A reflection on John 2:1-11 — Christmastide, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany C, January 20, 2019
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Ma’am, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour hasn’t yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:1-11)
Whatever you are going through, it’s not going to stay that way. Things will change for the better. God did deliver the people from slavery in Egypt. The Crucified One is risen and love is stronger than evil. God does see you. I see you.
It’s no accident that Jesus’ first sign in the gospel of John is to do with a feast. For God is all about feasts. And rivers and light. God’s glory in the midst of our everyday lives comes in ways not unlike it came to the magi, to folks on Jordan’s banks at Jesus’ baptism, and at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. These revelations of God in our midst are called epiphanic moments. Moments when we are overcome with joy and justice for the common good moves in. Times when fear is broken open and Love seeps in and begins to transform dry waterless bones with new Breath, new Lifeblood. When the star stopped, the magi were overwhelmed with joy (Matthew 2:10). The people at the Jordan river buzzed with expectation (Luke 3:15). The Cana wedding guests were dumbfounded at the best wine saved for last in death to resurrection abundance. Encounters with Jesus consistently overwhelm us: with expectation, with joy, with signs of God’s Feast to Come brought near in ordinary bread and water turned to luxurious wine in empty stone vessels filled with water. Epiphanic moments point us to the God of glory, The One Whose Wine Ran Out, who hung from a cross, side punctured to make sure water came out, who, buried in an empty stone tomb, on the third day becomes for us the Cup of salvation for the forgiveness of sins and the Bread of life. Body and blood broken and shed. May the God of glory dwell in you richly, name you beloved, and shine brightly on your path. The blessing of almighty God, Father +Son and Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
(source for blessing: Sundays and Seasons)
