got changed.
In John's gospel, more than in any of the others you get the sense that Jesus is following a very careful plan. From the beginning where Jesus knows under which tree his next disciple will be sitting to the end of the gospel where, from the cross, Jesus says, "I am thirsty" not because he's thirsty, but in order to fulfill Scripture. He said that because it was part of the plan. The sense that there is a very firm, strong plan runs throughout John's gospel except at the wedding in Cana. Jesus came to that wedding with his disciples and his mother. Weddings in those days weren't just Saturday afternoon affairs; they were parties that went on for a long time and running out of wine wasn't just a bummer either, it would have been devestating to the family, perhaps labeling them as the "ran out of wine" couple for the rest of their lives. Mary obviously knew this and knew that Jesus had the power to make a difference. The trouble is that this was not part of the plan but Mary didn't care. So she did what every mom does to every son at some point in his life... she told him to change his plans.
Remember, in John's gospel there was a plan but Jesus' plan wasn't like my plans. Jesus' plans were for the salvation of all of creation. My plans are to have lunch today at some place I haven't thought about yet. It's a relatively small thing to change my plans for lunch today. It's an incredible thing to change Jesus' plans for all of creation. And that is the first thing this story has to tell us today. That Jesus will set aside his plans to come to our need, no matter how important his plans may be and no matter how trivial our problems might be, Jesus will be there for us no matter what. Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest wrote about his discovery of this idea when he said, "My whole life, I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I discovered that my interruptions are my work."
The second thing this story is telling us is in how Jesus met the needs of the wedding couple. They had run out of wine and Jesus had some very important plans. He could have simply called up a box of Earnest and Julio, slapped a band-aid on the problem and returned to his plan for saving all of creation. But that's not what Jesus did. Instead, he looked around and saw those containers holding between 160 and 180 gallons of water and transformed all of it into wine. He didn't do just enough to get by. He didn't just slap a band-aid on their problem. He met their needs with an overwhelming abundance... a 600 to 900 bottle abundance.
The third thing this story has to say to us today is also in how Jesus met the needs of this wedding couple. The story tells us that it was the middle of the party. The guests had moved past the part of the party where their taste buds still functioned. They were now into the part of the celebration where the taste of the wine was much less important than its lubricating qualities. With that in mind, Jesus could have easily just transformed the water into Mad Dog or Thunderbird and everyone would have been fine, but that's not what he did. He transformed that water into the very best that could be made.
He set aside his important plans, he met their needs with generosity and abundance and he gave them the very best. If I was smart I'd wrap this up with a nice little literary bow and we'd all have a nice warm feeling about Jesus. But I'm not that smart and as I thought more and more about this story I thought about those containers of water. Each one held between 160 and 240 pounds of water and it occurred to me that this story is trying to tell us one more thing. Each of us is basically a container that holds between 160 and 240 pounds of water as well and this story is also challenging us to make ourselves available to be transformed by Christ so that we might become the abundant and very best help to the people around us who are in need.
On the night the Titanic hit that iceberg there were all kinds of reactions... denial, panic, worry and more. As time went by and people began to realize that the ship was really sinking people made their way to the lifeboats. Among those people was a very elderly couple. The older woman was placed in a lifeboat but when she realized the man she had lived with for the vast majority of her life would be left behind, she decided that she would stay behind with him and allow someone younger take her place. In that moment, she allowed herself to be transformed from a simple container of water into the exact thing that met the needs of a fellow passenger with incredible generosity and with the very best she had to offer. Another story of this kind of transformation happened with members of the orchestra. Understanding that there were only lifeboats for about half the passengers the decided to set up their instruments on deck and play music for those who would be left behind with them. They allowed themselves to be transformed from simple containers of water into something that was incredibly generous and was the very best they had to offer to those around them in need.
Loving God, open our eyes to see the needs of the people all around us. Give us the courage to make ourselves available to be transformed by the power of Christ into the precise, generous and perfect gifts that are needed most.
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