The Wedding of Cana is more than just a Jewish wedding at which Jesus turned gallons of water into wine. It is the first of seven signs in the Gospel of John revealing the Divine nature and mission of Jesus. More importantly, it is the point of “no return” for Jesus, in which he makes known his Messianic Mission to our world. We hear this in his dialogue with his mother. When Mary tells him that there is no wine, Jesus answers her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” Mary replies by telling the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” In her own way, Mary is telling Jesus to quit stalling and do what he is suppose to do (We all need a little push from our moms from time to time).
It is significant that this miracle occurred at a wedding. For the Jewish people, marriage was symbolic of the covenant between God and the People of Israel. The prophets often speak metaphorically of God as the faithful groom and Israel as the bride, albeit unfaithful bride. For the Jewish people, the Kingdom of God, eternal life, was often described as a wedding feast in which everyone’s hunger was satisfied and everyone drank wine to their heart’s content. In light of the symbolic meaning of a wedding feast, it seems apropos that Jesus chose a wedding feast in which to first reveal his mission of ushering the Kingdom of God into our world.
All of this was not lost on the disciples of Jesus. Their eyes and their hearts were opened to what Jesus was doing. As in all of our lives, they had a decision to make. Were they going to make a leap of faith and go forward with Jesus on his mission into an unknown future? Or, were they going to play it safe and stay behind in the status quo of the past? At the conclusion of this Gospel story, the disciples make that leap of faith and go forward with Jesus.
The choice presented to the disciples is presented to us today. Jesus beckons us to join him. Will we play it safe and remain in the status quo of once was? Or, shall we boldly trust him, and with him usher the Reign of God into our world? It is our choice.
