There’s a great discussion on the Out of Ur blog called Trouble Brewing concerning the alcohol consumption of church leaders. One of the questions that was posted was if Jesus were here today, would he have changed the water into wine?
One of the key aspects in understanding Jesus turning the water into wine was that was an important thing at a Jewish wedding 2000 years ago.
I believe that if Jesus was in our churches, he’d change what came out of those terrible 100 cup coffee peculators, and hand out fair-trade, French-pressed coffee. Perhaps he would have also changed the Welch’s grape juice to wine for our communions.
If Jesus were attending the Super Bowl and they ran out of water on the sidelines, I’m not sure he would have changed the water into wine. He probably would have changed into Gatorade (or he would have cleared this American temple but I hope not because I love the NFL and hope God does too).
I speculate that if Jesus was walking through Africa, he may have changed the dirty water into pure water or if he were in Vancouver, he may have changed the soda into hot chocolate.
You can see that I’m not as quite committed to the wine but I do not want to dismiss it entirely either. I think Jesus liked wine and it’s worth noting. While not everyone needs to like or consume alcohol, it’s a topic that we should reflect on.
Below is what I posted on the Out of Ur post:
Worthy topic to discuss here. It’s hard to disassociate ourselves from our American-evangelical context (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but I think considering the worldwide Church community is helpful. Like some have already alluded to, drunkenness is condemned in Scriptures, not the consumption of alcohol. In light of the liberty described New Testament and the countless tragic stories many of us have experienced, we cannot be trite here. Indeed some have stumbled by the alcohol use of others, while some doors have been opened by the exact opposite. I know I’ve experienced both and again, this is why we should avoid being dogmatic about this. I think among the problems is that local congregations have been too one-sided favoring one side while demonizing the other. Conversations would be helpful here.
To drink or not to drink, is not really the question. This has been an issue with so many Christians for so many years and I find it quite annoying. Wine was used often in the Bible and I think God would still change the water into wine or whatever the beverage of choice for that region is. The alcohol is not the problem, the problem is usually the consumer and the amount they consume. Moderation is spoke of in the Bible and that can refer to anything from beer to your favorite fast food. If you area getting drunk or slightly buzzed, then there is a problem. I have broken down wall with unsaved people because they have offered me a beer and I accepted it. I have many people in my family that are T-totallers but I am not one of them. If I know a person has a problem with alcohol or has had a problem with it, I don’t offer it. Out of love for that person, I would to have them stumble back into a problem. I don’t drink any hard liquor because I used to have a serious problem with it.If Jesus followers could quit fighting over stupid, small and insignificant issues like this, maybe, just maybe we could reach more people for Christ.