January 17, 2010
John 2.1-11
As most of you know, weddings are not one my favorite things. Give me a baptism or a funeral any day over a wedding. Still, I actually do enjoy weddings that are truly joyful events in which two people express their love and their commitment for each other.
Of course, I have done my fair share of weddings in the seven years I’ve been ordained. And one thing I have discovered is how a wedding without some very good drinks is not necessarily a great experience.
In our gospel reading for today, we find that experience as well. The good wine has run out and the wedding feast is about to crash quickly. But Jesus turns water into wine and when he does, there is a renewed sense of joy and exultation.
That I think is the gist of this experience from our gospel reading. It is not just some magic trick Jesus to performs to wow people. It is not some action he performs at the whim of his mother. He performs this miracle and in doing so instills joy in those gathered there. But more than that, by doing this he does what we always does when he performs a miracle. He performs miracles not just for the benefit of those at the wedding. It is for our benefit of us as well. Because by performing this miracle, he is giving us a glimpse of what awaits us all.
If we look closely at the story and at some of the details contained in it, we will find clues of the deeper meaning behind his actions. First of all, let’s look at those jars of water. This is probably the one area we don’t give a lot of thought to. But those jars are important. They are not just regular jars of water. They are jars of water for the purification rites that accompany eating in the Jewish tradition.
Scot McKnight writes in his wonderful book, The Jesus Creed:
“The water in these stone jars is not for hygiene. This water is sacred. This water is used to purify people and things. People and things are made pure to get them in the proper order before God, to render them fit to enter into God’s presence. Observant Jews wash their hands in this water so they can eat their food in a state of purity.”
So, what we find is that Jesus turns these waters of purity into wine. And not just any wine. But abundant wines that bring about a joy among those gathered. In a sense, what Jesus has done is he has taken the party up a notch. What was already a good party is not an incredible party. It’s a beautiful image and one that I think we can all relate to.
The best part of this view of the wedding at Cana is that Jesus is saying to us that, yes, there is joy here in the midst of us, but a greater joy awaits us. A greater joy awaits when the Kingdom of God breaks through into our midst. When it does, it is very much like a wedding feast. When it does, the waters of purification will be turned into the best-tasting wine because we will no longer have to worry about issues like purity.
To some extent, the wedding at Cana is a foretaste of what we do every Sunday (and Wednesday) here at this altar. It is a foretaste of the Holy Eucharist—this sharing with each other of Christ’ Body and Blood..
And the Jesus we encounter at this feast is not a sweet, obedient son, doing whatever his mother says. He is like the wind—doing what we must when he must and no sooner. As Scot McKnight writes:
“The Messiah, [Jesus is suggesting] is not a tame lion; he roars and roams when and where he chooses. And he is about to choose to do so, but not until Mary clears herself from the picture.”
To be fair to Mary, however, we must realize that at no point does she request anything from Jesus. All she does is state the obvious. “There is no wine.” She then says to the servants, “Do whatever he asks.”
Gary Willis, in his lovely book, The Rosary, responds to this fact by quoting W.H. Auden:
“Our wishes and desires—to pass an exam, to marry the person we love, to sell our house at a good price—are involuntary and therefore not themselves prayers, even if it God whom we ask to attend to them. They only become prayers in so far as we believe that God knows better than we whether we should be granted or denied what we ask. A petition does not become a prayer unless it ends with that words, spoken or unspoken, ‘Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’”
McKnight probably sums up the miracle at Cana most perfectly in this phrase:
“When he water turns to wine and the eye of faith peers into the purification vessels, it does not see sacred water but sacred wine. The eye of faith sees not an image of itself but the image of Jesus floating on the surface of the wine. Jesus is seen in the wine for who he is really: the one who not only provides but is himself the joy of the kingdom.”
I love that! And that to me only cements the fact that what happens at Cana happens each time we gather together at this altar for the Eucharist. Here too, at this altar, we see Jesus in this wine and when we do we find that he is truly our joy. In him, our truest and deepest joy come springing forth.
So, as you come forward for Communion this morning, do so with that image of the wedding feast of Cana in your hearts and minds. Know that you come forward to not just a magic trick. You come forward to a miracle and sign of God’s kingdom breaking through into our very midst.
