This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki at 8.15 am and at Saint Stephen’s at 11.00 am in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 19 January 2025. The Bible reading was John 2:1-11.

You might be interested to know this Sunday marks the first anniversary of my being the Chaplain/Priest here in Paphos.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.

Introduction

Here, in John’s Gospel, we have reached the seventh day of Jesus’s public ministry. On the first day John the Baptist gave his testimony to the priests and Levites from Jerusalem. On the second day He saw Jesus and declared him to be “the Lamb of God.” On the third day Jesus called Andrew, John, and Simon Peter to be his disciples and they stayed with Jesus on the fourth day. And on the fifth day Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael.

Then on the seventh day, a new person is introduced: ‘the mother of Jesus.’ Why, you might ask, doesn’t John name her? We don’t really know. But John doesn’t give his own name in his Gospel, either. He is just ‘the other disciple’ and he later refers to himself as ‘the disciple that Jesus loved.’ He doesn’t put his own name into the story, and he doesn’t put Mary’s name into the story. I guess it’s a bit like people calling me Vicar or Priest or Father (or whatever you call me behind my back!) rather than Paul! As we look at this story today, I have three points:


1) The Occasion  

Along with a new person we have a new place, Cana of Galilee – a distance of about 6km from Nazareth. We don’t know who the bride and groom are, nor what Jesus’ relationship to them was. Jesus’s mother appears to have had some role in the catering arrangements, so it might have been a relative. There’s some speculation that it was Jesus’ brother John.

Any wedding in a Palestinian village in those days would have been a great occasion. The ceremony usually took place late in the evening, because of the heat during the day (we know all about that) and afterwards the ‘happy couple’ were escorted to their new home. They would have walked under a canopy, via the longest possible route, so that all the villagers could line the route and wish them well. They didn’t go on a honeymoon but stayed at home. They’d keep an open house for a week with continual feasting and rejoicing which is why copious amounts of wine were required.

A marriage ceremony is such a joyous occasion. Which is why it’s always a privilege for clergy to be involved in these – and vergers too! I love them.  You may have seen my ROV selfies on Facebook! I’ve started a trend in the Diocese! 

Back to Cana! Like any wedding, this was a time of celebration and joy. However, a major crisis loomed at the wedding celebration. The wine was running out.  Drinking wine was a normal part of everyday life and was a common drink, safer than water because the alcohol kept germs from breeding.

Running out of supplies would be a great embarrassment and the shame and disgrace could have stigmatized the couple and their families for the rest of their lives.

So, Jesus, his disciples, and his mother are at a wedding in Cana and the supply of wine is running low, threatening social ruin for the families involved. That is the occasion. Let’s look next at the miracle itself.


2) The Miracle

We read: When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

 That sounds pretty rude, but in the literal translation from the original Greek, it just reflects the commonplace language of the day. Calling his mother ‘woman’ was perfectly acceptable. Just before his death, Jesus refers to his mother as ‘woman’ when he commends her to the care of John. Mary’s response at the wedding is to simply tell the servants to ‘do as he says’. She had total trust in Jesus.

Have you ever had a Mary in your life? Someone who gave you a nudge to do something – reluctantly? I don’t think I would have accomplished much in my life if there hadn’t been people around me who challenged me and encouraged me to move forward. Usually my wife! We all need Marys – someone who will look out for us and get a little pushy with us. Do you have a Mary in your life? Be thankful if you do. And listen to what they say. If not, look for that someone who could be a critical friend. On a similar note, it might be that God is prompting you to be to be a Mary type figure in someone else’s life. If that’s the case, be sure to act on it.  

But before Jesus performs the miracle he says: “My hour has not yet come.” What does he mean by that? He means his major purpose in life is not to improve a wedding, nor to transform water into wine. His major purpose is to die for the sins of His people on the cross. His hour had not yet come. But despite his reluctance, he did what his mother wanted.

We know there were six stone water jars at the wedding, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Their purpose, the text tells us, was for the purification rituals of the Jews. We read about these rituals in Mark 7:3-4: For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly … and there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. There was a lot of washing to be done!

Jesus tells the servants to fill these jars with water and when the master of the feast takes a drink, he finds that it is wine. A miracle has occurred. These six jars now hold upwards of 150 gallons of wine! That’s a lot of wine. And the quantity goes to prove the miracle. I say that, because that much wine would not have been overlooked by the master of ceremonies when the wine stock was running low. The master of ceremonies commends the bridegroom: “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus’ presence at the wedding at Cana and his giving of a gift (150 gallons of fine wine) means that Jesus doesn’t let the celebration come to a sad or embarrassing ending. Jesus took an ordinary occasion and made it extraordinary. He made a difference simply by being there. Similarly, we can never underestimate the difference our presence can make in different situations, whether a hobby group, pub quiz, an evening with friends … presence of Jesus wherever we go.


3) The Purpose

We are told this was the first of Jesus’ public miracles. It was seen by more than Jesus’s mother and disciples. So, we may ask, what was the purpose of the miracle? We know Jesus’ miracles were designed to reveal his glory, to reveal who He really was. John says the miracle was a sign. Something of greater significance. The purpose of a sign is not to say “here is a sign” but to point to someone or something else. Have you ever seen a street sign that says: “Here is a street sign.” No, that would be ridiculous. The miracles of Jesus point to himself.

The purpose is not to point to how great the wine is, but to tell us how great Jesus is. The Glory of Jesus is revealed. The disciples saw this and believed in Him. The signs revealed Jesus’s glory, and this is John’s purpose in writing the Gospel. John 20:30-31: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Now, you might think, didn’t the disciples already believed in Christ. They called him the Messiah, and the son of God, and the King of Israel. Yes, they did believe. But this sign revealed Christ’s glory to strengthen their faith. And our faith is strengthened we partake in wine and bread as symbols of his shed blood and broken body.


Conclusion

God makes the ordinary become extraordinary. A walking stick became a serpent. A rock gave forth water. An axe head floated. A donkey spoke. And he turned water into wine. And not just any wine, but the best tasting wine that the headwaiter had ever tasted. Why? Because God makes the ordinary extraordinary. 

The son of God started his public ministry in a little in backwater in Galilee, far removed from centres of power and influence. The miracle wasn’t done to dazzle people. There was no taking the limelight from the wedding couple. Just a quiet command to the servants to do an everyday job which enabled him to reveal His glory to a watching world. This miracle also shows us that Jesus cares about the smallest details of your life (Matthew 10:29-31) and waits for you to call on Him in your time of need. God wants to be involved in the ordinary everyday events of life.

I wonder, what situation in your life do you want God to transform this morning? Why not take a few moments to ask him … 

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.