Our Gospel message comes to us today from John the 2nd chapter, beginning at the 1st verse.
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. (John 2:1-11, NRSV)
All mighty God, we thank you for your word and the way that you in it revealed to us who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. Now as we open that word we pray that your spirit may be present, that all thoughts of worry or distraction may be removed and that the Spirit will allow us to hear your voice. And so, oh God, fill us with your spirit through the reading and proclamation of your word this day. We pray in Jesus name. Amen
“The Cana Miracle”
I. INTRODUCTION
January 6 was the pagan feast of Dionysus, the god of wine. During that feast the fountains of the pagan temples on Andros spouted wine instead of water. One of the tactics of the early Church was to “christianize” pagan cults to show how Christ fulfills their hopes in a real way. So, this story, read on the feast, is adapted by John to be an “Epiphany” story, telling of Jesus’ “coming out” as divine savior. All four gospels have their “Epiphany” story: Mark, the Baptism of Jesus; Matthew, the Magi’s Visit; Luke the Shepherd’s Visit; and John, the Cana Miracle.
A wedding feast was a standard symbol for the Messianic banquet at the end of time when God’s enemies will be destroyed. Wine, too, was a symbol of rejoicing and fulfillment. It is a most appropriate setting to tell the story that, although God was always active in creation, something new, good, and superior has arrived in Jesus, a new creation. According to John, it is first revealed to his disciples here at Cana.
Weddings at that time were really important community events. They were usually lengthy affairs, often lasting several days. They were a time for rejoicing, a time to strengthen family ties, in addition to celebrating their unique relationship with God. As a result, the families of the bride and groom would stockpile plenty of food and wine to insure that their guests would be able to forget their daily concerns, and celebrate the ongoing gift of life through the marriage of their children.
Even today, hospitality is a sacred responsibility in the Middle East. It is considered an embarrassment to run out of food and drink to serve your invited guests. Even worse, it would be a calamity for the host family to run out of wine, the symbol of hospitality, especially at a wedding feast. And the fact that Mary becomes aware that the wine supply is running low, is another indication that there was a close connection between her and the host family.
II. THE MIRACLE
So Mary comes to Jesus and tells him that “They have no wine.” At first, Jesus seems to ignore her concern, saying, “What concern is that to you and me?” But Mary persisted, telling the servants of the feast, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus then directs the servants to fill the six large urns which sat by the door and provided the guests with water to wash the dust of the road off of their hands and feet, with fresh water. According to our text, each urn held twenty or thirty gallons, and the servants filled them to the brim.
Jesus then instructed the servants to dip out a sample of the liquid, and take it to the chief steward of the feast. John tells us that when the steward tasted it, he was amazed, paged for 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.”
Now, we are not talking about a few bottles of well-aged wine held in reserve for special guest. Multiply it out and you get between 120 and 180 gallons of the finest wine. That’s at least 600 bottles. John then concludes this story by telling us that this was the first sign that Jesus did, which showed forth his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
III. RECIPIENTS OF THE MIRACLE
Thus, John invites us to witness the manifestation of Jesus as the Christ through this miracle which he performed at the wedding in Cana. But as is the case in much of John’s Gospel, what on the surface seems to be so simple, upon more careful analysis, proves to be turned upside down. How often I have heard persons say to me that if they could just be the recipient of a miracle, their faith would be strengthened. But the truth is, throughout John’s Gospel, the recipients of Jesus’ miracles are not usually the persons who come to faith in him as the Christ, God’s promised Messiah.
Think about it! The servants of the feast were the persons who were told by Jesus to refill the urns with clean water. They were the persons who most likely breathed a sigh of relief, as the steward of the feast tasted the water, now become wine, and proclaimed it to be of the best quality. The servants knew every detail of the miracle, and yet there is no indication in our text that would indicate that they came to faith in Jesus as the Christ.
Now, the chief steward of the feast doesn’t know anything about what is in the urns, or how it got there. He simply tastes what the servants bring to him, and declares it to be a wine of finest quality. He then calls to him the bridegroom, and commends him for his good taste in saving the best wine for last. The chief steward proclaims the miracle, yet he does not even know what he has done.
And the bridegroom must have been totally caught off guard. There is no indication that he knew anything at all about what had just taken place. He did not buy this wine. He had not even tasted it. But he and his family were the recipients of the miracle, being saved from the embarrassment of not adequately preparing for the wedding feast. He says nothing. He knows nothing. Yet it was for him that the miracle was performed.
According to John, the persons who came to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, were his disciples. And from the previous chapter, we are told that these first disciples of Jesus were previously disciples of John the Baptist, who had taught them, prepared them, and pointed them in the direction of seeing Jesus as the Christ. In other words, they were persons who were encouraged to follow Jesus as the Christ, and to see in Jesus the signs of God’s presence.
IV. THE SIGNS OF CHRIST
What happened that day was a “sign”, not just an amazing event. And like all signs, it has something to say, something to tell us. The disciples were able to see it, because they had been prepared to see it. According to one of the commentaries that I read, Jesus instructed the servants to use the stone jars designated for the rites of purification was significant. By turning the waters of purification into the wine of celebration, Jesus was signifying he would not only purify God’s people, but sustain our hearts in gladness.
This first sign is just a glimpse of the signs that the rest of Jesus’ ministry would bring. And if we keep watching and reading, we ourselves can become open to the Spirit of God working in our midst to reveal and manifest to us that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God.
We might see, in chapter 4 of John’s Gospel, that Jesus actually healed a Roman official’s son, a sign that points to the expansion of God’s care outside the bounds of Israel. In Chapter 8 Jesus forgave a woman caught in the midst of adultery, a sign which indicates that even the most painful sins we commit can be forgiven. In chapter 11, Jesus calls Lazarus back from the grave, a sign that Jesus would conquer sin and death, and open the graves of all faithful persons to life eternal with him.
V. CONCLUSION
As you and I read these stories of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels, as we open our hearts and minds to the very grace of God at work to bring us life through this child born of Mary, we are given the opportunity to grow in faith. And by looking to these ancient stories, we are given opportunity to join those first disciples of Jesus, and see the grace of God revealed in his life, as sign’s of his glory. And what those first disciples saw, was forgiveness instead of condemnation, hope instead of despair, new life instead of death.
We don’t need to be the recipient of miracles in order to perceive the presence of God in Jesus the Christ. We have the Scriptures, which point us to Jesus. We have the Spirit of God at work through our worship and our participation in the Sacraments to open our hearts to the grace of God. We have the promise of forgiveness and new life, which has been preserved through the proclamation of God’s Word by the church to countless persons for over two-thousand years.
Jesus offers us new wine. It is forgiveness. It is love. And it is abundant!
In closing, it should also be noted, that partying has a bad name among religious people because it connotes an abandon to pleasure at any price. Yet, Jesus attended and, we presume, participated in many parties, the wedding feast of Cana being but one of them. He has several parables and illustrations that use the party as an image of the Kingdom of God. It is okay to celebrate life, even with wine. Jesus did. Jesus set the example that we too should enjoy life.
Let us pray:
O God of steadfast love, at the wedding in Cana your Son Jesus turned water into wine, delighting all who were there. Transform our hearts by your Spirit, that we may use our varied gifts to show forth the light of your love as one body in Christ. Amen.
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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
At a wedding feast in Cana Jesus changes water to wine. The disciples see his glory and believe in him.
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