Have you been to a wedding recently? They are usually very happy occasions but take a lot of planning and organisation. In fact, we had a wedding in church yesterday when Holly who has been a member of this church all her life, married Matthew. I am sure that they and their parents had put a lot of time into ensuring that everything went well and there was enough to eat and drink at the reception.
In our own family we recently had a wedding. Our elder daughter has been living with her partner Bill, who I have referred to as my sin in law, for twenty five years. Late in October at the end of a phone call from him he asked “What would you say if Helen and I got married?” What would I say? My reply was Hallelujah and about time too. The wedding was to take place within a fortnight in Chichester and we would be transported there by our younger daughter. Other than deciding what I would wear I didn’t have to do a thing. A mother of the Bride with no responsibilities.
It was a lovely, simple, quiet ceremony with 14 guests followed by tea and cake and then an evening meal when 6 more guests joined us in a local restaurant. There was plenty of English sparkling wine from a nearby vineyard and wonderful food. A joyous happy day.
What is a miracle?
Our gospel reading today tells of a wedding when there was not enough to go round – and it was the wine which ran out. It was a wedding in Cana at which Jesus and his mother were guests. And it was on this occasion when Jesus performed his first miracle turning water into wine.
What is a miracle? Something for which we can find no logical explanation? Something we do not believe can happen? Or something we cannot understand? Is something that is a miracle to one person not a miracle to another? Is something that is a miracle at one time, no longer a miracle when the explanation is discovered?
In the papers some time ago there was the story of a lady who had gone blind in middle age and been blind for many years. Then she had a heart attack and when she came round she could see. She was jubilant, seeing her husband for the first time for years, even though he was older and seeing grandchildren for the first time. The doctors could give no explanation for the return of her sight and to the lady it was a miracle. A life changing miracle. I am sure that if the doctors eventually found an explanation the lady would still regard it as a miracle.
Expectations
Only recently we sent an e mail to someone in California and within half an hour had a reply in which we were told that the person who had never been to our house had looked up its situation on the internet and thought that we lived in a very nice place.
I am sure that my mother who was born in the nineteenth century would find such communications across the globe miraculous, actually I find it a bit eerie, and big brother ish .My mother was by no means unintelligent but these things were outside her expectations. Maybe what we think of today as miraculous not appear so in the future.
I believe that what is identified at one moment in time as miraculous may well not be later, that what appears as miraculous to one person may not to another. But for those who experience something that is at that moment beyond their belief, expectation and explanation, it is miraculous.
How and why?
In the gospels, 36 miracles are described in the ministry of Jesus, only one is told in all four gospels – the feeding of the five thousand. And the one in today’s reading, the first, is only to be found in Saint John’s gospel and is one of the few to be recorded by Saint John. I find myself asking – –how did Jesus do it – turn the water into wine? Why did he do it? And why did Saint John record it?
I really do not know the answer to the first question – how Jesus turned water into wine. I have tried to turn water into wine – but with the aid of a home brewing kit from Boots, which took ages and produced a red liquid which was not fit for cooking let alone drinking. And coloured all the towels in my airing cupboard a revolting shade of purple when the demi john frothed over. I cannot find a rational explanation for water turning immediately into wine. Cynics could suggest that someone switched the jars or that the people had drunk so much that they did not notice what they were drinking. Neither appears likely to me.
Hard to believe
Many people find it difficult to believe in the miracles of Jesus and I can sympathise with that view. Only last week someone said to me Margery you are a scientist how can you believe things for which there is no possible explanation? I have heard the view expressed that it would be easier to believe in Christ if he had not performed miracles. How can we explain Jesus calming the storm, restoring sight to the blind and curing lepers?
And no one is likely to be persuaded of the truth of miracles by argument. It is acceptance or non acceptance. Yet others than the gospel writers, made reports of this man Jesus who did wondrous deeds and attracted a large following, notably the historian Josephus whose comments on other aspects of life at the time of Christ are highly regarded. Would this have happened if there was no truth in the healing and other wonders brought about by Jesus?
