John 2: 1-11
By Veronica Gould
Wedding at Cana: First Reflection
In our gospel reading today, we find Jesus with his mother and his new friends at a wedding reception. They’re all out of wine but the party’s still going. Jesus’ mother pulls him aside. “Do something!” she tells him. It’s not that she knows what he will do; it’s that she knows he will do something. Jesus gives the instruction to the servants: fill the jars with water and draw some out. It’s a ridiculous suggestion. Here’s what the servants probably thought Jesus meant: The guests are already drunk. Maybe they won’t notice if we just serve them water?
But the servants follow the curious instructions. Somewhere between the filling and the drawing and the tasting, the water became wine– and good wine, at that!
Jesus doesn’t simply *poof* the wine out of thin air. Like the creation of the world out of the waters of chaos, the wine is drawn out from water. Like the creation of a nation from one son, Isaac, Jesus calls people to take part in the miracle. The servants fill the jars and draw the water. Their act of faith is ordinary obedience, but it creates a pathway for God to work a miracle.
John calls this miracle it a “sign,” pointing to the truth about who Jesus is, the real presence of God.
St. Augustine wrote,“the miracle … is not marvelous to those who know that it was God’s doing. For the One who made wine [from water] does this every year in vines… But we do not wonder at the latter, because it happens every year: it has lost its marvelousness by its constant recurrence”.
Often, our eyes are closed to God’s miracles around us, because of their constant recurrence. In our abundance, we forget how to marvel at God’s good gifts.
The water didn’t turn into wine until the wine ran out. This miracle is no party trick. It’s a response to human desire. A response which affirms joy and celebration. A response which reveals a glimpse of the promised feast to come. It’s a taste of abundant grace. And grace is for hungry people.
In 2009, I participated in a swimathon, a charity event raising money for cancer research. Lap after lap, I swam until I was dizzy, but I pressed on until they called time’s up. I swam over a hundred laps. I got out of the pool feeling exhausted. The coach had brought bagels for our team from a local bagel shop. There was nothing particularly special about them. But after over a hundred laps, I was hungry. I’m pretty sure that bagel is the most satisfying meal I have ever eaten. Now the bagel wasn’t a miracle or a sign, but it is a reminder of the power of hunger. In my life, I have not had to experience much hunger.
But for the 38 million Americans who are recipients of SNAP benefits, or food stamps, hunger is a real concern. The government shutdown has affected these benefits, and now, the future is uncertain. More than 1 in 10 Americans is affected by this uncertainty. More than 1 in 10 Americans is thinking about hunger. Longing for a taste of abundant grace.
My mind is drawn to the servants at the wedding who heeded Jesus’ ridiculous instructions to fill jars with water and draw out wine. How is Jesus calling us to do the same? We are first called to take notice of the world’s need. Then we are called to respond with whatever we have. The little boy brought loaves and fishes to Jesus to feed five thousand. A ridiculously small suggestion, but blessed by God’s abundant grace. How much more do we have to share?
The water turning into wine was a miracle that tells about God’s love and grace for us, but it also reminds us of the everyday miraculous and invites us to be a part of God’s work in the world. May we heed God’s call in our lives. And may our eyes be open to the surprising grace of God.
Wedding at Cana: Second Perspective
by Rola Al Ashkar
Miracles to me were always the hardest part of believing, especially growing up as a Protestant in a predominantly Catholic environment. Stories about miracles happened almost every day in Lebanon. There was always a Virgin Mary appearing in the sky somewhere, or oil, blood, or water gushing from a statue of a saint overnight. There is a claim that a woman has had a complete surgery by a Saint who had died several decades ago; she still receives hundreds of visitors every year. Even among the evangelical community there were claims of performing miracles as well; you see preachers performing healings in crowded popular emotional meetings. All of these wonders performed here and there -some of which are tricks and deception, some others have scientific explanations, and yet others to which we do not have explanations at the moment- make me pause and ask: What benefit to the human soul are such miracles perfecting, so that God would go through the trouble of breaking laws of nature. The only way for me to answer that question is by going back to the Bible and measuring all of these against the Biblical principle of miracles.
