“Wedding at Cana” John 2:1-11

  When folks approach me about being married, there is a traditional pattern that I follow. We meet together for five sessions, four of which focus on pre-marital concerns, looking towards the marriage, and the last session we talk about the actual wedding. At that time, I generally shock the couple by telling them that I have yet to be part of a wedding that was “perfect”. There is almost always something that goes wrong. The ceremony doesn’t start on time. The bridge forgets something important. Groomsmen pass out. You name it, there is a way for the wedding to go differently then what you have planned in your head.

After the disciples are called and gathered together in the Gospel of John, the first thing that we are told that Jesus does is goes to a wedding for an unnamed couple. He brings some of his disciples along with him. But he does this absolutely normal thing - attending the binding of hearts in marriage.

Only something goes very wrong at the reception. As the guests are dining and enjoying themselves, the wine runs out. This would have been a social disgrace for the couple and those hosting the reception. And in a society where social disgraces were a big deal - this was not something that would be acceptable. It would bring shame upon the family and probably be what folks would remember and talk about from this particular wedding for years to come. 

Enter Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary knows what her son is capable of, but she also knows that he has not yet made his glory known in a public way. But she still comes looking for him anyway. 

What happens next seems to be a tense conversation between mother and son. “Women why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” But while we may read this as a tense conversation, thousands of years removed, we actually don’t know if Jesus said this with a slight smile on his face. Or if we was upset. We read our own reactions into the text. But we do know the actions of what take place.

For Mary leaves, simply telling the attendants to “Do whatever he tells you.” And the odd parts of the story continues. For Jesus has them fill six, 20-30 gallon jars, with water. Enough to provide, but also enough to have no mistaken assumptions about what is to take place. When the jars were filled to the absolute brim, Jesus had them take some of the water to the host of the banquet. Only it was now wine. 

Friends, Jesus essentially produced the equivalent of 605 bottles of the very best wine. A truly generous gift.

On its face it seems like such a quiet first miracle, does it not? The same quiet glory that we see at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke with Jesus’s humble birth. But there is so much more for us to uncover, just under the surface.

Let’s start with the fact that Jesus and his disciples did not come to that wedding expecting to perform a miracle. They just came as guests. Not even honored guests. Yet, when faced with the delimma of the day, Jesus chose to honor ordinary individuals. He chose to honor those in need, knowing what disgrace could come to them if he did not act. He chose to honor his mother’s wishes, even if he didn’t think that his time had yet come. He chose to honor the simple request made of him, with very few people watching, as he took the most basic of elements, water, and did something absolutely amazing with it. 

But because Jesus was just a guest at the wedding, no one even came seeking him out until there was a problem. Nobody was looking for Jesus, friends, until the wine was gone. 

So I’m curious, what makes us seek out Jesus today? What first led you to the feet of the Savior, brothers and sisters? Because for a lot of us, it was a yearning or emptiness or need. A struggle with finances or relationships. With a job or health. But before we start to chastise the folks at the wedding for not looking for Jesus until their was a need, we need space and time to examine our own hearts and lives as well. For many of us were drawn to Jesus for a similar reason. 

Paul writes to the church in Rome these words: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In the context of today’s Gospel text, we will all have needs that we know that we will be unable to meet - which drive us to Jesus. Sometimes they are everyday needs and other times it may be something bigger, something that we cannot even begin to put into words. Mary knew that she would not be able to meet the great problem that faced the host of the wedding banquet. But she also knew who to bring that need to her, her son - God’s own son. 

In Mary we see a beautiful example of how to bring our needs to Christ. For Mary doesn’t start telling Jesus how to meet the need. She simply tells Jesus what the need is and then steps back and makes room for Jesus to respond as he see fits. But she firmly trusts in him, which we see in her words “Do whatever he tells you.”

What about us, friends. When we bring our truest, deepest needs to Jesus are we willing to trust him? Or do we also want to tell him how we want him to respond. Are we willing to do whatever Christ tells us to do or are we less willing then the servants to do anything that may make us seem foolish?

Because, if this miracles doesn’t make sense to us all of these years later, imagine what it must have been like for those attendants long ago. They have not seen anyone turn water into wine before - that’s what makes it a miracle. It’s the work of God. They don’t know that Jesus is the son of God. So the whole thing probably seemed pretty foolish to them, and maybe a little wasteful. What is he going to do with all of this water. These jugs are heavy. The water is sloshing out onto the ground. Doesn’t he know that there is a better use for this then just putting it here in these jugs. Shouldn’t we try thinking of a solution? But they were still willing to do what Jesus said and bring him what he request and in return they got to see water turned into wine. 

So I ask again, what about us? Are we willing to bring to Jesus whatever he asks for or do we let our doubts get in the way? Are we willing to take a risk for the Gospel or do we want to make sure that we have all of the answers and know all of the benefits first? What are we willing to truly bring to Jesus?

Was this an odd first miracle? Absolutely? But if we are honest, all of the miracles of Jesus will be odd in one way or another. The question before us now is if we are willing to respond. And if partnering with Jesus, what just might we get to catch glimpse of in return? Amen.