Guests at a Wedding

From John 2

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

Jesus was so unlike the other rabbis of our day. In fact, no living person was like Jesus. He could be serious, like the other rabbis, but he could also be fun, like your best friend. I can’t adequately describe how warm and engaging he was. As his disciples, we knew from the start that he was special. And eventually, we all came around to conclude that he was the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But all the same, to us, he was also a down-to-earth, sincere friend. There was no one like Jesus!

This story goes back to our early days of following Jesus, when we accompanied him to a wedding in Cana, near Capernaum. I guess we sort of snuck in on his invitation. His mother was there, too, as well as a large number of other guests.

You must know that in our culture, weddings were events of great importance and almost unlimited festivity. Families spared nothing in the preparations for the ceremony, the food and drink, and the music. You did not want to miss a wedding, as they were the social heartbeat of our community. In fact, turning down a wedding invitation was considered an insult to the families of the bride and groom.

I know that you can read about this particular wedding in John’s gospel. Frankly, I was at first a bit puzzled as to why John included this story. He called it a “sign” about Jesus, demonstrating that Jesus was the Son of God. And I am sure that you know about the miracle of how he turned water into wine. 

Of course, most of the miracles of Jesus were amazing healings, exorcisms, and even, in the case of Lazarus, literally bringing a dead man back to life. But this miracle at the wedding, as amazing as it was at the time, didn’t seem to quite measure up to the others. I mean no one was healed, given sight, hearing or speech, just as Jesus would do for so many, many others. For some reason, though, John thought, among all of the amazing things that Jesus did, this miracle would be important to remember.

It's now years later, and I’ve gone back to reflect on this story, and why John thought it so important. And now, I’m able to better understand. You see, as with so many stories about Jesus, there was a deeper message; in some ways, a hidden truth that was hard to see at first. And I have come to believe that in this story, John saw and understood something that the rest of us missed. Perhaps you missed it too.

According to John, this miracle was the very first “sign” performed by Jesus. Using that term, I believe that John wanted to convey the importance of this miracle as an announcement of sorts, that Jesus, the Messiah, had arrived. And further, John believed that this miracle marked the nature and quality of the ministry of Jesus from its very beginning.

I understand that John’s thinking may not be clear to you. It certainly wasn’t clear to me for the longest time. But let’s take a closer look at how and why Jesus turned water into wine. And why John thought it so important.

First, it announced that Jesus’ ministry would focus on ordinary people, in the mainstream of their lives. Jesus could have inaugurated his ministry by riding into Jerusalem on a white horse, ready to call forth a revolt against the Roman occupiers. In fact, many in our land hoped for and fervently expected such a messiah.

Instead, Jesus arrived as merely one of the guests at a wedding in an obscure Galilean village. He was not welcomed in any special way, just one of many. The bride and groom were of such little note that they were not even named.

Second, Jesus allowed himself to be interrupted. At first, he rejected his mother’s plea to do something about the shortage of wine. But then, he acted and he acted decisively. I cannot count how many more times Jesus would be interrupted by people in need and I can tell you that he never refused to help. In fact, one of his most famous parables, the Good Samaritan, tells us that each one of us must also be prepared to be interrupted. And remember, Jesus was never indecisive.

You must also understand the qualities of water and wine. Jesus took water and turned it into wine. He did not just create wine from thin air.

Water’s highest use was for purification. For centuries, our Jewish faith had stressed the need for purification. We were, quite frankly, obsessed with it. That’s why the wedding locale included no less than six large vessels, each one holding as much as thirty gallons of precious water, all dedicated, and set apart for one and only one use: purification.

And wine? Wine is food; it has nutritional value. Jesus identified with it. Later, he would call himself the “new wine” that the old wineskins could no longer hold. And at our final meal, what you call the Eucharist, he equated wine with his very life blood. Once, Jesus even instructed us to eat his body and drink his blood (John 6).

So, at the wedding, what did Jesus do? He took the water that had been set apart for purification and he changed its quality. It would no longer be used for cleansing but would instead, become a life-giving food. Perhaps we might even consider it holy food. In so doing, Jesus announced that he came not to judge (purify) us, but instead, to accept us as we are and to feed us. With his very self.

Marriage at Cana by Giotto di Bondone, 14th century

You must also understand the wedding situation as it unfolded. Of course, running out of wine at a wedding party would be unforgiveable, a catastrophe resulting in total humiliation for the hosts. But more, John chose this story to symbolize how Jesus would not allow our life blood to expire. As he later fed multitudes with only five loaves and two fish, he would take charge to make sure that all of the guests were fed. There would be more than enough, literally gallons of the best wine anyone had ever tasted, a true abundance. As John tells us, the vessels were filled to the brim.

In effect, Jesus had become the wedding’s host and the provider. It wasn’t just about saving face for the host families, it was about what Jesus always wanted to do: feed his people, to literally infuse his very life into us. The wine symbolized his life, even his blood, to be shared with all of us in great abundance.

As I mentioned before, Jesus did all of this, not as a stunt or trick to impress the guests. In fact, he kept it as secret as possible. Even the wine steward, surprised as he was, did not know. Jesus was not a performer. I mean, he did not stage miracles to get attention for himself. In many cases, including this one, he insisted on keeping his amazing feats away from the light of public awareness. So it was at this wedding. Jesus certainly could have made sure that everyone knew what he had done. But he did not do that and in truth, only a very few of us were aware. 

But the servants knew, didn’t they? Yes, the servants. And so again, John used this story to emphasize how Jesus came for the lowly, the forgotten and the outcasts. In this miracle, the servants knew what others were kept from knowing. The lowliest were allowed to see the miracle. 

To the wine steward, who was the officiant at the celebration, the wine service appeared to be backward. Remember his comment about saving the best for the last? He noted that it was the opposite of what was common practice.

You could say that the entire ministry of Jesus appeared to be backward to many. With his emphasis on the outcasts and forgotten of our culture, Jesus clearly changed the order of things. As Jesus himself said later, the first will be last and the last will be first.

It’s certainly true that most of the miracles of Jesus were far more dramatic than this one: driving out demons, making the blind to see, and more. But perhaps you can now understand a bit better why John chose this story as the first “sign” of the ministry of Jesus.

I don’t know why I didn’t see all of this at the time. But maybe like you, I discover that there is no limit to the depth of what Jesus can show me, even years after the fact. All I can say is that in the years since this obscure event, Jesus has never stopped feeding me.  His love and even his very life can fill all of us, all the way to the brim.