Changing Water into Wine

Wedding at Cana

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

                                                 John 2:4

Jesus and his disciples were at a wedding in Cana. Mary, and presumably all of Jesus' family, were there when the wine ran out—an enormous embarrassment for the bridegroom and his family. Mary forced Jesus' hand—she knew he could do something about it, so she told the wedding stewards to do whatever Jesus said. I've always found this story funny. For one thing, Jesus spoke to his mother like a snarky adolescent would. Essentially, he told her, “that's none of your business, woman.” And, like any mother, she totally ignored him.

The tale also makes me wonder whether Jesus had been doing parlor tricks throughout his childhood. Changing sticks into snakes, making dogs dance and chickens sing, maybe even making people he didn't like quack like ducks. Who knows, he could have been. Mary obviously had confidence in his ability to save the day at the wedding by producing wine.

The other interesting thing about this passage to me is, not that the water was turned into wine, but that even after rebuking his mother, Jesus did what she demanded. He knew better than to disappoint her, even if he was the Messiah.

I think, too, that this is a curious way to begin the story of Jesus' ministry. John's gospel is the one that highlights all of Jesus' miracles, so I guess whoever wrote it didn't want to leave anything out. Still, no one was healed, no one was forgiven; it almost seems jocular in the narrative story of Jesus' life. Jesus even said, “My time has not yet come,” in other words, “I'm not ready.” One wonders what he was waiting for—certainly, he didn't want to begin with a trick such as changing water into wine. Perhaps he was hesitant to begin at all. Who could blame him.

What the story of the wedding at Cana does is place Jesus firmly in his time and among his Hebrew people. He was one of the family, hanging out with his bros. He was enjoying the tradition of the Jews to have weddings that lasted for days. Perhaps he knew that once his ministry began in earnest, he would be forever different, separate, no longer simply the gifted, eldest son of an adoring mother. He would have to leave the comfort and safety of the neighborhood, and go out into a hostile world. He wasn't ready---but he did it anyway. Isn't that our story too?

                                               In the spirit,

                                                    Jane