The first was the visit of the Magi. The second was his Baptism (a bit off the timeline, but whatever). This week is the miracle at the Wedding Feast in Cana of Galilee. Next week will be Jesus' first sermon in the Temple.
Back to the Wedding. My friend Lindy - a brilliant writer, especially of biblical reflections - calls this story "The Secret Life of Miracles". As she points out, this miracle, his first public miracle, was done in secret - down where the water used for ritual was kept.
There was no wine. Mary, his mother, points that out to him. Why? Dunno. Except, of course, she knew. She knew he could do it. How? Dunno. Maybe he had been practicing around the house?
"Jesus? Jesus, we're out of ketchup. I've got some tomatoes here. Be a good boy and turn them into ketchup for me, please. No, that wood you're sawing for your father can wait. Now, son. I need it right away for the meatloaf."
Or, something.
It's important to note that Cana, like Nazareth, is a little town of absolutely no import. About 10 kilometers from Nazareth, it seems to have been a place most people only passed through on their way to somewhere else. Indeed, it is never mentioned in Hebrew Scripture but three times in Christian Scripture.
So, it is in this out-of-the-way, sleepy little town where nothing ever happens that Jesus performs his first miracle. In secret.
There's another aspect of this story that strikes me. Timing. The wedding hosts didn't know how to pace the serving of the wine so that it would last. Mary knew it was time for Jesus to perform his first miracle, but he, apparently, didn't.
And then, he did. Or, at least, he was convinced by his mother that his "hour had come". When Jesus finally decided that the time was right, he changed approximately 120 gallons of sacred water into wine.
It wasn't just wine, it was primo, top-shelf stuff. Even the wine steward mentioned it to the bridegroom, saying, "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."
That Jesus. Such an over-achiever! He got an A++ on his very first miracle. Which may have been the reason for his sense of timing. He wanted to be sure he could do his best.
Nah. I think the reason Jesus decided to listen to his mother can be found in the last part of the last sentence. " . . .and his disciples believed in him."
Me? I think he did it because he realized his mother was right. It was time. He needed to do this for his disciples. So they could believe in him. So they could believe in themselves. That, they could have the epiphany that they were right.
Jesus is the Anointed One.
Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus is the Incarnation of God.
Off I go, then, into this day when yet another snowstorm is predicted.
In the meantime, please enjoy The Rowan Atkins translation of John's Gospel of the Wedding Feast at Cana. It is not (yet) approved by General Convention as an authorized text for public worship, but it is certifiably hilarious.
I hope something good happens to you today.
Bom dia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfRbtaoddIA
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