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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 14, 2007 The Wedding at Cana |
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Frontline Devotion for Sunday, January 14, 2007 by Susan Hill
John 2: 1-11: 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.” An Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone 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 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, “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.
As I read this passage, I am reminded of a wedding my husband and I attended a few years ago. The host was a Mexican restaurateur in our town; actually, the bride’s uncle. In the early hours of the reception, he explained to us gringo business acquaintances that later in the evening, by custom, additional uninvited guests from the Hispanic community would join the party informally. Truly, they came in large numbers! We were amazed as the welcoming host provided more and more table space, wonderful food, drink, ethnic music, and dancing for all. The host’s generosity filled the occasion with joy, a sense of community among strangers, and hope for the married couple’s future.
At the wedding in Cana, after all the original store of wine was consumed, Jesus miraculously provided “between 130-190 gallons” (Voices from the Margin, 1995, R.S. Sugirtharajah, ed.) of superior new wine for the use of the embarrassed bridegroom and his thirsty guests. Like the hospitable provisions of our wedding host, Jesus’ gift to the bridegroom was more than adequate. It was generous and abundant. The wine vessels, formerly holding water for Jewish cleansing rituals, were newly filled to the brim with wine, and the wedding celebration, we assume, continued lavishly. Though inadequately prepared, the bridegroom was redeemed from public humiliation and the community remained intact.
Juxtaposed to the image we might visualize of Cana’s celebratory wedding feast is the quiet, contained conversation between Jesus and his mother. They speak in serious, guarded language about the wine and about Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, his “hour” that is sometime in the future. We have some insight, as readers, into a reality that has not yet been fulfilled. It will be a reality of promise and generosity for us, the bridegrooms or wedding guests, but it will require a dire commitment from Jesus. He will drink the final and bitter “cup” of obedience on the cross for our sakes.
By all human rights and standards, something doesn’t seem right here. The bridegroom and his guests continue to drink the wine divinely rendered for celebration while Jesus accepts the consequences of our sins. Only God in God’s holy and abundant grace and mercy can restore this broken reality. God is a wedding host whose inclusiveness sets a table for us, nourishes us with every good gift, and promises us a glorious future.
Prayer: God of love, we praise and thank you for our loving relationship with you. We thank you for the visible signs that Jesus did on this earth so that we might believe and become disciples of your Word. May we be inspired to pass on the abundance of your grace so all may be filled with hope and peace. Amen.
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