“THERE’S no more wine left”. Perhaps that’s our post-Christmas, post-New Year observation but, in actual fact, these are words from Mary, Jesus mother to Jesus at a wedding feast.

They’ve run out of wine – an unmitigated disaster at any wedding especially a Jewish one – a cause of disgrace and even of lawsuits! But taken metaphorically it’s perhaps a truth in all our lives - there comes a day when the wine gives out. The glass is empty. The party is over.

On that day life seems empty and dry. There is no vibrancy or vitality. Nothing is growing or fermenting within us. Our world is colourless and tasteless.

Mary’s words hold before us some serious questions and wonderings. Why has the wine of our life given out? What relationships have run dry? What parts of us remain empty?

Each one of us could tell a story about the day the wine gave out. It might be about the death of a loved one or the loss of a friendship or marriage. Some will speak about their search for love and acceptance. Some will describe their thirst for meaning and significance. Others will tell of their guilt, disappointments, or regrets. Many of the stories will be about fear. The storyline of unanswered prayer, doubts, or questions is known by most.

Behind each of our stories is the hope and desire for a wedding of our life. Despite our best efforts, good intentions, and hard work, however, it seems that the wine of our life is always giving out. No matter how often we refill it our glass remains empty. There is never enough wine.

That day seems like a disaster, an embarrassment, a failure. That must have been what it was like for the bride and groom at the wedding in Cana.

Too often we live with the illusion of our own self-sufficiency. That illusion is shattered on the day the wine runs out. Regardless of how it feels or what we think about it, that day is the beginning of a miracle. That’s the moment when we turn to Jesus. He transforms our lives, turning water into wine.

The Rev Lisa Holmes

Skipton Baptist Church