St. Bartholomew, Easter and Wine

St. Bartholomew Anglican church is perhaps the best place to celebrate Easter. The church got a unique character, especially on Easter day. The hymn, the ritual, the message, and the wine. Oh! The wine. Nothing else tastes like the wine served during Holy Communion at St. Bartholomew in Grahamstown. Several Sundays since I began attending the church, I have never missed Holy Communion. Each time the wine vessel is passed on to me, my palate tingles. St. Bartholomew serves the best wine in Grahamstown. Sometimes before I set my lips on the rim of the vessel, I take a quick look at the wine inside. Light red liquid, like diluted drop of blood, winking silently in a golden cup. And the liquid is transparent enough for one to see the yellow floor of the vessel. But the magic moment for me is when I tilt the vase toward angle 90 degree, and the ruby river starts coursing through the smooth rim right into my waiting mouth. How my tongue twitches at that moment. Oh Lord, I love the taste of wine of St. Bartholomew church. The blend is simply divine.
But on Easter day, everything changed. The wine did not only taste like nectar, it became spirit –filled. The Easter hymn of Lyra Davidica seeped from the old organ into the walls of the church. “Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!...” For a moment, I felt like one of the 12 disciples sharing the Holy Communion with Christ at the Last Supper. St. Bartholomew started looking like the upper room outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The figuring of Jesus on the wall stepped out and became flesh. He was no longer half naked. He was cladded in Jewish robe and stood in front of me, offering me wine of St. Bartholomew. “Take, this is my blood”. Like the one in trance, I took the golden vase, and I began to down the red miracle. Oh! Dear lord, I like your blood. A-a-h-h! I love this wine. The sweet wine of St. Bartholomew church. Surely, Cardinal Richelieu is right, “if God forbade drinking, would He have made wine so good”. Wine indeed is good. Friends, drink no longer water, get good wine and drink. Today is Easter.
Happy Easter, everyone!