Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm 36:5-10 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11
I’m not sure who coined the phrase ‘luxury miracle’ for the Wedding in Cana, but is it really apt: not a leper in sight, no one to release from demon-oppression, no storms to quell, no hungry masses to feed. Just the sheer joy of God’s giving! It is completely different from most other Gospel miracles. In terms of John’s gospel, this is the first miracle of the Word made flesh, the first moment of God’s glory being made known, and as such the first epiphany,
God’s Generosity
- The wine runs out
How would you feel when giving a party if the food or wine ran out quite early in the evening? The shops are shut and you dare not approach your friends with this embarrassment. What went wrong at this feast can only be guessed at, but the wine ran out – with the potential for great embarrassment for the host. By providing large quantities of wine, of the very best quality, Jesus turns a potential disaster for a village family into cause for congratulation. But it is far more than that – he demonstrates God’s incredible generosity.
- The Feast Symbol
Feasts, with food and drink in plenty, symbolize God’s generous gift of salvation, especially in the eschatological age. In rabbinic writings ‘the banquet’ was a regular term for enjoyment of life with God in the world to come. But sometimes people experience a foretaste of this enjoyment on earth:
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:7-9
In Exodus, Moses, Aaron and Elders go up Mount Sinai, and see the God of Israel.
There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness... they beheld God, and ate and drank (Exodus 24: 10f).
And so it is that at Cana, in the context of a wedding-feast, the disciples glimpse the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Messianic wine
As for wine, the psalms speak of it as gladdening the human heart, (see Psalm 104:15); in Judges (9:13) wine is said to ‘cheer both God and humans’. Now admittedly a vine is speaking! and I dare say with the usual warnings about over-indulging, I should sound a good Methodist note of caution!
Yet the metaphor of abundance of wine is one of the signs of the messianic age, when God will restore the fortunes of Israel, bringing peace and prosperity, justice and knowledge of the Lord among the nations.
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear (Isaiah 25:6).
So when we arrive at the miracle at Cana, we can be very confident that John is telling his readers that this messianic age has already come. It is a time for rejoicing in God’s goodness. So if we recognise Jesus as the One God sent, then we must be people filled with joy. So perhaps at this point, I ought to differentiate between the kinds of happiness and joy that some might be more familiar with, and with the joy promised in the gospel. in this context, I found the following quote to be very helpful:
‘Joy’ does not mean a perpetual round of jokes and jollity. Rather it is a deep inward sense of well-being, a quality of those who are at peace with themselves and God. Joy finds expression in our relationships, in our words and worship, and the actions of our daily lives. It is closely linked with peace and love. It involves the ability to see what is good in God’s creation, in people and in circumstances, and to take pleasure in it. Joy can be found in difficult, as well as in pleasant times.
Rev canon Ruth Edwards (with apologies, I cannot remember where I read this)
In his farewell discourse in John’s Gospel he uses the allegory of the vine to stress the disciples’ need to ‘abide’ in himself, in love and obedience, so that his joy might be in them (15: 1-11). This is because Jesus did not offer his disciples a life of happiness and ease: rather he predicted suffering.
2. God’s Glory
- Revealed…
As well as speaking of God’s generosity in providing for the people, and as a call to renew our love and obedience to God in response to that grace, this miracle overwhelming concerns God’s glory.
We are more familiar with thinking of epiphany – that moment of sudden and great revelation – around January 6th, Christ was revealed to Gentiles (the Magi). But there are no birth stories in John’s gospel, so the wedding discloses an account of moments of sudden and great revelation where the Word becoming flesh, is really dwelling among us. But one of the most foundational principles at work in John’s account is in the final phrase of 1:14 ‘and we beheld his glory’. To behold, to see, to catch sight of, is more than just physical vision, and indeed more than just intellectual assent. It is to believe.
So John helpfully tells us that ‘this beginning of signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him’ (2:11)
- …God’s Nature
Glory in the Bible properly belongs to God – it is the divine essential nature: God’s splendour, majesty, holiness, creative power, and loving-kindness. Although Jesus has shared God’s glory since before the world was made according to John (17:24), John indicates that this power is going to be revealed in suffering.
John regularly uses the term ‘glorification’ for Jesus’ self-sacrifice, for his lifting up on the Cross (e.g., 12:23; 13:31). This is the moment which John calls Jesus’ ‘hour’. There may be just a hint of this understanding of ‘glory’ in the miracle at Cana, when Jesus says that his ‘hour’ has not yet come. It is not yet time for him to reveal fully who he is or the extent of his love. He will do this through his teaching, his miracles, his cross, and Resurrection.
- A new Covenant
If feasts reveal God’s generosity, then weddings speak of great joy and of new relationship: the ideal symbol of God’s relationship with his people. This is the sense of the reading from Isaiah 64:5f:
For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
As we rejoice in the gracious provision of God, and in the glory seen in Jesus Christ, may we find ways to share such good news in love and service.
Worship at home 