It’s always an exciting time when I am asked to perform a wedding ceremony. However, a fellow Pastor recently said to me that he would rather do 10 funerals than one wedding. I agreed. Why? A wedding is so important – such a special day that one mistake has the possibility of ruining that special event and being the thing that everyone remembers.
I was recently watching an episode of the TV show Friends. And in a wedding scene during the vows, Ross, the groom, when asked to repeat his vows gets the bride’s name wrong. Instead of saying the bride’s name, Emily, he says his old girlfriend’s name, Rachel. My very first wedding ceremony I was so nervous that I forgot one of the most important parts. During the signing of the register the groom whispers to me “when do I kiss the bride”. It’s a nervous time for young couples – the cost – the details – and the need to cut names off the invitation list – not because you don’t want them there but the cost is astronomical.
Can you imagine the embarrassment of the host in today’s Gospel reading when he discovers that – they have run out of wine. People may not always remember every detail of a wedding – but if something goes wrong you can expect that that will be what everyone remembers and talks about. Mary feels for the host and brings it up with Jesus. I’m not sure what Mary was expecting Jesus to do. She knows he is special but does she know what he is capable of? Is this what Jesus came to do? Jesus responds back to her – Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?
What we learn from the miracle that Jesus performs was not to save embarrassment but as a sign to his disciples. Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. In fact one of the unique features of John’s Gospel is that he doesn’t call Jesus’ miraculous events as miracles but as “signs”. One of the “signs” this miracle teaches me, and I hope you too, is that we can turn to Jesus for anything. Was running out of wine what Jesus came to fix? No? Is Jesus concerned about our concerns? Yes? Jesus says that God knows when a sparrow falls from the sky and that we are worth much more than sparrows. Jesus says that God knows us intimately and that even the very hairs on our head are numbered.
So why don’t we, like Mary, turn to Jesus even if we know that we can handle the matter ourselves?
That’s why I love that hymn, what a friend we have in Jesus – what a privilege it is to carry “EVERYTHING to God in prayer”. In a time of need, Mary turned to Jesus, asking him to help in this crisis. And despite his initial reluctance, Jesus performed a miracle, turning water into the finest wine. This act of compassion and abundance not only solved the immediate problem but also revealed the abundant grace and love that Jesus has for each one of us. And it shows that, yes, we might be able to tend to our concerns ourselves, but in prayer Jesus will help us achieve God’s will in a situation. And this is what Paul refers to in our 2nd reading – the difference between a life where prayer is central in all we do and one where our own desires are central in all we do. He says – You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.
But deeper in the heart of this sign is the transformation that Jesus brings. Paul says – once we were pagans – enticed and led astray. But here Jesus transforms the ordinary into extraordinary. The host ran out of wine and Jesus provides more than the host could ever have expected.
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. The host would have accepted anything to avoid the embarrassment but Jesus exceeds his expectations. What Paul describes in our transformation is a life filled with the Spirit – the Holy Spirit of God. A Spirit that enables us to say “Jesus is Lord”. And elsewhere, in Romans, Paul says – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Talk about abundance!
This sign at Cana teaches us about faith and trust in Jesus. Mary’s unwavering faith in Jesus led to the miraculous transformation. In the same way, when we trust in the Lord he can work miracles in our lives and bring about new beginnings. Trusting in Jesus brings about a transformation in our lives from the ordinary to the extraordinary. That’s how God works. He takes ordinary water and with his word transforms our lives through Baptism. From condemned sinner to child of God. He takes ordinary bread – ordinary wine – and transforms our lives through his body and blood. From the ‘wages of sin is death’ to ‘the free gift of God is eternal life’.
This sign is a source of hope and encouragement for all of us, reminding us that with Jesus, all things are possible. Whereas the wedding had run out of wine for its guest Jesus provides an abundance of finest wines – going above expectations. Likewise, with the Holy Spirit of God given to us, there is an abundance of grace for all believers in Jesus Christ who confess “Jesus is Lord. The host at Cana messed up but Jesus came and fixed the problem. No matter how much we have messed up in life, God brings healing through faith in Jesus as Christ. And despite any past errors or bad judgments, the best is yet to come for us.
Jesus gave his life so we may have eternal life (John 3:16). Just as there was now abundant wine for the guests, Jesus wants us to have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10) This is where trusting Jesus with everything, even what we might consider small and mundane, leads to the extraordinary result. What a privilege it is to carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer. Paul reminds us that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given where God determines, not us. Paul says the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given by one and the same Spirit, who gives to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. And this is where, by putting our faith in Jesus, despite the challenges in life, God can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
