Jesus used wine to symbolize his blood; he could have used water, which would have adequately carried the symbolism as happily as it carried him on it’s back. He did this for it’s color scheme and the scandal of ingestion: wine is blood red, and quaffing a creature’s blood was an act Moses forbade. But wine also carries a hazard that water cannot fake; it is a dangerous drink. It can loosen the tongue to mockery, sting like an adder, and numb the face to fists. Jesus knew all of this and still chose this drink for us to remember him by. When we drink in his remembrance, we drink danger. There is wrath in the grape. When wine in communion is replaced with juice, we lose the danger of the drink – it might as well come with a straw.
Running Thoughts #9
Thought Butter 