John 2.1-11
As most of you know, weddings are not one my favorite things. Give me a baptism or a funeral any day over a wedding. Still, I actually do enjoy weddings that are truly joyful events in which two people express their love and their commitment for each other.
Of course, I have done my fair share of weddings in the seven years I’ve been ordained. And one thing I have discovered is how a wedding without some very good drinks is not necessarily a great experience.
In our gospel reading for today, we find that experience as well. The good wine has run out and the wedding feast is about to crash quickly. But Jesus turns water into wine and when he does, there is a renewed sense of joy and exultation.
That I think is the gist of this experience from our gospel reading. It is not just some magic trick Jesus to performs to wow people. It is not some action he performs at the whim of his mother. He performs this miracle and in doing so instills joy in those gathered there. But more than that, by doing this he does what we always does when he performs a miracle. He performs miracles not just for the benefit of those at the wedding. It is for our benefit of us as well. Because by performing this miracle, he is giving us a glimpse of what awaits us all.
If we look closely at the story and at some of the details contained in it, we will find clues of the deeper meaning behind his actions. First of all, let’s look at those jars of water. This is probably the one area we don’t give a lot of thought to. But those jars are important. They are not just regular jars of water. They are jars of water for the purification rites that accompany eating in the Jewish tradition.
Scot McKnight writes in his wonderful book, The Jesus Creed:
“The water in these stone jars is not for hygiene. This water is sacred. This water is used to purify people and things. People and things are made pure to get them in the proper order before God, to render them fit to enter into God’s presence. Observant Jews wash their hands in this water so they can eat their food in a state of purity.”
So, what we find is that Jesus turns these waters of purity into wine. And not just any wine. But abundant wines that bring about a joy among those gathered. In a sense, what Jesus has done is he has taken the party up a notch. What was already a good party is not an incredible party. It’s a beautiful image and one that I think we can all relate to.
The best part of this view of the wedding at Cana is that Jesus is saying to us that, yes, there is joy here in the midst of us, but a greater joy awaits us. A greater joy awaits when the Kingdom of God breaks through into our midst. When it does, it is very much like a wedding feast. When it does, the waters of purification will be turned into the best-tasting wine because we will no longer have to worry about issues like purity.
To some extent, the wedding at Cana is a foretaste of what we do every Sunday (and Wednesday) here at this altar. It is a foretaste of the Holy Eucharist—this sharing with each other of Christ’ Body and Blood..
And the Jesus we encounter at this feast is not a sweet, obedient son, doing whatever his mother says. He is like the wind—doing what we must when he must and no sooner. As Scot McKnight writes:
“The Messiah, [Jesus is suggesting] is not a tame lion; he roars and roams when and where he chooses. And he is about to choose to do so, but not until Mary clears herself from the picture.”
To be fair to Mary, however, we must realize that at no point does she request anything from Jesus. All she does is state the obvious. “There is no wine.” She then says to the servants, “Do whatever he asks.”
Gary Willis, in his lovely book, The Rosary, responds to this fact by quoting W.H. Auden:
“Our wishes and desires—to pass an exam, to marry the person we love, to sell our house at a good price—are involuntary and therefore not themselves prayers, even if it God whom we ask to attend to them. They only become prayers in so far as we believe that God knows better than we whether we should be granted or denied what we ask. A petition does not become a prayer unless it ends with that words, spoken or unspoken, ‘Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’”
McKnight probably sums up the miracle at Cana most perfectly in this phrase:
“When he water turns to wine and the eye of faith peers into the purification vessels, it does not see sacred water but sacred wine. The eye of faith sees not an image of itself but the image of Jesus floating on the surface of the wine. Jesus is seen in the wine for who he is really: the one who not only provides but is himself the joy of the kingdom.”
I love that! And that to me only cements the fact that what happens at Cana happens each time we gather together at this altar for the Eucharist. Here too, at this altar, we see Jesus in this wine and when we do we find that he is truly our joy. In him, our truest and deepest joy come springing forth.
So, as you come forward for Communion this morning, do so with that image of the wedding feast of Cana in your hearts and minds. Know that you come forward to not just a magic trick. You come forward to a miracle and sign of God’s kingdom breaking through into our very midst.
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