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 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were given the fourth day of Christ's public ministry: The following day (after Andrew and Simon Peter became His disciples) 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 to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there 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 my study Bible says means "two days later," as it includes the current day in its calculation.  Therefore this begins the sixth day of Christ's public ministry.  Paralleling the creation of man and woman in Genesis 1:26-31, the wedding in Cana of Galilee takes place, giving birth, so to speak, to Christ's ministry in Galilee.  My study Bible further explains that this setting is significant.  In the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God with His Bride, Israel.  Jesus intentionally begins His ministry at Galilee (see yesterday's reading, above) which had a large Gentile population; this was a sign of the spread of the gospel to all the world.  That the wedding took place on the third day gives a resurrectional tone to this event, showing that the marriage of God and God's Church will be fulfilled in the Resurrection of Christ.  There are other parallels to this marriage and the Resurrection account in John 20:1-18, which my study Bible names as that involve a woman named Mary who makes an appeal, and in both passages the disciples are invited to witness the event.  Moreover, the Resurrection account (John 20:11-18) has a striking similarity to Song of Solomon 3:1-5, again showing the unity between marriage and the Lord's Resurrection.   Additionally, by Christ's presence at the wedding He declares marriage to be holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4), a sacrament of the Church.

 

 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."  This is an example of Mary's gift of intercession.  Even now, my study Bible says, Mary continually speaks to her Son on our behalf and she is our preeminent intercessor before His Throne.  This is confirmed as Jesus grants her request in this passage.  Here, wine is symbolic of life; so, there are two levels of meaning in Mary's statement, "They have no wine."  First, a marriage is not complete without the presence of Christ; and second, the old covenant was not able to bestow life even on the most faithful people.  My study Bible moreover notes that, contrary to certain modern usages, Woman is a sacred title in Scripture, and it 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?" is translated more literally, "What is that to Me and to you?"  Most significantly, in the Greek, these are the same words used by the widow Zarephath in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, when she questioned Elijah after the death of her only son following her help to the prophet (1 Kings 17:18).  In effect Jesus is using a kind of "shorthand" with His mother, asking if she is prepared for what is to follow once His signs (or miracles) begin.  Christ's hour is the time of his great glorification in the Cross at His Passion.  That Christ fulfills her request teaches several things, according to my study Bible:  First, that He 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 that they might learn that it is Christ who fulfills all needs.  Third, we need to have perseverance in our petitions before God (Matthew 15:21-28).  Finally, the intercessions of the righteous have great power (James 5:16).  

 

 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.  Waterpots were made of stone because, according to rabbinical teaching, stone could not contract ritual impurity.  That there are six of them (one less than the perfect seven) indicates that the Law, illustrated by water reserved for Jewish purification, was incomplete, imperfect, and unable to bestow life.  My study Bible says that this water is changed into wine, symbolizing the old covenant being fulfilled in the new, which is capable of bestowing life.  The overabundant gallons of wine illustrate Christ's overflowing grace which is granted to all. 

 

 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!"  My study Bible comments that in patristic commentary this transformation is seen as prefiguring the transformation of bread and wine into the Body 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.  Christ's glory, according to my study Bible, refers both to His divine power shown in His signs and wonders, and also to His humble service to humankind, shown most perfectly on the Cross (John 12:23-32; 13:31).  Through such manifestations of glory, Jesus reveals that He is the One sent from the Father.  This beginning of signs, the transformation of water to wine, is the first sign of seven in the Gospel of John.  According to my study Bible, John uses the term "signs" to show that these miraculous actions point beyond themselves to the truth that the Kingdom of God has come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ.  The following day ("after this He went down to Capernaum") marks the seventh day in this beginning of Christ's ministry, and it parallels the seventh day of rest in the creation story (Genesis 2:1-3).

