The image is part of a large painting by Paolo Veronese; the complete painting can be seen at wikipedia.com by typing Wedding at Cana.
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, "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." 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)
As a boy, whenever I would ask for seconds in a household limited to the realities of our economy, my mother would respond in español: No es boda, muchacho. (It's not a wedding, boy!), and I would pout and wonder what in the world does that silly saying mean? It wasn't too much later that we were invited to a first cousin's wedding on the land where they were sharecroppers. My uncle and aunt put on a wedding! There was food on about six church-sized folding tables, and it was a delight; I finally knew what my mother was talking about; this was a boda! Weddings in most cultures have always been cause for great celebration. In Jesus' day, that was the case, and most weddings did not mean a religious ceremony, then a quick trip to the fellowship hall for cake, punch, and peanuts; these were days-long, and this first of Jesus' miracles took place in such a setting. Jesus and His disciples had been invited, as was Mary, Jesus' mother. The crowd must have been huge, so much so that the celebratory wine ran out. It was Mary who came to Jesus to inform Him of this sad situation. The response of Jesus at first indicates a little surprise or annoyance of this detail of the wedding and at the time of this comes in His ministry. "My hour has not yet come," is used by Jesus and could very well have been pointing to that which He knew was ultimately to be His fate of dying on the cross. It was at the crucifixion that Jesus again referred to His mother as "Woman." Some scholars have also said that at a wedding, Jesus should be invited to come and own the marriage, as was evidenced by what He did here. He took the water traditionally used for purification to make new and wonderful wine, symbolizing His entire mission to cleanse the world of its sin and to make new our relationship with God. His first of the many miracles of His, shows Jesus' connection with "glory," the splendor of the realm of God.
As I started in the introductory part of this devotional, Jesus loves to be invited to weddings, but we should also invite Jesus to our marriages. The God of the celebration becomes the God of the journey; every step both good and not so good, travels better when we know we are journeying with Christ; and this holds true for all key events in our lives; baptisms, confirmations, weddings, worship, funerals, etc.
Make God your partner in the journey of life.
PRAYER: Loving God, I invite You into all areas of my life; come, rejoice with me, and journey with me through all days. Hold my heart when I'm happy, and hold my hand when I feel scared and alone. This I pray in Your precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
P.S. Please remember Doug Copeland and his family as they may induce labor as they await the arrival of their first child, a daughter. May the Lord bless and keep them all safe is my prayer. Amen!
