Thoughts for the Day

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. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), 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.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

A signpost directs us to something. So in the UK for instance a large H indicates that a Hospital is nearby, it is not the hospital itself, but just tells us where to go to find the hospital. (Hold on to this obvious point for the moment!)

After the glorious start of John's Gospel concerning the themes of the 'Word', and 'Light' and 'Dark' which we saw at the beginning of the year, the scene switches three days later to the arrival of Jesus in Cana in Galilee. It is here, somewhat bizarrely at a wedding, that the first evidence of Jesus' power occurs. It's not the healing of lepers or the raising of someone from the dead, but concerns turning water into wine!

John says this is 'a sign'. In John's Gospel all miracles are called 'signs', and this particular sign points to the power of Jesus, the Messiah. It also points to the fact that Jesus will work in the ordinary things of human life, including in this case at a wedding. Today it's no different. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, still works in the ordinary things of life, if we have the courage to ask for His involvement.

Lord Jesus,
You attended a wedding
and displayed Your power,
by turning water into wine.
May we have confidence
in the knowledge that You still work
in our world today,
and turn to You when we,
or others, need Your help.
Amen.