 

Over the past two readings, we have taken note in commentary how Christ's ministry has unfolded on a very human scale.  The disciples have been called one by one, and they have personal connections to one another (two are brothers; a third comes from the brothers' same hometown; they are first introduced to Christ as the Lamb of God by John the Baptist as they were John's disciples earlier; Jesus personally calls Phillip by finding him and telling him, "Follow Me," Nathanael understands that Christ knows him in ways he finds impossible to explain).   But here, finally, on this sixth day given in John's Gospel, we have a striking example of the manifestation of Christ's glory, His miraculous first sign of turning water to wine.  My study Bible gives in its notes cited above many reasons for this setting and its meanings.  But perhaps in the context of our previous commentary we might note how Christ's Incarnation and its step by step, rather plodding growth of His ministry in the persons of the disciples who come to join Him is in stark contrast to this lightning-fast sign of water becoming wine.  This is impossible to understand except through divine help and power, where both time and space are seemingly suspended for what is a natural process to take place in a miraculous way.  One means to say that it is not impossible to turn water to wine through the addition of grapes and the process of fermentation, that this is a common human endeavor (and particularly so in Christ's time and place).  But in the case of Jesus, it is His divine will and power at work that creates this miracle, and it is a sign of God's presence with Him, a manifestation of God's grace and glory in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son.  Perhaps it is, in fact, this deeply human story of the Incarnation that is itself the backdrop and contrast to Christ's miraculous power so that we truly understand the stupendous shock of the presence of God in our midst.  That very contrast teaches us about Christ and His identity and the transcendent reality of the Incarnation.  One also finds that this "secret" process of the water transforming within these large stone pots as a kind of parallel to the Incarnation itself.  This great transformation takes place hidden from human eyes, inside the darkness of the waterpots set aside for purification as holy vessels in some sense, and Christ Himself is also hidden in the plain sight of the fully human Jesus.  He is both fully human, and fully divine, but not all will understand His divinity, and it will remain hidden -- as it does today -- to many, despite His "signs."  Our faith, even until today, works in this same sense.  We can't see God's presence obviously among us and in our world, we don't perceive the kingdom of heaven ("The kingdom of heaven does not come with observation" - see Luke 17:20-21), but it is within us, it dwells among us; it lives in us through faith; it is present in our sacraments and liturgies, and Jesus Himself has taught that "where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).  So the Incarnation of Christ, among its many attributes, also helps us to know by contrast the power that is in Him, His divinity, as well as to understand how in our every day world the hiddenness of the Kingdom is something we live with, and through faith we know its presence, and may participate in it, and moreover that Kingdom may even participate in us, for Christ has come not only to assume all the aspects of life as one of us, but to share with us even His divinity and grace as well, including all the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.  As St. John writes, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:16-17).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fill the waterpots with water

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after choosing His first disciples who came to Him from John the Baptist,  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 . . .  The wedding in Cana is the setting for the first of seven signs performed by Jesus reported to us in John's Gospel.  My study Bible comments that John uses this term, "signs" (see verse 11) to show that these miraculous actions point beyond themselves to the truth that the Kingdom of God has come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ.  The Greek word translated as sign (σημείων/semeion) is related to the word for "flag" -- it is a representation, indication, or symbol of something present.  My study Bible comments that the setting of the wedding is significant.  In the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God with God's Bride, Israel.  Jesus begins His ministry at Galilee, a quite deliberate intention as we read in yesterday's reading (above), which had a large Gentile population.  This is seen as a sign of the spread of the gospel to all the world.  That this wedding took place on the third day gives it a resurrectional tone, and according to my study Bible, shows that the marriage of God and God's Church will be fulfilled in Christ's Resurrection.  There are other parallels between the marriage here and the Resurrection account in John 20:1-18 in that both involve a woman named Mary who makes an appeal, and in both passages the disciples are invited to witness the event.  Moreover, it notes, the Resurrection account (John 20:11-18) bears a striking similarity to Song of Solomon 3:1-5, again showing the unity between marriage and the Resurrection of our Lord.  By Christ's presence at this wedding, moreover, Jesus declares marriage to be holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4).  This passage is often read at weddings, and its images are incorporated into many prayers in the Orthodox wedding service.

