The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”
“Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Today’s reading is a portion of the account of Jesus’ first miracle. Jesus would go on to give the seemingly strange directions of filling ceremonial water jars used for hand washing with water and then presenting it to the master of ceremonies for the wedding. His instructions were followed and what resulted was some of the finest wine the master of ceremonies had ever tasted.
The miracle itself is pretty cool. And we could talk about all kinds of theological things like how Jesus did what his mother asked him to do or we could dive into the significance of using the ceremonial hand washing jars as vessels for new wine. But what I am struck by today is the fact that Jesus was doing ordinary things when that first miracle took place. Jesus, his family, and his disciples were all guests at this wedding. They were celebrating and spending time with people who mattered to them when the power of God showed up.
I think that we sometimes discount the everyday spaces and places of our lives as opportunities for the power of God to show up and make a difference. We think the stage has to be set just so, or we need to be in a super spiritual discussion or activity for God to move. But the reality is, sometimes He moves at weddings in ways no one but the server sees. Sometimes He moves over cups of coffee, or board games, or picnics, and backyard kickball. He shows up where we intentionally choose to engage in relationships with the people around us and invite Him into the middle of those relationships.
