You have kept the good wine until now!

 

 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

 

- John 2:1-12 

 

On Saturday, we were given the fourth day reported in John's Gospel of the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

 

  On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.    On the third day is an expression which means "two days later," as it includes the current day in the calculation.  So, this is the sixth day of seven given in this beginning of Christ's public ministry.  My study Bible comments that the wedding in Cana parallels the creation of man and woman on the sixth day in Genesis 1:26-31.   My study Bible also adds that this setting is significant.  In the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God with God's Bride, Israel.  Jesus begins His ministry here in Galilee, which had a large Gentile population.  This is a sign of the spread of the gospel to all the world.  Also, that the wedding took place "on the third day" sets a resurrectional tone, which shows that the marriage of God and God's Church will be fulfilled in Christ's Resurrection.  There are other ties between Christ's Resurrection and marriage; both involve a woman named Mary how makes an appeal (in the next verse) and the disciples are invited to witness both events.  Moreover, John's Resurrection account  (John 20:11-18) has a striking similarity to Song of Solomon 3:1-5, showing once again a unity between marriage and the Lord's Resurrection.  Finally, by His presence at this wedding, Jesus further declares marriage to be holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4); therefore this passage is read at weddings in the Orthodox Church, and these images are incoporated into many prayers in the wedding service.  

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."   My study Bible says that this is an example of Mary's gift of  intercession.  She is "blessed among women" (Luke 1:28).  It adds that even now, the Church understands that Mary continually speaks to her Son on our behalf (prays for us) and is our preeminent intercessor before His Throne.  An Orthodox prayer declares, "The intercessions of a mother have great effect to win the favor of the Master."  This is confirmed by Jesus' response that comes in the next verses.  We should remember also that here, wine is symbolic of life, and therefore my study Bible comments that there are two levels of meaning in Mary's statement, "They have no wine."   First, that a marriage is incomplete without the presence of Christ; and second, the old covenant was not able to bestow life even on the most faithful people. 

 

Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."    In contrast to how modern ears may hear it, the term Woman is a sacred title in Scripture; my study Bible calls it an address which conveys deep respect and distinction (John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:13 -- compare to Genesis 2:23).  What does your concern have to do with Me? can be read more literally, "What is that to Me and to you?"  It is also a parallel to the words from Zarabeth to Elijah in 1 Kings 17:18; in the Greek of the New Testament and of the Septuagint Old Testament, they are identical statements.  In this parallel sense, Jesus is giving Mary a warning, as a widow who will lose her only son, about what is to come once His ministry becomes fully known.  My study Bible says that this answer of Jesus is not a refusal of Mary's intercession, but a declaration that the time had not yet come for Christ to be revealed.  That Christ will fulfill Mary's request teaches several things.  First, Christ is Lord over hours and seasons and is not subject to them.  Second, the wedding party needed to be aware of their lack of wine first so they might learn that it is Christ who fulfills all needs.  This also teaches us that we need perseverance in our petitions before God (Matthew 15:21-28); and finally, that the intercessions of the righteous have great power (James 5:16).  Let us note also Mary's great confidence in Jesus in her reply, "Whatever He says to you, do it."

 

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  Waterpots were made of stone, my study Bible explains, because, according to rabbinical teaching, stone would not contract ritual impurity.  That there are six (one less than the perfect seven) indicates that the Law, which is illustrated by water being reserved for Jewish purification, was incomplete, imperfect, and unable to bestow life.  This water is changed into wine -- which symbolizes the old covenant being fulfilled in the new, which is capable of bestowing life.  My study Bible adds that the overabundant gallons of wine illustrate the overflowing grace which Christ grants to all.  Regarding wine and wedding as metaphor for the new covenant, see also Matthew 9:15-17.

 

 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  In patristic commentary, this transformation is seen as prefiguring the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.  

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.  In today's reading, we are given the first of seven signs which are reported in John's Gospel, as manifesting Christ's glory (John 11:4, 40), which also includes His humble service to human beings, shown most perfectly on the Cross (John 12:23-32).  The seventh day given in John's Gospel in the day after the wedding in Cana, when Jesus rests at Capernaum with HIs mother, His brothers, and His disciples -- paralleling God resting on the seventh day in Genesis 2:1-3.

 

This first of seven signs in John's Gospel really tells us quite a bit about Jesus and His ministry.  There are all the elements noted above, especially the important symbolism of a wedding and of marriage.  It teaches us about union with Christ, but a union that spreads out relatedness to a wider community, that brings so many also into itself, as part of itself.  A marriage is a covenant, and so this deep relationship as blessed and sanctified by God brings much out of itself.  Jesus tells us that the "two shall become one flesh" -- even leaving behind parental ties for this new union brought together by God (see Mark 10:5-9).   Seen in this light, marriage is also a "new covenant," and in Christ's language, one made so powerful and potent through God's sanctification, that the two become one.  Moreover, as we can see from the wedding at Cana, weddings have historically been community affairs.  Through marriage extensive relationships are established within communities and between many people, and this image is also what we must draw upon when we think of Christ and His covenant with us, with His people.  He brings in all those with faith, "in His name," within this covenant which -- like marriage -- bestows new identity through this union of faith.  Because, after all, what is a union between two people but a kind of faith, a trust which is placed one in the other, and for the union which is produced and whatever fruit it bears?  This wedding teaches us also about the deep faith Mary, Jesus' mother, has in Jesus as Messiah, as the Christ.  For she has kept all the things in her heart which were revealed to her through angels and through prophecy (see Luke 1:26-56; Luke 2:8-52; especially 2:19, 51).  Now Mary acts in that confidence, together with all the experiences of life with Him as His mother.  And it is her great faith -- her prayer, essentially -- that initiates this first sign of seven, and the beginning of Christ's Galilean ministry, which manifests His glory in a very public way, uniting all in the wine, as a prefiguring of the Eucharist.  Let us contemplate the deep meanings and connections here, and especially the way that Christ gives us relationship and community, through God's great grace and blessings for us.  For this is indeed the "good wine" in which we share.