How’s 2025 treating you so far?

Maybe you’re full of hope and renewed energy as you begin new habits or practices or embrace a positive mindset at the start of the year.

Maybe with the snow and cold, or the wildfires, or the wars, or the political news from around the world, it’s feeling heavy.

Maybe it’s just feeling like more of the same and the daily humdrum has carried over from last year.

Wherever you find yourself these days, know that you are welcome as you are.

As I looked at the lectionary readings for Sunday, I found myself drawn to a line in the Gospel reading for Sunday from John 2:1-11:

¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

“The wine gave out…”

Imagine, you’re in the middle of one of the most important events of your life and the drink you’re serving to all your guests runs out. You thought you’d planned for this! You thought your parents had what they needed to provide for this day. You thought there would be plenty… or at least enough. You thought you were free to experience this day with all the anticipation, excitement, joy, laughter, and the feeling of starting a new adventure.

But now…

What should you do? Should you let others worry about it? Should you spring into action? What will the neighbors and guests think? Will people judge you, your spouse, and your families for the rest of your marriage – the rest of your lives?

This was supposed to be everything you’d longed for and hoped for. The start of something new and beautiful – something full of promise and possibility. What is happening?

We all have moments in life that don’t live up to the expectations or the hype. Things that fall flat. Situations where we thought we had carefully planned and prepared for every contingency and we find that in spite our very best efforts and diligence, it just doesn’t work. We find that we don’t know what to do, we don’t feel we have what we need, or we’re just in shock – paralyzed at what has gone so wrong so quickly. Our proverbial wine, previously so freely poured, just up and gives out. We feel dried up – parched and emptied of our abilities to respond or to at least make sense of what is happening.

Scarcity is when all we can see is what we perceive of as lack and inadequacy before us. We might glimpse it in ourselves, or turn the blame on those around us. But the prevailing theme that thunders in our mind and our bodies is “it is not enough.” It doesn’t take into account all that is going well, the resources that are available, or all that we are grateful for. In those moments, we cannot see or appreciate the larger picture. Often, can lead us to shut down or become avoidant, or to redouble our efforts, leading to overfunctioning or burn out.

It is inevitable that in the course of life we will find we’ve hit our wall, or maybe even rock bottom. The odd thing is that it is in those crisis moments we are free to receive – to ask for and be open to assistance. Having reached our limits, we are liberated to explore other options we couldn’t imagine or accept earlier since we were relying on what we knew and had done before.

We hit that wall and panic. But it’s not the end of the story…

⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the person in charge of the banquet.” So they took it. ⁹ When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), that person called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

At Cana in Galilee, Jesus performs the first of his miracles. He takes water (roughly 120 gallons) – a building block of life – and transforms it into the finest of wines. He takes what is ordinary and transfigures it into an abundant gift for the entire gathering.

It’s something no one saw coming – except for Jesus’ mother who knew he could write a new ending to this wedding fiasco. It’s something unexpected most of the other party goers will probably never hear about; they will only have enjoyed the blessing of the gift of that abundant, rich wine.

For reflection:

• When have you felt like your wine has given out or you’ve reached your limits?
• What does scarcity look or feel like in those situations? Where do you feel it in your body? How about in your mental, emotional or spiritual states?
• When is it hard to trust that your spirit or soul might be refilled to overflowing abundance?
• What might God’s invitation be in that place of feeling parched or dried up?
• What offers a taste of something new being created or given?
• What gifts might flow from you as you rely on God’s generosity and abundance?

When we hit rock bottom or we’re running on empty, it might seem like it’s the end. This Gospel text tells us that Christ rewrites the ending, changing scarcity and limitations into opportunities for us to cease relying on ourselves and instead turn to the expansive imagination of God. Many around us may never catch a glimpse of the crisis and struggle that we experience in those times, but they often will see and experience the richness that flows from us, born of and refined through difficulty and struggle.

If you’re in a place of feeling empty right now, know that you are seen and loved right where you are. You are not alone. This is not the end of the story. The wine may have given out, but an abundant transformation will come. The wedding feast of life will continue with unforeseen gifts and joy overflowing.

© Annabelle P. Markey