The story of the wedding at Cana is a funny little account. It tells us virtually nothing about weddings, or the institution of marriage, or what Jesus thought about either one. What it does tell us is that Jesus is the Messiah…and that he did what his mother told him to do. “When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’” (John 1:3-5). You can almost see Jesus roll his eyes and shake his head slowly from side to side. Maybe he muttered, “honestly Mother!” under his breath. But he did what she told him to do.
Now granted, lots of children, even grown ones, do what their parents ask of them. It happens all the time. But not one of them is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the Light that shines in the darkness. Only Jesus fits that description. To me, then, this is a fascinating glimpse into the family in which Jesus was raised. There is a normality here, an almost mundane quality—or as mundane as turning water to wine can be. Mother and son (and in this situation I think a lower case “s” is called for initially) attend a wedding. A need arises that the mother believes the son (still lower case) can help with. She’s not exactly sure what he will do, not exactly sure about a lot of things apparently, but she won’t take no for an answer. And so Jesus responds and in doing so indicates that he really is the Son with an upper case “S”.
How humdrum our lives may feel from time to time. How ordinary they may seem. What Savior would ever consent to be involved in such mediocrity? Frankly, Jesus would, and does. Jesus, who dealt with family issues, Jesus who was a part of a society and a culture, Jesus who went about an ordinary sort of life for years, this Jesus knows and cares about you and me and the day to day stuff we deal with. The Son with an upper case “S” has a word for all of us sons and daughters with lower case letters, a word of hope and love and future joy, a word of promise, a word of restoration and resurrection. Jesus Christ, Son of God, turner of water into wine, has a word for all of us.
Prayer: O God, we thank you for your continued concern for us and for our lives, even when they seem small and insignificant to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
PS: I’ll be on a study break for the next two weeks, but will return to the blog on January 24, 2011. I look forward to communicating with you then. Thanks for your interest and your support. Jim Freeman
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