Gospel Commentary: New Wine

By Fr. John Riley
HERALD Columnist
(From the issue of 1/11/01)

What a curious notion in the Mind of God! There would be a variety of vines which produce an assortment of small globular berries of different size and hue. This fruit, although edible and usually quite delicious, would not always be eaten, but trodden underfoot in huge vats. The juice would be caught and stored. Laid aside for a time, the product would begin to spoil as teeming myriads of microbes invade the fluid. Yet at a certain point between its transformation from grape juice into sour vinegar, the drink would be known and enjoyed and prized…as wine.

The men and women of biblical times and tales are quite preoccupied with wine. It is mentioned close to 260 times in sacred scripture. In the Old Testament, the Psalmist [PS 104] and the authors of the wisdom literature praise its ability to cheer the hearts of men [ECCL 10:19], yet repeatedly warn of the dangers of intoxication. Noah is the earliest biblical character to be "overserved" [GEN 9:21], and his descendant Lot ends up in a rather unsavory situation because of his overindulgence [GEN 19]. Wine also served as an offering to the Lord as part of Old Testament worship, and in the fourteenth chapter of the book of Genesis is a part of the great sacrifice of the King of Salem, Melchizedek, who offered bread and wine.

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus’ first "sign" [or miracle] is to provide wine for a wedding party which is running dry. Christ does not merely supplement the dwindling supply, but provides a superabundance [somewhere between 90 and 150 gallons] of a wine far superior to what the guests had been content to drink until that time. It is a key point in human history. Jesus, the God-Man is beginning to intervene directly and publicly as He lays the foundation for His Kingdom. And the first sign produces wine.

In other Gospel passages, Jesus implies the superiority of New Wine over the old, and shows how the new is unacceptable to those who will not let go of the old [LK 5: 36ff]. His detractors called Christ "a glutton and a drunkard" [MT 11:19], and though the charges are certainly false, the incident reported in Matthew, taken together with this week’s Gospel from John Two, would seem to indicate that Christ had at least a passing acquaintance with wine.

Yet God’s mysterious plan and design for "the fruit of the vine" was not fulfilled until the last night of Jesus’ earthly life among us. Taking the cup filled with wine, He gave thanks to His Father, and then spoke words of power which transformed the substance of the wine in the chalice He held into His Most Precious Blood. This transformation was not merely a chemical change similar to the change from grape juice to wine to vinegar. In this unique miracle [called "transubstantiation"], the "accidents" [or external appearances of wine] -- taste, smell, texture, weight, etc., remain, while the substance [or the reality "standing under" the external forms] actually becomes Jesus’ Blood and Life and Self… "This is the cup of My Blood." Christ’s apostles took and drank the cup of eternal salvation…which moments before had been nothing more than common wine.

This first Holy Communion of the apostles with the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus is perpetuated and made present for us wherever a priest offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As a chalice of ordinary wine is lifted above the altar, the priest "in the Person of Christ" speaks the words of Jesus, and the miraculous change is effected. In our age we may have missed witnessing the wedding where water became wine -- but we are far more fortunate. Instead of sampling the "best" wine, it is our privilege to participate directly in the Mystery of the Last Supper and Christ’s death on Calvary. At every Mass, we receive from the blessing cup not merely a fine bouquet or a superlative vintage, but the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God when mere fermenting grape juice becomes the True New Wine.

Fr. Riley is administrator of St. Louis Parish in Alexandria.

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