Optimist Roundtable 7/22
By Martha Sykes
In Jesus’s time, the Jews attached great importance to the special moments of life. Therefore, a wedding was not just a brief ceremony, but an experience shared by the entire community. The typical wedding feast could last up to seven days!! That sounds a little strange to our present day weddings, but back then it was a bright time in their otherwise quiet existence.The ceremony would begin on a Tuesday night at midnight. After the wedding, the father of the bride would take his daughter to every house so that everyone might congratulate her. It was a common experience. Weddings were a time of joy!
In the gospel of John, chapter 2, we can read about a wedding that Jesus attended in Cana of Galilee where there was great joy, but then a problem developed. There was a shortage of wine and this could have been a socially embarrassing moment for this couple. So Mary approaches Jesus and asks Him to do something. His response was that He wondered why this should concern Him.This particular response has puzzled scholars for years because it just did not sound like something Jesus would say. If we look at this answer that Jesus gave in its context concerning the history of the events in Jesus’ life, it can give us a better perspective. You see, Jesus , at that time, had not performed a single miracle. He was believed to be about 30 years old and He had just chosen His disciples. Maybe He thought that if He performed a miracle that it would lead right to His journey to Calvary.
Perhaps He thought all was right so His first public sign that proved He could perform miracles was changing the water into wine at this wedding in Cana.
There’s just something about a wedding, isn’t there? It has been nice this summer to see so many more weddings since last year so many were postponed due to the pandemic. Whether things are perfect or not, there is something about a wedding that touches our hearts. At this particular wedding for Jesus and His disciples, it was a crucial moment for them. When His disciples and the other servants brought the water in they knew there was a shortage of wine, but it seems that Mary already knew and wanted Jesus to perform this miracle.
When Jesus performed this miracle, His glory was revealed and from that day on, the disciples journey of faith had begun.This was an important wedding feast and the circumstance were not good because the wine ran out. Things happen sometimes. There are times in our lives when it is like the wine runs out and we need to turn to Jesus in our time of need. The disciples put their faith in Jesus.He changed the water into wine just like He can transform our ordinary lives into something extraordinary.
