Why did they run out of wine?
Can you imagine? They would have never lived it down if they had made an announcement that there was nothing more to drink. A wedding reception running out of wine! - Like a pub running out of beer! The people of Cana would have told the story for years to come.
We are told this story from a hidden perspective. No-one knows where the wine came from except for the servants. When the bridegroom was commended on the excellence of the later serving of wine it is unlikely that he admitted that he had no idea where it came from.
So did Jesus work a miracle to spare a young couple’s blushes? It seems to be the motivation behind Mary’s prompting. In a kindly way the Mother of the Lord wants to protect the newly weds from a minor scandal that would have been told behind their backs for years.
It seems that Jesus works the miracle because his Mother asked him to do something about the situation. One cannot help wondering whether there had been other incidents in the past when she turned to him and asked for help to smooth over a difficulty.
Was there another reason why he helped?
We are told that Jesus ‘also was invited to the wedding with his disciples’.
How wide open was that invitation? How many disciples actually showed up?
A person holding a party opens the door to a guest and finds that they have not simply brought along a plus one but a whole gang of people.
We are familiar with the idea that Jesus enjoyed sitting down with friends to enjoy a meal. Has this been another example of his sociable nature? Perhaps this time he hasn’t been aware that the caterers had limited resources.
Jesus produced a vast amount of wine; 6 stone jars each containing 70-100 litres, that’s 560-800 bottles of wine! Did he do this to make up for his disciples causing the wine to run out?
But then we go back to this question of whether this was the first intervention of Mary and that ending of the story where that author tells us that this was the first of the signs of Jesus in which he showed his glory.
We cannot know whether Jesus performed miracles before this one at Cana. The Gospels tell us nothing of the hidden years of Jesus. Last week we heard of Jesus when he was twelve and now at this wedding feast nearly twenty years have elapsed.
We are told this story because of its significance – its sign value.
Jesus shows himself to the world when he is at a wedding. In this occasion of love we hear of Jesus being present and blessing the moment with an abundance of such quality that it is overwhelming. It is as if we are being told that the whole programme of Jesus is to affirm and support love wherever it may be found.
There is a message here for us. Jesus is present in those moments of love and affection that we experience and that give quality to our lives. There may be times when things are difficult and uncertain and the story of this first sign is there to reassure us that the Lord will help us to get through it.
In the Gospels we hear several references to Wedding feasts.
Jesus told parables about guests being invited and not turning up. We hear of others who should have had no place at the reception but are nevertheless invited to come.
The faithful disciple is to be ready for the arrival of the bridegroom who will come at an unexpected hour.
All these images of the kingdom seem to tell us that we are invited to a great celebration which in some mysterious way is the marriage of God’s people to the bridegroom who is Christ.
We are guests, and we are welcomers, and we are betrothed. There are layers of meaning that all seem to be about love, promise, and inclusion.
We cannot leave this story without paying attention to the part that Mary played. That simple line ‘the mother of Jesus was there’ brought with it a guarantee. Mary noticed. She noticed that there was no wine and she turned to her Son. His reaction seemed to be almost a refusal – but it wasn’t. She knew him know him too well and so could speak with confidence to the servants.
Mary notices us. She sees the moments when we need help. This story is told to encourage us to trust that she will speak to him about our moments.
And we can look for no better advice than the guidance she gives the servants ‘do whatever he tells you’.
Why did they run out wine? So we could have a drink.