21st January 2024
Reflection (readings are below)
The story of the wedding in Cana is one of my favourites. It has all the hall marks of a good story – a beginning, a middle where a problem arises and is then resolved by the hero, and a conclusion which highlights the outcome. Jesus acts to make good a situation that is going wrong and does so in a way that is absurdly generous. That absurd generosity is a feature of God’s will that I find most attractive and awe inspiring.
It is also a story about marriage, about the importance of such a covenant relationship. Marriage is an amazing institution. Two people who may have no previous connection, agree – indeed desire whole heartedly – to live together for the rest of their lives loving and supporting each other come what may. It is not a relationship for making money or for exerting power. It is a relationship about living together so as to enhance daily life. (I accept that not all marriages are good marriages and that some are harmful, but they are not the majority. Statistics from 2023 suggest that a third of marriages will end in divorce by the 20th wedding anniversary).
The writer of John’s gospel uses marriage as a metaphor for the relationship between God – and specially identifies Jesus as the bridegroom – and those who believe. This continues a tradition already established in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Hosea portrays God as a scorned husband who is doing every thing possible to woo back his wayward wife. In this prophetic writing it is the nation of Israel that is the wayward wife that has chased after false gods and their false promises. In the New Testament the marriage metaphor is more about the relationship between Jesus, the Son of God, and the individual believer.
What are the bonds and the characteristic features that make marriage such a beautiful metaphor for the relationship between Jesus – God – and people?
Isaiah tells us that marriage is characterised by joy and delight, that the beloved is to be likened to a crown of beauty, being both precious and admirable. The Psalmist too gives us some suggestions – that what God brings to the relationship is steadfast love, faith and righteousness. So surely that also suggests that we should equally bring to the relationship is steadfast love, faith and righteousness.
Another approach would be to look at what makes for a good human marriage: things such as trust, being honest and open with each other, saying ‘I love you!’ as well as saying ‘This is what upsets me…’
Doing things we know will please our partner which may be sharing a chocolate bar or putting out the recycling bin. Helping our partner to achieve their goals, and being ready to accept their help – that can sometimes call upon a lot of humility on our part. Listening to the other rather than jumping to conclusions. Being faithful through bad times as well good.
Paul in his letter to the Corinthians will later write at length about love – a passage often used at weddings. In today’s section he is talking about the gifts, the spiritual gifts that we receive from God. These gifts, he tells us, are given for the common good. They are not just for our personal benefit, or for the benefit of a select group, but for the benefit of everyone. (There may in that be some useful guidance in determining what we think our gifts are and how we should use them).
The gifts that Jesus brought – and brings – are for the good of everyone. The water that was turned into wine was for all the guests not just a select few. All were able to share in the generosity of his gift – far more wine that they could really drink – between 130 and 180 gallons or as someone else calculated, 2400 glasses – and in the quality of the gift. This was not just good wine but the best!
The writer of the gospel tells us that that example of Jesus’s love was the first of many signs that revealed his glory. A first invitation to those present to enter into a relationship of steadfast love, faithfulness and righteousness.
And that invitation, that first step made to woo people into a marriage with God, is still being made for us today. God loves us deeply and steadfastly, without query or deviation. Welcome then, God’s attention and receive God’s love. Let a loving relationship – a marriage – between you and God grow so that your life and that of those who surround you, will be greatly enriched.
Isaiah 62:1-5
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
Psalm 36:5-10
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgements are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
The Green Tau 