Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine is recorded in the second chapter of the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel tells us that the miracle occurred during a wedding celebration in the Galilean town of Cana where Jesus, his mother and his disciples were among the guests. Popular allusions to this event, however, typically jettison the Biblical details, focusing almost entirely on the “miraculous” nature of turning water into wine.
Nowhere is this more evident than on the fields of sport. Thus, while Harry Redknapp, manager of the Tottenham soccer team, “insisted it would be a ‘miracle’ if [his team] qualified for the Champions League,” according to London’s Daily Mail, Redknapp “could go a long way towards turning water into wine by winning at Blackpool.” In fact, it would seem that soccer fields are veritable breeding grounds for “miracles.” There is this, from Ireland’s The Sun: “The Sash were living off scraps, but Kildare sharpshooter Alan Smith was turning water into wine with what little ball fell his way.”
I readily admit that I especially like it when one Biblical (or religious) phrase is used in juxtaposition with another. So, as we continue our romp through the battlefields of European soccer, we find this commentary on coach Walter Smith in Britain’s The News of the World: “[Smith] turned water into wine when leading his players to the UEFA Cup Final of 2008 but there’s not a chance in hell of them repeating that achievement with a squad that could barely fill the subs’ bench in Lisbon.”
Of course, grown men—and women—play their games off the field as well, especially in the field of politics and public administration. Here’s an example from Australia involving the issue of desalination. In Melbourne’s The Age, we find this pleasingly complex query and response: “Does the Lord’s interest in water policy go beyond the conversion of water into wine? Apparently so, according to policy documents published by the Christian Democratic Party [CDP]. While parties like Labor base their water policy on the notion that climate change is likely to reduce rainfall in the future, the CDP’s policy is underscored by a different philosophy: ‘It is almighty God who gives and withholds rain.’ God’s stance on desalination remained unclear yesterday, but his flood strategy is believed to be well advanced.”
It doesn’t get much better than that, although some readers (and drinkers) might well prefer this alternative, again from The Age: “If God could turn water into wine, surely the desalination plant could also turn it into beer.” One Australian church seems to have taken this advice, but in a distinctly more sober direction, as evidenced in the title of a story from the Sunday Telegraph: “Spreading the Good Oil.” “Jesus turned water into wine but a [Western Australian] church is using an even more unlikely fluid to spread its word,” wrote the Telegraph. “The church, in Margaret River, is offering free oil changes to attract new parishioners and ‘serve the community in the most practical way possible.’” Now that’s an idea I’ll drink to—but only after I’ve carefully checked both my gas gauge and my cup!
Which brings me to the last example, coming from a story in The New York Times with the title “Where Raucous Is the Norm, Bible Study.” It describes in some detail a regional meeting of an evangelical Christian campus group called Greek InterVarsity, which seeks to “expand Bible studies and Christian recruiting in fraternities and sororities at mainstream universities.” Leaders of this group “urged members to stay in the thick of Greek social life, rubbing shoulders with the sinner. Jesus turned water into wine ‘to get the party going,’ said a young woman … adding that parties were an opportunity to show that Christianity could be fun.” I don’t know about you, but I have always thought of Bible study as fun, with or without libation.
Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine is recorded in the second chapter of the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel tells us that the miracle occurred during a wedding celebration in the Galilean town of Cana where Jesus, his mother and his disciples were among the guests. Popular allusions to this event, however, typically jettison the Biblical details, focusing almost entirely on the “miraculous” nature of turning water into wine. Nowhere is this more evident than on the fields of sport. Thus, while Harry Redknapp, manager of the Tottenham soccer team, “insisted it would be a ‘miracle’ if […]
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