John’s gospel sheds the light on this issue, John uses the word “sign” for miracle, and emphasizes that Jesus’s deeds are signs, or marks, or indications. A sign is a visible mark of an invisible truth, which is God’s glory. In the entire Bible there is no interest in the miracle per se, but in its being a sign to what is bigger and most important than itself. A miracle results in awe and points back to itself, but a sign points to a divine truth.
The subject of the miracle, wine itself, was not the point, but when Jesus turned the water into wine, he was actually helping the people be happy and enjoy and have what they need to be pleased and to please their guests, in an occasion where the expectation is to provide the food and the wine, where the lack of one of the necessities of hospitality is seen not only as inhospitable, but also as shameful (as I have already mentioned to the kids). Especially in what seems to be a rich person’s house, Jesus helps the hosts be good hosts; he saves them the embarrassment, the shame and the stories that will circulate in Qana for months and months about ‘the capable hosts who did not provide enough.’ Jesus recognized their need and provided them according to that need.
The disciples are watching all this. Only three days ago they had followed him, some of them based on one word of invitation. They needed an affirmation; they needed to know who is it that they had committed to follow. Jesus does not disappoint them; he shows them a great model of what it is like to be a caregiver, to know your receiver, to personally and intimately know their desires.
Now they believed John tells us, not because they saw a miracle but because their hearts were comforted, the person they had followed is worth being their teacher, they will be personally known, identified and cared for by him.
A miracle does not create faith where there is neither faith nor openness to it. If that was true, then all those who have seen Jesus would have believed in him, and I would have believed in at least one saint. Faith creates miracles, but miracles do not create faith.
To be honest, I still struggle with this concept, but to me, the most important miracle, the most important sign is that God knows us personally and intimately; God knows our needs, understands us closely, understands our precise contexts, knows exactly what we wish for and how we can be helped. No matter how big or small our need is, God always shows up, God always cares and God always provides.
Wedding at Cana: Third Perspective
We all know what’s meant with the saying “reading between the lines.” It means reading what is not written in words, reading what’s implied. In East Asian and especially South East Asian culture that reading between the lines must be developed into an art form. I learned over the years to read newspapers that way or listen to speeches that way. There is often more truth between the lines than in the lines. We here in our current climate have everything blare at us. So much so that many important stories never get told or at least never get the attention they deserve.
When Veronica, Rola and I sit down every Thursday and talk about the lectionary reading for that week, we bat around the text and the verses that most appeal to us and usually a theme starts to emerge after an hour or so. Not so this week. We looked at this text and Rola started off and said she knew exactly what she wanted to say. You know this is rare for Rola…. Veronica’s approach, however, was very different and mine even more. So we decided we were not going to synch up too much these week, but we were just going to share our radically different ideas in response to the without really consulting with each other. Now because we have to read the Bible in two languages, we always have to limit the length of the text. So I told Veronica to choose the verses that she thought were central, as she was writing the bulletin content. She did that just fine, but there is only one problem: the verses that most appealed to me are not in the bulletin. So you could say that my message for you today is written between the lines. We are at Cana. There is not enough wine at the wedding, which we found out is a total disgrace in Middle Eastern culture. But here is Mary. Mary has a plan. This is what the between-the-lines verses say:”When the wine was gone, Jesus’s mother said to him,” They have no more wine,” “(Woman) Why do you involve me?” Jesus replied.” My hour has not yet come.” His mother told the servants: ”do whatever He tells you.” What is going on in these verses? Now some translations have Jesus address Mary as “woman,” which does not go over very well these days. I don’t think it did with Veronica and Rola, for good reason. But I love these verses. Now the problem that we have with Biblical texts is the same problem that we have with texts on our phone or emails. We are not a hundred percent sure sometimes what the mood of the person writing is and than sometimes the spell check changes a word and before you know it somebody’s angry. But the way the text hit me was as a parent. Here is proud mother Mary knowing that her son is “special.” She reminds me of one of those parents of millennials who tell them they can be anything they want to be, leaving out that not everyone can immediately be vp of a company or principal of a school. “My Jesus can fix this wine supply problem.” And Jesus goes:”Moooom.” He says it isn’t the right timing. Mary overrules Him. “ Do what he says.” The plan works perfectly. The host is praised for leaving the best wine for last. I had to remember that scene in the movie the Joy Luck Club where the woman is walking through Chinatown with her daughter holding Life magazine with a picture of her as junior chess champion. My daughter is special. Let me tell you what I can do.
