Holy Spirit

Part 2 Jesus Shows Kindness to Those Close to Him: The Wedding at Cana

I absolutely LOVE teaching this story! I add to it but I don’t think I go overboard with my rendition. It strikes me the exchange between Mary & her Son had to be more involved than John lets on. The facial expressions alone add significantly to the story. It takes a mother to really tell this story.

Mary, Jesus, & His disciples are at a family wedding. Mary takes Jesus aside & points out they have run out of wine. Now, 2 things to know: these weddings often went on for DAYS; & the best wine was served first since no one noticed the quality of the wine after they had been drinking for HOURS!

So, Mary tells Jesus they are running out of wine & Jesus, knowing immediately where this is going, points out to His mother that it is not His time yet so there is nothing He can do. Mary ignores Him & tells the servants to do as Jesus tells them. Then she walks away. Jesus has the servants fill clay jugs with water, draw some off, & take it to the man in charge of the banquet. This man tastes what they bring him, water now turned to wine. The wine is the best he has ever tasted & he praises the father of the bride for saving the best for last.

Short & sweet. Hmm. The way I see it, Jesus argued or a bit with His mother, basically telling her He wasn’t going to use His ability to do parlor tricks. He came to do more important things. Mary, like any mother, gives Him THE LOOK! She then turns to the servants & tells them to follow His instructions. As she walks away, she turns to give Jesus one more look. Jesus signs, knows what He must do, & does as His mother asks. And He does it well. The best wine ever!

Everything else aside, Jesus showed a tremendous kindness to this family. It would have bee incredibly embarrassing for them to run out of wine before the wedding celebration was over. He could have turned the water into so-so wine. No one expected good wine to be served this late in the celebration. Jesus didn’t do this. Once Jesus decided to help the family, He did the right thing. He didn’t just make wine, He made the BEST wine. And this was a tremendous kindness, not just to the family but also to His mother.

Sometimes we are asked to do something to help out & we just don’t want to, for whatever reason. How can we do anything less than Jesus, stepping up & sharing our talents with others. While it might seem like a minor thing to us, it may mean the world to them.