Year C Epiphany II 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.

A wedding – with Jesus, His mother, and friends among the guests. It sounds pretty straight forward, but as is so often the case with our Bible readings, be they Old or New Testament, there’s more here than we may initially perceive. Today’s Gospel, depicting the wedding in Cana of Galilee appears only in John’s Gospel, and though scholars believe it may be based on an even earlier story, this is the only record we have of it.

When we think of weddings we think of flowers, fancy dress, a bride all in white, a groom in his finery. We think of a church or hall filled with guests, and of a sumptuous feast which follows the ceremony. At the head table sit the happy couple, and they are toasted many times by the wedding party and by friends and family. How closely does our Gospel story fit our immediate perceptions of a wedding? At first, from what little we hear of it, we imagine the reception to be a close match.

But then we realize, when we think of a wedding we always think of the two most important people there, the bride and groom. How strange that we hear next to nothing of either of them in our Gospel story. The two main characters here seem to be Jesus and the Mother of Jesus. Why is this so? Yes, it is a Gospel story, so it would naturally tell us something about Jesus. But why is the setting a wedding with almost no mention of the bride and groom?

Giving it some thought, we are likely to realize that “the bond and covenant of marriage”, as is portrayed in our Gospel today, “signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church”. So today’s Gospel story must have something to do with that bond. And then, for those of us who are familiar with the old hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation”, we may recall we even sing about this, “From heaven he came and sought her [the Church] to be His holy bride . . . “.

That sheds light on why our Gospel story takes place at a wedding. But how does Jesus’ mother fit into that scenario – Jesus and His holy bride?

When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."

That’s always a terrifying possibility even today – that the wine will run out before the toasts cease or the feast is over. Careful planning beforehand, based on information from the family, help the caterer to make sure there’s plenty of wine available. In today’s Gospel, however, we don’t hear about the steward who would be in charge of the wine supply approaching the bridegroom or the father of the bride with this sudden and dreadful dilemma. Instead, it appears that the Mother of Jesus, John’s Gospel never calls her “Mary”, receives this information, and she in turns speaks directly to her Son.

This is certainly an odd turn of events, but not to the people who first heard this story, because they knew what we may not, that in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ mother always represents, not the woman herself, not Mary, but the Church. Jesus is at the site of what will become His first recorded miracle, the beginning of many miracles to come, and the Church presents Him with the situation that will be the basis for that miracle.

And Jesus’ answer is hardly what we’d expect from our Lord, until we realize He is not speaking to His mother, but to the Church.

And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."

And of course, it hasn’t come, not yet. There is a three year ministry that stretches out in front of Jesus, and this is only the beginning. After today’s miracle at the wedding in Cana, the Mother of Jesus will not appear in John’s Gospel again, not until Jesus’ hour has come, and she stands at the foot of His cross.

So the Mother of Jesus tells the understandably upset servants, "Do whatever He tells you."

We know what happens next. Following Jesus’ instructions, the empty jars which hold water for purification are filled with water, after which Jesus tells the servants to draw some out and take it to the chief steward, who on tasting it is appalled.

The steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "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."

Again, the reprimand by the steward to what he sees as a foolish bridegroom actually holds a deeper meaning, and the Jewish-Christians hearing this would have immediately understood two things.

On a personal level they would have recognized that those water jars are important, they are clay, as the early Christians knew they were clay, as we know we are clay in our Potter’s hands. They were baptized, as are we, with the water of Baptism, of redemption. What will happen to them, to us, as we allow Jesus to work on us and fill us as He wills?

And then there was also great reassurance in this imagery. For them there had already been Moses and the prophets, the great spiritual leaders of their past, their heritage, but now, after Moses, another one greater than Moses has come. The water has become wine. God has kept the best until last. Jesus is greater than Moses and all the prophets.

The early listeners to this story, those Jewish-Christians, needed reassurance. They had paid a price for their faith. Their acceptance of Jesus as Messiah had come into conflict with Jewish teaching and belief, and the Jewish leaders had had them expelled from the synagogues.

What does all this mean for us? We have not been expelled from anything. But if this is true, if we “belong” comfortably in the world around us, perhaps we have something more to learn about following Jesus.

Try choosing things in your daily life based on the only motivation that counts, love. Suddenly, the fun shopping trips to buy what we want rather than only what we need, the extra and excessive snacks, drinks, and treats - any unnecessary expense or collection of goods, all appear in a different light. Consumerism goes out the window, and, as the Jewish-Christians found themselves, so we too find ourselves on the outside of what is socially accepted as “the norm”. But this neither easy to do nor to accept.

If it is pointed out to us that we are at heart more consumers than Christians, we immediately excuse ourselves because we “need” the lift consumerism gives us. We are not greedy, even when we overspend merely for personal pleasure. Or, if we are addicted we claim we are not ill, that we can stop any time we want. We like “fitting in” and the idea that to be Christian, to be Jesus’ follower and friend, involves not fitting in does not appeal.

Jesus calls us, but responding to Him means we must deal with ourselves. We are like children, wanting instant gratification, and it takes a deep resolve to be the people Jesus calls us to be, for us to live up to our calling to be “His holy bride”, the Church.

The good news for us earthen, clay vessels is, as there was for the Jewish-Christians, and for later gentile converts, always the reassurance that Jesus will make us what He wills as long as we allow Him to do so. He will use whatever we give Him to spread His love and further His Kingdom. We often struggle against Him, and because of this we will not always be filled with the finest wine. Certainly, most of us have our “vinegar days”, but as we struggle to let go of our worldly standards and ways - to allow love to be the motivation for everything we do, we have cause for rejoicing.

As the prophet Isaiah assures us this morning:

You shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married;

for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.

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.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, we surrender to You. Please, take care of everything. We ask for Your Love and mercy’s sake. Amen.