Friends, the other day Carolyn showed me an amazing little girl entertaining the crowd on a “Vietnam has talent” kind of show. She perfectly imitated street sellers and sang and danced. Behind the girl probably was a mother between the lines who recognized her talent. With her her daughter’s performance she is lifted from between the lines of her country’s life and for a moment all is perfect.
Yet Jesus understands that for most people life is lived between the lines. He knew His success as prophet would be limited. He knew His impact would come later. He is barely recorded in Roman history books, if at all.
Friends, the words between the lines matter. That’s where most of our lives are written and recorded. We don’t get our pictures on magazine covers. People forget our names. It’s the impact that we make on one or two or three or four or fifteen lives that will be multiplied and carry on. Mary propelled Jesus toward his ministry perhaps. She knew her son. For God the whole story of our lives matters. The words don’t matter per se. It is where we fit in the greater purpose of the world in what we say and do. That should be enough. Thanks be to God.
Parkview is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA.
Posted: January 24, 2019 by Aart
Reflection January 20, 2019
by Rola Al Ashkar
Miracles to me were always the hardest part of believing, especially growing up as a Protestant in a predominantly Catholic environment. Stories about miracles happened almost every day in Lebanon. There was always a Virgin Mary appearing in the sky somewhere, or oil, blood, or water gushing from a statue of a saint overnight. There is a claim that a woman has had a complete surgery by a Saint who had died several decades ago; she still receives hundreds of visitors every year. Even among the evangelical community there were claims of performing miracles as well; you see preachers performing healings in crowded popular emotional meetings. All of these wonders performed here and there -some of which are tricks and deception, some others have scientific explanations, and yet others to which we do not have explanations at the moment- make me pause and ask: What benefit to the human soul are such miracles perfecting, so that God would go through the trouble of breaking laws of nature. The only way for me to answer that question is by going back to the Bible and measuring all of these against the Biblical principle of miracles.
John’s gospel sheds the light on this issue, John uses the word “sign” for miracle, and emphasizes that Jesus’s deeds are signs, or marks, or indications. A sign is a visible mark of an invisible truth, which is God’s glory. In the entire Bible there is no interest in the miracle per se, but in its being a sign to what is bigger and most important than itself. A miracle results in awe and points back to itself, but a sign points to a divine truth.
The subject of the miracle, wine itself, was not the point, but when Jesus turned the water into wine, he was actually helping the people be happy and enjoy and have what they need to be pleased and to please their guests, in an occasion where the expectation is to provide the food and the wine, where the lack of one of the necessities of hospitality is seen not only as inhospitable, but also as shameful (as I have already mentioned to the kids). Especially in what seems to be a rich person’s house, Jesus helps the hosts be good hosts; he saves them the embarrassment, the shame and the stories that will circulate in Qana for months and months about ‘the capable hosts who did not provide enough.’ Jesus recognized their need and provided them according to that need.
The disciples are watching all this. Only three days ago they had followed him, some of them based on one word of invitation. They needed an affirmation; they needed to know who is it that they had committed to follow. Jesus does not disappoint them; he shows them a great model of what it is like to be a caregiver, to know your receiver, to personally and intimately know their desires.
Now they believed John tells us, not because they saw a miracle but because their hearts were comforted, the person they had followed is worth being their teacher, they will be personally known, identified and cared for by him.
