Have you been invited to a Jewish wedding before? Even though I used to live in New York and I have many Jewish friends and colleagues, unfortunately, I have never been to a Jewish wedding before, and so what I know about Jewish weddings comes from what I know from the movies. I know that the groom wears a skullcap, or yarmulke, to cover his head. I know that everyone shouts “Mazel Tov!” a lot. Lastly, I know that the bride and groom step on a glass wrapped in a cloth to shatter it. The Internet said it symbolizes that both joy and sorrow are wrapped together in marriage, and it represents the bride and groom’s commitment to stand by one another in both good times and bad times. I didn’t know that.
In the 1st century, however, Jewish weddings were a lot different. According to Jewish historians, Jewish weddings were celebrations that lasted one week long. They were usually very large gatherings. Parents who were well off typically invited the entire village to their children’s weddings. There was good food after good food. The wine flowed freely. To run out of either, especially the wine, was not just an embarrassment to the host, it was a complete disgrace. A huge social faux pas.
John wrote that such was the case one day in Cana, well almost. Jesus and Mary were at a wedding when all of a sudden, the wine ran out. Panic broke out in the banquet kitchen. At first, Jesus seemed reluctant to do anything about it. But in the end, he performed a miracle and turned six stone waterpots of water into wine. As the story goes, the wine tasted even better than the wine already served to the guests. A huge social faux pas was averted. Jesus saved the day!
But why did Jesus seem to have changed his mind in the middle of the story? Why did he choose to perform his first miracle that day? What does the miracle of the wedding in Cana mean? Join us in person or on live stream this Sunday, and let’s come together to worship, and to think together. See you Sunday!
Your Friend,
Alvin