Jesus’ first miracle is at a wedding at Cana.

It is recorded only in John’s Gospel. John wants to tell his readers what life with Jesus means and what his core message is really all about.

Signs: with John we enter a world of symbols and poetry that have at least two or three levels of meaning. He wants to convey what is below the surface. John does not call it a miracle when Jesus turns water into wine, in fact, John does not call anything a miracle in his Gospel. Instead, John calls them signs. John records seven "signs" in his Gospel and changing the water into wine is the first. This was a sign for us people, something that leads us toward a deeper meaning.

Water: is the basic necessity of life, our bodies are largely made of it and Jesus refers to himself as the living water. When the water is changed into wine, the symbol is not just of life, but of abundant, joyous, and celebrated life. Wine is a symbol of joy and warmth, celebration and abundance. In changing the water into wine and allowing the wedding celebration to continue, Jesus shows us his mission, that he has come to transform the world.

Jesus said ‘I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.’ This is what the miracle at Cana is all about. The 6 water jars each held 30 gallons of wine. That’s 180 gallons of wine! What a celebration!

The Law: Jesus changed the water in the huge water jugs, used for ritual purification and washing,

into wine. They were there so that the wedding guests could comply with Jewish law. Jesus takes that ritual water and turns it into something that wouldn’t satisfy the law. Washing hands in wine wouldn’t count! Jesus is making a statement about the Law. The Law of Moses was necessary and good but had become restrictive and corrupt as it was taken to extremes by the Pharisees and the meaning behind it lost. 

Jesus came to transform the Law into something that was joyful. Jesus came to transform the Law through Grace and put God back into it, put love into it to make it more than plain water, make it wine. Give it texture, taste, let it warm us as the glow spreads through our bodies, let it free us to love and laugh. Jesus came to take away the weighty duty of the Law from us and make us giddy with joy.

The message is ‘lighten up.’ It is not God’s desire that we live our lives with only a sense of duty. It is of course good that we obey the commandments, but there’s more to life with Jesus than obedience.

‘I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full .’ (John 10:10)

Not just life, but abundant life, joyous life. This doesn’t mean God promises us material wealth or a life free from pain but it does mean, that when the water of our lives becomes wine through relationship with God , life has a richness and depth that it never had before.

Jesus shows divine extravagance. Not in terms of material possessions or getting our own way but through joy that does not spring from the same source as the happiness of the world. Christian joy springs from realising that once we have made the decision to drink of the living water of Christ, that water becomes wine as it touches our lips. Let’s party! Jesus often did!

Angela Stewart, Lay Minister