Episode Details

Epiphany 2, 2024John 2:1-11The Story-       Story about a crisis at a wedding: the wine has run out. Serious crisis in literal terms. Symbolically represents barrenness of Jewish religion at the time. More broadly, represents lack of joy, loss of conviviality, running down of resources.-       Until Christ’s mother petitions him and he performs ‘the first of his signs…and manifested his glory’ (v.12), turning six large stone jars of water into fine wine, finer wine than was had before.-       Story really about the transforming presence and power of Christ in human life and society more broadly.Consider the words of bridegroom, when given water become wine by master of the feast, “Every man serves the good wine first and when they are drunk the lesser; but you have saved the good wine until now” (v.10).-       Christ reverses the normal order of things.1)    Normally, good wine first and, being drunk, the lesser.-       A picture of life without God. Times of abundance in life – financially, socially, physically – which inevitably run out as strength wanes and death approaches. Example of plane coming in to land having been in flight for some time.-       No God, no hope of life after death, no belief in anything but nature eventually leads to emptiness, barrenness, loneliness etc.-       Spoke last week about the consequences of shunning God from the Church: decline, lack of interest and commitment, death.-       In society same pattern. Culture has changed in my lifetime: growing up, I was surrounded by partygoing, Friday-night lifestyle. Lots of drinking, drugs, underage sex, teenage pregnancies, etc. New generation affected by social media and internet usage much more solitary.“Today’s adolescents spend far less time in person with their friends - up to an hour less per day - than did members of Gen X. And dear God, they are lonely. They report greater loneliness than any generation on record.” Abigail Shrier, Irreversible Damage, p.3-       Instead of being out with friends, kids are at home alone on their phones, looking at social media, comparing their inadequacies with curated, unrealistic images of perfection.-       From US stats, but reasonable to assume similar in UK, Shrier reports between 2009-17, increase of high schoolers contemplating suicide rose 25%, between 2005-14 teens diagnosed with depression rose 37% with worst hit being teenage girls. Additionally, since 2009 self-harming increased 62 per cent. Among preteen girls aged 10-14, self-harm rates up 189% compared to 2010.-       Teenage pregnancy and sex as low as has been for decades, whilst rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and self-harm massively up. As though younger generation is running out of life.-       Or, to put it another way, the good wine has been drunk, and only the bad wine of bitter and negative consequences remains.2)    “You have saved the good wine until now.”-       Difference at the wedding was the presence of Christ, who took what nature would give and transformed it by his supernatural power.-       Image of Christ’s presence in our lives and the Church: his presence and power is the difference. The water of our spiritual emptiness transformed into the wine of God’s peace and joy. Once we have developed a taste, we cannot return.-       Glasses analogy: once you discover you can’t see very well and obtain appropriate glasses, everything looks blurry when you’re not looking through them. You realise how blind you were.-       Wedding feast is a picture of the church at its highest: rejoicing and happiness, conviviality, lit. “life together”. Don’t believe the propaganda, the church can and should be the happiest place on earth.-       Part of why we need the Church: we need one another, we need warmth of human community.-       The Church is a place of family and companionship for those who are lonely and outcast. Put beautifully by Catechism of Roman Catholic Church:‘Many remain without a human family…The doors of homes, the “d