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Second Sunday after Epiphany
17th January 2010

Jesus' authority revealed at a wedding

Yesterday we had our first wedding of the year at St. Martin's. The couple had requested the Prayer Book service, which describes marriage as which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee...

The Jewish wedding of Jesus' day went on far beyond one day as people came to pay their respects and partake of the feast. The fact that the best wine was served first indicates something of the expectations of the guests: they would enjoy tasting the best wine first and as time passed they wouldn't notice what wine they were drinking. The failure to have enough wine would reflect badly on the host and might well be seen as a slight on his daughter and on his guests. Somewhere on that day there was mounting consternation and it could not be resolved as it might be today by a quick dash to the local shop.

Whether or not Jesus noticed this, his mother did. What did Mary understand about her Son and his unique identity? If we group all the Gospels together, then we can say that from the outset she knew who he was because she was visited by an angel who told her, and then the shepherds came, and then the wise men, and then in the Temple Simeon and Anna also confirmed the truth about Jesus. This is a composite picture taken from Matthew and Luke. But Mark and John do not contain birth narratives. In John's account this is the first time we meet the Mother of Jesus and it is very clear that between them there is an understanding of Jesus' identity. Two things confirm this: first, Jesus says to her "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come". These words to her My hour has not yet come indicate that she knows that there will be a time when Jesus will be called upon to reveal the power of God that is in him, and he thinks that it is not now. Notice that she doesn't argue. The next thing is her word to the servants: "Do whatever he tells you". Mary understands the nature and the authority of her son.

With the servants hanging around wondering what to do, and whether this man can help or not, Jesus gives them the simplest of instructions and does nothing himself. No prayers over the stone jars, just effectively the order to treat the water jars as if they contain wine. And lo and behold, they do! What went into them was water and what comes out of them is wine; and not just any wine but the best wine.

The transformation does not go unnoticed: not only do the servants and the Steward understand what has happened, but so indirectly do the guests, even though they don't know why they are suddenly drinking really good wine; they put it down to some strange quirk of the host, leaving the best wine till last. So who does understand what has taken place? Jesus, Mary, the disciples; and of course the servants, relieved that they won't get caught up in what might have been a very difficult situation.

This is not just an episode of wonder-working. If it were, what sense would it make of a God who is ready to intervene to avert embarrassment but not to avert a disaster that has and will claim hundreds of thousands of lives among the poorest in the world? The story does speak to that tragedy, for it is about is a revelation of the power of Jesus and of the importance of the human response to that power in enabling its realisation. In this narrative it is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who is the link between God and the needy. She asks Jesus to help; she also asks the servants to have faith that he can help: to do whatever he says. This is surely what Christians are called to be and to do: to ask God for help and to encourage those for whom we pray to have faith and so allow his power to work in them. The Gospel concludes that this was a revelation of the glory of Jesus and an event that enabled his disciples to believe in him.

The miracle is therefore not an end in itself; indeed John's use of the word signs is all about that: these things go beyond the events themslves: they help us to believe, they give us confidence to pray to God in Christ and they remind us that faith and obedience will enable his power to work.

The events in Haiti have brought untold suffering to people already living in poverty and deprivation; but there is and will be response. Money is pouring in, people are travelling to help; in my paper yesterday, we saw the image of a two year old boy dug free and reunited with his mother; faces full of joy and relief amid the horror and the chaos. Such things will happen in an a world composed of natural forces that can become human disasters; but what we see happening afterwards is an affirmation of he human spirit and the readiness of people to give and to work together to bring relief and reconstruction. If we pray, what do our prayers mean? Today's Gospel tells us: we pray in order to enter the reality that is God among his people and to be a vital part of that relationship; mediating their suffering, affirming hope that help is on its way. Pray God too that out of this disaster may come hope of a better life for many in a country with a desperate history that is now in the spotlight of the world.

What I love most about this story is the low key behaviour of Jesus; it seems as though he sat at that feast like any guest and he said so little and yet so much was going on. He must have felt the power go out of him; he must have felt joy to see what happened. This says to people of faith: His power will be with you and he will rejoice with you at what will come to pass.

Amen

© PCC St Martin's and St Paul's Canterbury 2008 - 2010