John 2:1-12 "On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus..."

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 9When 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 10and 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." 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days (John 2:1-12 NRSV).

Comment:

The Gospel of John carefully structures the expansion of the ministry of Jesus, from his own awareness to revelations to his immediate disciples, and then to the larger Jewish community and beyond to others as well. This is the first “miracle” recorded in the Gospel. It's interesting, I think, that no one is apparently aware it has even happened except Jesus, his mother Mary and the close friends who were with him at the wedding.

Like all so-called “miracles,” Jesus here simply demonstrates a highly advanced and sophisticated understanding of spiritual Truth. Everything—everything!—consists of the eternal, omnipresent substance of God. The same substance expresses as water and as wine. The creative power of God within us—the Christ—decides how that substance is to express. Jesus was able to recognize the spiritual substance beneath the appearance of water and “see it differently,” bringing the same substance into expression as fine wine instead. Remember his assertion later in this same Gospel that “What I have done, you will do” (John 14:12). Our faith in our Oneness with God is not yet developed to the point that we can express it as tangibly as Jesus did. But the potential is within us.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed