sweeter than the sweetest wine

there is no bitter wine from jesus christ

Oct 11, 2022

I didn’t know ‘wine grapes’ existed until two weeks ago when Emily and I were in Rochester, New York visiting a few of our dearest friends.1 On that Saturday we stopped at several wineries to enjoy the view of the countryside and test our own palates beyond the familiar walls of Trader Joe’s.

Of course, we had to try the wine grapes. Plump and round, they resembled a blueberry far more than a grape. But when I eagerly placed one in my mouth, I was met with a rich, juicy sweetness that I had not expected.

…

In 2018, a beloved professor from undergrad told a small class I was in: All wine from Jesus Christ is sweet. There is no bitter wine from him.

Wine, of course, is many things. It is God’s gift to us, the presence of joy and jubilation in our lives, the command to rest from our labor, the loving care of a parent, and the delight that comes from stewarding a creation God has called good.

Bon Jovi, while clearly not talking about God, actually offers an astute theological reflection in their ballad “Bitter Wine:” Your love was my salvation it could always get me high. What was once holy water tastes like bitter wine.

I think this happens to many of us with faith: holy water begins to taste like bitter wine. What was once received as God’s gracious gifts are now the sites of trauma and marginalization. The loving community of the church becomes the location of political tribalism. The liberation found in the Scriptures become new chains of bondage. The call to love one’s neighbor carries extra-biblical conditions.

The professor who claimed that there is no bitter wine from Jesus could certainly relate to this. After teaching at the Bible college for decades, he became the target of malicious false accusations from within the school that attacked his both character and Christian faithfulness. It was a betrayal of friendship and trust. The most bitter wine.

Even still: All wine from Jesus Christ is sweet. There is no bitter wine from him, saints.

He continued later in the class: “Do that which is generous and kind. Flee from those who do not do this. If you are alone, God will bring brothers and sisters to you.”

Share This Common Life

Sometimes we need time in the vineyard—away from those who are not generous and kind—to experience the round, overwhelming sweetness of Jesus’ wine anew. In this moment, we may realize the bitter wine we have tasted is not from Jesus, but from those who claim to act in God’s name.

In this realization, might we sing with John Mark Panta, “Your love is better than life. Your love is sweeter than wine. Your love is better than life. Your love is sweeter than the sweetest wine!”

Reading:

Who Do You Say that I Am? - Anne Snyder (Comment Magazine)
Writer Azhar Usman Brings Joy and Islam to Hit Shows ‘Ramy’ and ‘Mo’ - Silma Suba & Monique Parsons (Interfaith America)
Invisible: Theology and the Experience of Asian American Women - Grace Ji-Sun Kim (Fortress Press, 2021)