The famous Danish theologian and philosopher, Kierkegarde, once remarked that the first miracle Jesus performed was to turn water into wine. He went on to say, “The Church, however, has performed an even greater miracle; it has turned the wine back into water.” He was, of course, referring to that unfortunate tendency, sometimes seen in religious organizations, to view physical enjoyment with suspicion and to identify sin even with those legitimate pleasures that brighten life up.
But the truth is that wherever Jesus touches life, the effect is like turning water into wine – mere existence into joy. Tolstoy put it beautifully when he wrote, “They who understand Christ’s teaching feel like birds that did not know they had wings, and now suddenly realise that they can fly, can be free and no longer need to fear.”