. . . 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."  My study Bible calls this an example of Mary's gift of intercession.  Even now, it says, Mary continually speaks to her Son on our behalf and is our preeminent intercessor before Christ's throne.  An Orthodox prayer declares, "The intercessions of a mother have great effect to win the favor of the Master."  This is confirmed as Christ grants her request here.  Wine is symbolic of life, so when Mary tells Jesus, "They have no wine," there are two levels of meaning to her statement.  First, we understand that a marriage is not complete without the presence of Christ; and second, that the old covenant could not bestow life even on the most faithful people.  We should also understand that, contrary to how it sounds to modern ears, Woman is a sacred title in Scripture.  My study Bible calls it an address conveying deep respect and distinction (John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; compare to Genesis 2:23).  "What does your concern have to do with Me?" reads more literally, "What is that to Me and to you?"  This answer is not a refusal, but a declaration that the time had not yet come for Christ to be revealed.  There is an even greater depth to this question that those familiar with the Septuagint version of the Old Testament could hear (that is the Greek version of Old Testament Scriptures, the one quoted by Christ throughout the New Testament).  Jesus is quoting directly the words of the Septuagint version of 1 Kings 17:18, the words of Zarabeth to Elijah, when her only son died after she helped the prophet ("τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί").   So, we could also loosely translate these words as "what is [between] me and you," and implying to Mary that such a sign will begin the road toward the Cross, the death of her only Son.  (See also the prophesy of Simeon, Luke 2:33-35.)  Mary's confident assertion to the servants to do whatever Christ tells them is her response.

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 in accordance with rabbinical teaching that stone would not contract ritual impurity.  My study Bible says that six of them (one less than the perfect seven) indicates that the Law, illustrated by water 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 -- the new being capable of bestowing life.  The overabundant gallons of wine (filled ... up to the brim) illustrate the overflowing grace which Christ grants to all.

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!"  My study Bible indicates that patristic commentary sees this transformation 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.  John calls this first sign a manifestation of Christ's glory, beheld by His disciples who believed in Him.  It reminds us of John's words in the Prologue to his Gospel, writing as witness and disciple:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).  

There seems to me a clear parallel passage to today's sign, and that is of Jesus' use of "new wine" needing new wineskins as illustrative of His followers in the new covenant (see Matthew 9:14-17).  This transformation of water to wine in today's passage from the Gospel of John echoes in the enzymatic transformation of new wine that needs new wineskins that can stretch and grow with the power of action of grace, of holiness, of the Holy Spirit.  In that same passage from Matthew, we might also note that Christ mentions a wedding feast as well ("Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?")  Perhaps it is appropriate to think of this topic on the eve of the celebration of Transfiguration, which takes place across most churches tomorrow (see Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36).   The Transfiguration is a manifestation of the Holy Trinity, and the clear revelation to the disciples of Christ's divinity.  There the sign is an incredible light permeating all, especially Christ's face and clothing, but also a bright cloud over all the mountain.  All of these different "signs" teach us about Christ's glory and its manifestation in the world.  He is the Bridegroom come for His Bride, those who will believe in Him and know who He really is.  He is the One who brings that glory into the world so that we all may partake.  He is the guest at the wedding feast who makes the best wine possible by transfiguring the water through His holy power, as one come from heaven to bring heaven to us and its meanings and the heartbreaking beauty that persists through all things.  This kind of beauty transfigures everything with its meaning, even suffering, even the Cross.  And there we will begin with Jesus in this first sign in the Gospel of John, of overabundance, of transfiguration, of glory and surprise.  Even the steward at the wedding seems not to be aware of what great thing has just happened in the midst of this wedding.  But Mary the queen of angels and saints knows and initiates through her supplication, and Christ indicates to her the fullness of what is to come down this "road," this "way" He will initiate with His ministry once this sign is made manifest, and the disciples know too -- for they "believed in Him."  My study Bible explains that today's reading gives us the sixth day of Christ's ministry.  (John does not include the events of the fifth day, but jumps to the sixth.  The phrase that begins today's passage:  On the third day, is an expression which means "two days later."  It includes the current day in the calculation.  This wedding therefore parallels the creation of man and woman in Genesis 1:26-31.  Finally, the seventh day is a day of rest, as Jesus rests at Capernaum with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples, paralleling God resting on the seventh day in Genesis 2:1-3.  Let us note once again the fullness of the Church given here:  Jesus is never alone in His ministry, but remains connected with His Church, with those who are with Him:  His mother, His brothers (meaning extended family), and His disciples.  Just as we can look at these interconnected events and passages from the Gospels, and find echoes of meanings reflected in each, so we are reminded that we are members of a Body, and all are interconnected.  What we understand of our faith, the Scriptures handed down to us, the witness testimony that went into them, and the experience of the Holy Spirit working through and in the Church, comes to us in all of this.  Jesus' connection with His mother teaches us something powerful and important about the nature of holiness and of our faith:  it reaches into each one and connects each one, so that the kingdom of heaven is both within us and among us (Luke 17:21).  Christ is our place where heaven and earth meet, and the signs in John's Gospel point the way to His kingdom, and allow us to participate and be included.  Let us follow His way to rivers of living water (John 7:23).