Understanding the process by which Christ turned water into wine is beyond me but I accept and believe in the power of Christ to do things others find impossible. I think we simply have to choose whether we believe the report or not. Certainly the writer of the gospel and those present believed it.
Why this one?
Why did Jesus do it? To demonstrate his power?No. He had already refused to do that when tempted by the devil and certainly performing a miracle in a private house would not generate as much fame as a miracle performed in a more public place.
Did he do it just because his mother asked him to? We have all done things because we know they will make our parents happy but I don’t think this was Jesus’ reason. His response to his mother’s request is a mild rebuke: “Woman my time has not yet come.” It is not as harsh as it appears in our translation. Woman was a polite term in those days. And ‘my time is not yet come’ is a comment that she does not quite understand what his mission is. He was reluctant. He had already refused to perform miracles at the invitation of the devil, miracles that would have granted him fame and power. So why did he perform this one?
Remedy
In those days a marriage in a small place like Cana was a community celebration involving the whole village. After the wedding, the feast would go on for several days and it was the responsibility of the newly weds to provide sufficient refreshments for all who came. To fail to produce enough wine for the guests would be a considerable stigma which would remain with the couple for a long time. Mary knew this and that would be her reason for pressing Jesus to do something. So the first miracle took place in a simple home to prevent a young couple from embarrassment and humiliation.
And Mary knew that her son could remedy the situation and she trusted her son absolutely- obvious in her reply to the servants – do whatever he says.
Phenomenal
The amount of water which Jesus transformed was phenomenal. It was more than enough to supply the needs of the guests. The water which was turned into wine would have been the water placed at the feast for the cleansing rituals of the guests.
Whenever someone entered a home it was custom to wash hands and feet. The roads in Palestine were rough and sandals worn on the feet would give no protection and the dirt and grime of the roads would be carried into the home. The water jars were placed to enable visitors to cleanse the dust of their travels from their feet and hands.
The six jars of water would hold about twenty gallons each – producing ample enough wine to supply the needs of the guests and more.
Jesus himself had told people that miracles would be one sign of his messiahship. And there is no doubt that some people believed in Jesus and followed him after seeing him perform miracles.
But demonstration of power, satisfying curiosity, increasing the numbers of his followers were not the prime reasons why Jesus performed miracles. There were two main reasons for the miracles. Primarily to bring aid to those in need. The majority of the miracles are healing ones, the healing of Jairus’ daughter, Peter’s mother in law, the man handed down from the roof… In turning water into wine at the wedding Jesus was assisting, supporting the young couple. Bringing help to someone in need.
Teaching
And miracles were also a source of teaching. The miracle described in our reading today is teaching three things. Firstly, about trusting in Christ to achieve what is needed. As Mary did.
Then it is teaching about the transforming power of Christ, the power to turn something still and flat into something full of life. Not just water into wine but lives that are downcast, unfulfilled or lived in despair can be brought to joy, happiness and fulfilment.
And thirdly, by Christ producing far more than could ever be needed, this miracle is teaching about the abundance of God’s grace – more than we expect and more than we will ever need.
Power
The reason Saint John records the miracle is not because it is a nice story but because it has something to teach its readers. It teaches trust in Christ, it teaches the power of Christ to transform and it teaches the abundance of God’s grace. Those are the messages Saint John was conveying to his readers. And they are the messages for us today.
By our faith and trust in Jesus, his power can enter our lives, granting us through the abundant riches of his grace, transforming our lives. When his power enters our lives we can, like those guests at the feast have more than we can ever need.
In the days and weeks to come may we trust Jesus to meet our needs, accept his transforming power in our lives that we may fulfil our roles in his kingdom?
‘It’s a miracle’ was delivered by Margery Spencer at Christ Church Walmersley on Sunday 29th January 2023. It was based on John 2:1-11.