March 29, 2007

God's Timetable

Three days later, there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they had started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, “They're just about out of wine.” Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother – yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me.” She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” Six stone-ware pots were there; use by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water,” and they filled them to the brim. “Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,” Jesus said, and they did. When the host tasted the water that had become wine, he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines, and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!” This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:1-10)

Cana of Galilee – a name as familiar as Detroit, Michigan – I have heard this story so many times. The first miracle – water to wine. And here we were, climbing the hill on a narrow street ... and suddenly, on our second day in the Holy Land, I thought, “I'm walking where Jesus walked!” Two things were especially meaningful to me in Cana.

First, Jack and I, along with several other couples in our group, did a reaffirmation of our wedding vows at the site of that wedding 2,000 years ago. It was a very special moment, made more so by the presiding of Bishop Keeton, and the presence of friends, old and new.

The second thing was an insight I gained about the nature of Jesus. The couple getting married in Cana must be special friends for Jesus, his mother, and the disciples to be invited, and to walk the ten miles from Nazareth. To run out of food or wine at such an occasion was the worst possible social blunder of that day – the couple would never live it down in tiny Cana. Jesus at first refused his mother's request for him to DO SOMETHING!! It was not time – the hour of Jesus' self-disclosure was determined by God, not by Mary. But then a remarkable thing happens – Jesus does deal with the crisis by turning the water to wine – his first miracle. His love and concern for these good friends overcame even God's timetable. And I had the reverse experience of the disciples. They saw Jesus, whom they knew to be human, as divine; and I saw Jesus, whom I know to be divine, as human.

Noelle Landin