 

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."  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

Yesterday, we read that, after finding His first disciples Andrew and Simon Peter (and the author of this Gospel), 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 there 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. Here the "third day" means two days after the incidents of yesterday's reading, above (the day of the earlier events is counted as the first, making the day of the wedding at Cana the third).  In the parallel of the beginning of John's Gospel to the creation events of Genesis, that would make this the sixth day -- the day on which Genesis gives us the creation of man and woman (Genesis 1:26-31).  Tradition holds that this is the wedding of Simon Zelotes (meaning "Zealot"), possibly a relative to Christ and His mother Mary.  The fact that both Jesus and His disciples are invited to this wedding indicates relationship already between all of these people.  It parallels Christ's parables with the theme of wedding as a great feast of the Kingdom.  My study bible points out that in the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God with His Bride, Israel.  The third day also reminds us of the Resurrection, in which the marriage of God and His Church is fulfilled.

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."  We see here illustrated the intercession of Jesus' mother, Mary.  The plea, "They have no wine," is like a prayer.  Jesus' title for His mother, "Woman," does not have the sound it does in our culture but is a sacred title in Scripture.  My study bible calls it "an address conveying deep respect and distinction" (see also John 4:21, 8:10, 19:26, 20:13, and compare to Genesis 2:23).  In the Greek, Jesus' response to His mother reads more like, "What is that to you and to Me?  My time has not yet come."  It is an answer that includes Mary in the understanding of His mission and identity.  Mary's subsequent instruction to the servants gives us an insight into her understanding of her Son.  In this way, she mirrors the faithful of the Church, whose work is to serve and help facilitate the ministry of Christ.

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.   These waterpots are made of stone so they would not contract ritual impurity according to rabbinical teaching.  Again the number six figures (this is the "sixth day" of John's Gospel).  Six is symbolically one less than the perfect and full seven.  The Law awaits the perfection of Christ for the true wedding feast.

And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  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.  Jesus is "Lord" because He is not subject to times and seasons; this good wine is a manifestation of the fullness of Christ, symbolizing the new covenant.  In the transformation is a prefiguring of the Eucharist, with the wine as that which has the quality of life itself (Christ's blood) - also the purview of the Creator.  These are all signs that indicate the truth of Christ, the manifestation of the Kingdom in our world.  This is the first of seven signs in John's Gospel.

After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.  This is the seventh day in John's Gospel; a day of rest for Himself, His mother, brothers, and disciples.  "Brothers" indicates extended family in Scripture.  It parallels God's rest on the seventh day in Genesis 2:1-3.

Why is Mary's presence so important to this wedding feast?  After all, it is humanity -- the faithful -- who are also an essential component to the feast of the Kingdom.  Without the faithful, where is the mission in the world?  Mary's presence teaches us about the essential love of God for God's people, those who by grace participate in this Kingdom, through whose prayers it is manifest and present in the world.  Mary is so important because her participation in this mission of Christ into the world is essential; she is the human mother who gives birth to God the Word as human being.  By her actions here at this wedding feast, we understand her role as facilitator and servant, the handmade of the Lord who said "yes" to the call of Gabriel the messenger of God.   I don't think we can imagine the joy of the ancient world in receiving the good news of the gospel that a human being can participate in this Kingdom through such grace.  In the understanding of the Church via tradition, she is the most exalted saint, the most highly venerated human being in our spiritual history.  In her is the manifestation of what it means to be human and our capability for reflecting the glory of God through our own lives.  The fact that she is woman -- in this time and place -- emphasizes that God exalts the lowly, as her song (the Magnificat) teaches us.  She is active, participating, facilitating, ministering -- all in service to Christ, her Son.  By grace, we are all capable of following her example, the Kingdom taking root and bearing fruit in us via the work of the Holy Spirit, and the abundance of grace symbolized in the overflowing gallons of the good wine at this wedding.  "Saved for last," it is the wine of the wedding feast, the culmination of spiritual history in the mission of Christ, whose ministry continues in the world; for which each of us is wanted, loved, cherished as one who also may be called to reflect the glory of God in a world that needs His Kingdom.  She intercedes for us, reflecting and teaching about the living body of saints, connected to each of us in prayer.