Weddings are special. Normally all goes well, even though the happy couple should always be warned that something can easily go wrong and often does (as all the footage on America's Funniest Home Videos through the years regularly attests). My advice to wedding parties is to look for something to go wrong, then consider it God's good gift to keep us on our toes.
Weddings can be adventures. Several years ago one went just beautifully until the very end of the ceremony. In that tender moment when bride and groom kissed, the bride's five-year-old brother, the ring bearer, let out with a"Yuk!" The congregation was on the floor laughing. As people left that afternoon, the placed glowed with everyone's grins. And in years to come, when people think of that wedding, the one thing they will remember is "Yuk!"
In a way, that is what we are confronted with in our text.This one almost became one of those weddings to remember and for a reason that would have mortified the bride and groom.
Consider the scene: a village wedding feast, a really notable occasion, especially in this exceptionally poor, dusty region of Judea, a genuinely joyous event. Your invitation would have come from the groom (the one who would be footing the bill, a practice that some of my friends who have many daughters would like to see resumed). The ceremony would be scheduled for a Wednesday evening (that was the rule to allow travelers to avoid the necessity of going any distance on the sabbath).Then the other card in the envelope would say, "Reception to follow over the next seven days and nights (Judges 14:12). RSVP." They needed to know how many would be showing up so they could make adequate preparation for food and drink. They would certainly not want to run out of anything, because in that part of the country, a lack of hospitality was a terrible social faux pas.
As to the ceremony itself, it would be preceded by a huge feast with the actual exchanging of the vows late in the evening. Afterward, the couple would be led on a winding trek through the town by the light of flaming torches, a canopy over their heads, allowing the other townspeople the opportunity for congratulations and good wishes ending up at the couple's new home. Then for another week or so, the newlyweds would host an open house. They would wear crowns and dress in their bridal robes. They were treated like king and queen and, for that week, their word was law.[1] In a life of poverty and hard work, such a week was truly a great occasion.
As to this specific wedding in Cana of Galilee, about four and a half miles from Nazareth, no doubt much of the town was involved in the festivities. Jesus' mother, Mary, was there, so probably the principals were relatives of hers or, at the very least, good friends. Joseph is not mentioned, and scholars believe that by this time, he had died. Mary was probably close enough to the wedding family to have helped with the arrangements, for, as we shall see, she had authority over the servants to get things accomplished. Jesus was invited, and he showed up with his disciple friends. A good time was being had by all when, horror of horrors, the wine ran out.
Nobody runs out of wine at a Jewish wedding. It is an insult to the guests, for as we mentioned, hospitality in the East is more than a social grace, it is a sacred duty. It would be a terrible humiliation for the bridal couple, and, in a small town, it would have been talked about for a generation. ("Yuk!")
So Mary came to Jesus, the head of her household, the one to whom she probably came for years with problems like this, ever since her husband died. She told him, "They have no more wine" (John 2:3).
Jesus responds, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come" (John 2:4).
There is no indication as to whether Mary had the slightest clue of what he was talking about, but she did have every confidence that he would come up with a solution, so she just told the servants, the ones waiting on the tables, "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). Come to think of it, that is good advice anytime we encounter Jesus, isn't it?
Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water" (John 2:7). And they filled them up to the brim. Six huge stone water jars normally used for washing road dust or mud from a traveler's hands and feet, each holding between twenty and thirty gallons, between 120 and 180 gallons total. Jesus then instructed, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast" [the maitre d'] (John 2:8 RSV). We know the rest of the story. The water had been turned to wine. Gallons and gallons and gallons of it! Is there a warning here? Be careful when you ask the Lord for something? His sense of proportion is different from ours. When the Lord steps in, things happen, big time!
The wine, of course, was excellent. The maitre d' even joked to the bridegroom, "Hey, this is better than what we started out with. Most people would use the really good wine first and then come out with the Mooby Fooby (remember that stuff?) after everybody is blitzed." Perhaps he thought, "Well, what can you expect from a newlywed?"
Little did he know ... and when it comes right down to it, little do we know. We know the result: the water was turned to wine and the celebration was saved. How did it happen? The problem was turned over to Jesus. That is all we know, other than the fact that he handled it.
I remember the story of the cynic who commented to a friend that he could not believe that Jesus actually turned water into wine. The friend, who happened to be a recovering alcoholic who had come to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, replied, "I don't know anything about that. I just know that, in my house, Jesus changed whiskey into furniture."
As we said at the beginning of this, in a way, our lesson confronts us with the story of an ancient, small-town wedding. In a way! You see, the gospel of John never tells stories, this one or any other, for just their narrative value. As Bible scholars know, of all the gospel writers, John always has a point to make. For John, this scene in Cana is not about a miracle. In fact, John simply calls it a sign. What do signs do? They point us to something. In this case, John comes right out and tells us: He thus revealed his glory! In Greek, the word we translate as "glory" (doxa) means more than radiance or light — it also carries with it the sense of weight or heft. Put all that together and the message for John (and remember he places this event right at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry) is not about Jesus rescuing a party, it is that this Jesus whom we are about to get to know is some heavy-duty fellow, someone to take exceedingly seriously! This Jesus is something. This Jesus is something!
There is an ancient account around about the priest who was pulled over by a state trooper because he had been weaving all over the road. The officer came to the side of the car, looked in, saw the priest, and at the same moment, saw what looked to be a thermos. "What's in the bottle, Father?"
"Nothing but water, officer."
"Let me check." The officer sniffed. "Water, nothing. This is wine."
Where upon the good father clasped his hands together, looked reverently toward heaven and said, "Praise be, he's done it again!"
Has the wine in your life run out? Remember, this Jesus is something! And he can do it again. He can do it again.
1. William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 1, Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia:Westminster, 1975), pp. 96-97.