01192022 – John 2. 1-11
When the gospels were being written the AUTHORS, the WRITERS, the EVANGELISTS (as they were called) were ALL very CALCULATED.
Nothing was RANDOMLY DONE!
EVERYTHING is SIGNIFICANT, suggestive, POINTED, and revealing.
Placement was PURPOSEFUL and WITH great MEANING.
HOW the ministry of Jesus BEGINS is “very telling.”
Mark, the first gospel to be written, has Jesus’ first act as being “an EXORCISM.”
Jesus is concerned about “the plight of OTHERS.” He has compassion for them. He cares…
We know that the WRITERS that followed, after the Markan gospel, took their own GREAT CARE at setting THEIR individual stages.
In Matthew, Jesus begins by PREACHING what is known as “The SERMON ON THE MOUNT.” High up on a mountain top. Reminding us of Moses on Mount Sinai.
In Luke, Jesus begins with a sermon IN a SYNAGOGUE. He is AT WORSHIP. It is THE SABBATH DAY. He is a good Jew. He shares the SPOKEN WORD with his people. He is SPIRIT led. IT is, what he DOES!
“Each of these” points to a particular EMPHASIS – of each INDIVIDUAL Gospel WRITER.
The WEDDING AT CANA IN GALILEE is not JUST an “interesting story” included AT RANDOM, but it provides CLUES to the MEANING of “THE REST of the Gospel.”
In John’s Gospel we know that Jesus heals an OFFICIAL’S SON…he heals a SICK MAN… he feeds 5,000 MEN PLUS WOMEN AND CHILDREN (without even blinking and eye, or working up a sweat,) he also WALKS ON WATER, (like it is a stroll along the California Coast,) he HEALS A MAN BORN BLIND SINCE HIS BIRTH and of course, he raises his GOOD friend and buddy LAZARUS, from the DEAD.
So, when you have all these REALLY COOL possibilities…why start out with something “so insignificant” as attending someone’s-lame-wedding?
It just seems like “a weird way” to begin a gospel account of HIS ministry.
The location of Cana is UNCERTAIN, making it “a most unlikely spot” to begin a ministry.
WHY THERE – for God’s sake?
Just as God regularly chooses UNLIKELY CANDIDATES to do his work (Moses, David, Jacob, and Sally), so also, he chooses UNLIKELY PLACES to reveal his glory (Bethlehem, Nazareth, Oak Creek, and some little-tiny-village called Cana in Galilee).
Jesus will return to Cana after visiting Jerusalem and the “CLEANSING of THE TEMPLE,” and will also perform his SECOND SIGN there—”the healing” of the son of “A ROYAL OFFICIAL from Capernaum.”
So, Jesus DOES his “first and second SIGNS” in this small, obscure, tiny, little, village far from the Jerusalem temple—it is an example of ministry IN THE MARGINS.
He is IN SOLIDARITY with common folks. He does not stick out like a sore thumb, but rather fits in…and is…excepted and embraced.
He is in places where no one cares, where no one observes, places of little significance and importance. He is out in the hinterlands, the back country, the hills and is having an enjoyable time.
Jesus’ mother appears in this Gospel only HERE and at the CROSS OF CRUCIFIXION.
STRANGE!
Her name is not EVEN mentioned on either occasion.
Which is Stranger STILL!
Jesus and HIS MOTHER surely know people living in Cana, or they WOULD NOT be INVITED to this wedding. This has led many scholars to SPECULATE that it was indeed “a family wedding.” A brother, a cousin, a sister, someone close, because MARY seems to play “an important and significant role.”
This is friendly-open-inviting-country.
The people of GALILEE are receptive to Jesus, in contrast to JUDEA, where he will face CONSTANT DETERMINED AND DIRECT OPPOSITION.
HERE, even his DISCIPLES are welcome to join him and his mother.
And the author concludes by saying: “and his disciples believed in him.”
OK, this is the point of the whole story.
The purpose of Jesus’ signs is to inspire belief.
Indeed, the stated purpose of this Gospel is “that YOU may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
It is not about the wedding. Or where he is. It is not about the water. It is not about the wine.
It is about believing in him. So, already in chapter two the stage is set. We have direction. We know where we are going.
The question is now, do YOU BELIEVE in him. Amen.