A miracle does not create faith where there is neither faith nor openness to it. If that was true, then all those who have seen Jesus would have believed in him, and I would have believed in at least one saint. Faith creates miracles, but miracles do not create faith.
To be honest, I still struggle with this concept, but to me, the most important miracle, the most important sign is that God knows us personally and intimately; God knows our needs, understands us closely, understands our precise contexts, knows exactly what we wish for and how we can be helped. No matter how big or small our need is, God always shows up, God always cares and God always provides.
Wedding at Cana: Third Perspective
We all know what’s meant with the saying “reading between the lines.” It means reading what is not written in words, reading what’s implied. In East Asian and especially South East Asian culture that reading between the lines must be developed into an art form. I learned over the years to read newspapers that way or listen to speeches that way. There is often more truth between the lines than in the lines. We here in our current climate have everything blare at us. So much so that many important stories never get told or at least never get the attention they deserve.
When Veronica, Rola and I sit down every Thursday and talk about the lectionary reading for that week, we bat around the text and the verses that most appeal to us and usually a theme starts to emerge after an hour or so. Not so this week. We looked at this text and Rola started off and said she knew exactly what she wanted to say. You know this is rare for Rola…. Veronica’s approach, however, was very different and mine even more. So we decided we were not going to synch up too much these week, but we were just going to share our radically different ideas in response to the without really consulting with each other. Now because we have to read the Bible in two languages, we always have to limit the length of the text. So I told Veronica to choose the verses that she thought were central, as she was writing the bulletin content. She did that just fine, but there is only one problem: the verses that most appealed to me are not in the bulletin. So you could say that my message for you today is written between the lines. We are at Cana. There is not enough wine at the wedding, which we found out is a total disgrace in Middle Eastern culture. But here is Mary. Mary has a plan. This is what the between-the-lines verses say:”When the wine was gone, Jesus’s mother said to him,” They have no more wine,” “(Woman) Why do you involve me?” Jesus replied.” My hour has not yet come.” His mother told the servants: ”do whatever He tells you.” What is going on in these verses? Now some translations have Jesus address Mary as “woman,” which does not go over very well these days. I don’t think it did with Veronica and Rola, for good reason. But I love these verses. Now the problem that we have with Biblical texts is the same problem that we have with texts on our phone or emails. We are not a hundred percent sure sometimes what the mood of the person writing is and than sometimes the spell check changes a word and before you know it somebody’s angry. But the way the text hit me was as a parent. Here is proud mother Mary knowing that her son is “special.” She reminds me of one of those parents of millennials who tell them they can be anything they want to be, leaving out that not everyone can immediately be vp of a company or principal of a school. “My Jesus can fix this wine supply problem.” And Jesus goes:”Moooom.” He says it isn’t the right timing. Mary overrules Him. “ Do what he says.” The plan works perfectly. The host is praised for leaving the best wine for last. I had to remember that scene in the movie the Joy Luck Club where the woman is walking through Chinatown with her daughter holding Life magazine with a picture of her as junior chess champion. My daughter is special. Let me tell you what I can do.
Friends, the other day Carolyn showed me an amazing little girl entertaining the crowd on a “Vietnam has talent” kind of show. She perfectly imitated street sellers and sang and danced. Behind the girl probably was a mother between the lines who recognized her talent. With her her daughter’s performance she is lifted from between the lines of her country’s life and for a moment all is perfect.
Yet Jesus understands that for most people life is lived between the lines. He knew His success as prophet would be limited. He knew His impact would come later. He is barely recorded in Roman history books, if at all.
Friends, the words between the lines matter. That’s where most of our lives are written and recorded. We don’t get our pictures on magazine covers. People forget our names. It’s the impact that we make on one or two or three or four or fifteen lives that will be multiplied and carry on. Mary propelled Jesus toward his ministry perhaps. She knew her son. For God the whole story of our lives matters. The words don’t matter per se. It is where we fit in the greater purpose of the world in what we say and do. That should be enough. Thanks be to God.
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