The Wedding at Cana

Steve Murray
 
A Wedding! Imagine & remember the best Wedding you ever attended. It may be your own Wedding or someone else’s… Think on that.  Picture if you can ( & some of you will remember) a Wedding 10 years 10 months & 48 days ago in this very Church when an elderly couple ( Elderly is a polite word for “Old) got married in the presence of God, 2 Priests, Family Members, Most of the then Church Congregation, Family Members & Friends. It was a wonderful joyful God-Given Blessed Occasion. The Groom was grinning like a Cheshire Cat the whole day, a cheeky loud bloke who has been called a Clown of Christ. The Bride was stunning in her Wedding Dress ( Nice legs), could sing like an angel & was great at cooking, reading maps & fixing things. Little wonder then that the Groom was grinning like a Cheshire Cat seeing that he can’t or wont cook, has trouble navigating to & from the local shop & is more into breaking things than fixing them.

The cars were provided by Henry Green & Milner Jacob. The photos were taken by Colin Bird, Mike Bowler & Neville Hoare. The Church ladies were busy in the kitchen . There were numerous & generous donations. Everyone gathered in the Church Hall to eat & drink merrily. And there was a special VIP Guest. His name was JESUS & he came to us on that special day on the 5th March 2011 in the form of bread & wine. Enough of that. Today in John’s Gospel read to us by Roy Keeling we are looking at a Wedding in Cana some 2,000 years ago. Cana was a small village in Upper Galilee & was close to Nazareth. Now this Palestinian Wedding is like the best Wedding you have ever imagined in your mind’s eye only it is bigger, better & longer. Typically a Wedding in Cana was celebrated over 7 days unlike our present 1 day. A wedding on steroids.

It was also very much a Community Wedding celebrated by the entire Village. So nearly all of Cana’s people would have been there but also  including relatives & friends from surrounding small villages such as Nazareth. Mary the Mother of Jesus was present & seems to have some standing or Authority because it is she who instructs the servants to do whatever Jesus tells you to do. Obviously Jesus was there as were his friends ( The Disciples). At this point of time Jesus is not famous or well-known. There is no mention of Joseph probably due to his earlier death. The Host Family’s responsibility even duty was to provide food, drink & accommodation over the 7 day period. The Wedding Ceremony itself took place late in the evening after a feast.

After the Ceremony the young couple were taken to their new home. By that time it would be dark & they were escorted through the streets of Cana with the light of burning torches & with a canopy over their heads. The Married Couple did not go away for their honeymoon but stayed at home. For a whole week they kept an open house. They wore crowns & dressed in their bridal robes. They were treated like  King & Queen. This 1 special week of festivity & joy was probably one of their most special occasions in life.

So Jesus was at the Wedding in Cana having a good time when the Wine ran out. At any normal time the failure of being a good host would have been a problem but this was even more so for a Wedding. Hospitality in the East is a sacred duty. Any failure is a terrible shame even a Humiliation. Mary understands this & wants to help out. Presumably with no husband to help her she naturally turns to her eldest son.  Jesus is unknown but his mother MARY has an awareness that her son is special & comes from God, & knows that God can do what no man can. Mary knows who the real father of Jesus is. The disciples are yet to discover that truth.

Mary plays a pivotal part in this story. There is strong discussion among Theologians as to whether Mary was asking Jesus to do a miracle , or whether she was hoping that her son would somehow help solve this major problem & find some wine. Jesus’s response to his mother’s subtle request for help because they have no wine is not anger or reproach, it’s simply that his time (or hour) has not yet come. That timing is a matter between God the Father and Jesus his only beloved Son. Mary senses  as mothers often do that the reply from Jesus is not an absolute no, & therefore says to the servants “ Do whatever he tells you.”  

Let’s look at the 6 giant water jars. These jars were there to provide water for the purifying ceremonies of the Jews. Water was used for 2 purposes. First it would be required for cleaning the feet on the entry to the House. Second it would be required for the handwashing. Strict Jews washed their hands before a meal and between each Course. Jesus commanded the servants that the 6 empty jars should be filled to the brim with water. He then told them to draw out the water and take it to the master of the Banquet or Head Waiter. He was astounded at the good quality of the wine. No doubt the servants  were astounded that somehow the water had become wine.

​That is a miracle ( Jesus’s 1st miracle after his Baptism) , something no man could perform. Why couldn’t Jesus have found a better purpose when he performed this 1st Miracle? Why did Jesus choose a small town Wedding? Why did he reveal his glory then? God knows. I don’t. The total number of miracles recorded in all 4 Gospels is 36. Only 7 of  them are in John’s Gospel . John selected these  7 for a specific purpose because they are important.  Also the number 7 is a perfect number according to Biblical Numerology.  Jesus’s miracles were not wonders to astound but rather “signs” pointing to his Glory.

We are in the Season of Epiphany which is about the manifestation of Jesus Christ, the showing of his Glory, the Revelation of God’s Beloved Son in our midst. Because of this sign the Disciples put their Faith in JESUS,  They believed in him. It was the start of their journey leading to the point when the disciples would do whatever Jesus told them.  It was the beginning of his signs.  Each one of us needs to be FILLED to the brim. We need to recognise our emptiness. We need to believe in Jesus. We need to do whatever Jesus tells us to do.  This first miracle had at least one good result. The Disciples were strengthened in their FAITH. They began to believe in JESUS.
 
Please join with me in a closing prayer which is on the screen:
GOD of Revelation  you made your son known at a Wedding, a Public Celebration of LOVE. Celebrate with us by revealing your Son in our midst.   Amen.
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