In today's reading from John Jesus performs the first of his miracles at a wedding in Cana. When the wedding runs out of wine Jesus bids the servants to take six water jars for the rites of purification and fill them with water. When they take a sample of the water they've drawn to the head steward not only has it turned into wine, it is a wine surpassing that which they had before.
While it would be easy to let this text devolve into trying to figure out how this was done, I would encourage the reader to suspend disbelief and try to understand how this miracle teaches us who Jesus is and what his mission was all about.
Covenant - This first of Christ's miracles takes place in the context of covenant making. In wedding the couple promises something they do not have the power to back up - eternal love. This just isn't something people can rationally promise to one another. Hence, God's presence is necessary to see through this human covenant. Our love runs out. God's love is infinite. Our wine runs out. God's doesn't. This first miracle is a reminder that God keeps covenant with us.
Abundance - We often operate out of a notion of scarcity, of not having enough. God's kingdom operates by different rules. When I found out that I was going to have a second child I worried that I wouldn't have enough love for two children. I couldn't imagine I could love another child as much as I loved my daughter. This, of course, was a foolish worry. But we do that to ourselves, don't we? We worry that we can spread our love too thin. Christ reminds us that there is always plenty to share.
Party! - God's kingdom is about joy. We may come to Christ out of fear, sorrow, or shame, but we should stay for the party. Christ acts to keep the party going. Why? Well, despite theological pretensions, can't we say that Christ just likes a good party? A joyfilled and abundant life is a sign of God's kingdom drawing near.
So let's keep the party going!
[Image used with permission of the artist, Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese who is preparing to have her show A Batik Bible at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music from January 29 - March 23. This image was found on the Asian Women's Resource Centre for Cuture and Theology.]