The story of the wedding at Cana is very interesting. It comes to us from the Gospel of John, and in John’s Gospel there are few to no parables. Parables are the stories Jesus would tell to make a point. Oftentimes parables begin with, “The Kingdom of God is like…” It’s peculiar that Jesus taught so frequently with parables according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but almost never in John. This has led some to wonder if John’s Gospel creatively embedded parables or wove them into memories of Jesus’ own life and teaching. The Wedding of Cana is one such example.

Consider the cast of characters in this story. Since it is a wedding there is a groom, but no mention of a bridegroom. There is a “chief steward” like some kind of ruler of the party, then there’s the servants, and finally sitting in on this celebration is Mary, the one who was invited and Jesus and his disciples sound as if they didn’t quite crash the wedding, but were allowed to come by the extension of Mary’s invitation.

There’s a problem. The wine has run out. This is a problem for a lot of reasons. First of all we know that people like to drink and have a good time at a wedding. Secondly, running out of provisions at a party in which you invited people would appear to be the height of ignominy, shame, and disgrace. Thirdly, and this is a historical point, wine was perhaps the only safe thing to drink. Wine in those days was much less potent than it is now. It had alcohol, but not as much. Wine was safe to drink because the fermentation process ridded the liquid from many deadly pathogens. Regular drinking water was not as safe to drink. You put all this together and you have a situation where the very first moments of this new couple’s life together is potentially cast under a very dark and disturbing omen.

Mary steps into the picture. Saint Mary. Hail Mary full of grace, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. That’s how Elizabeth greeted Mary, by the way. Mary nudges Jesus. She tells him that they are out of wine. In true motherly fashion she doesn’t exactly tell Jesus what to do, but she presents the problem to him. He balks. “Mom, I’m not ready.” No, that’s not right. “Woman! I’m not ready!” That’s what he says to his mother Mary. What kind of a response is that? I’d say it’s a combination of exasperation and respect. It’s fascinating that at the very end of this self same Gospel of John, Jesus after he resurrected will say to Mary Magdalene. “Woman! Why are you weeping?” It’s fascinating to me that Jesus would use the exact same word at the beginning and at the end of his earthly ministry, the first time with his mother and the second time with his most faithful disciple.

Mary is undeterred and unbowed. She says to a servant standing by: “Do whatever he tells you.” That’s a lot like what God the Father says at the transfiguration: “This is my Son the beloved, listen to him.” So Jesus’ aware that he has no choice but to obey his mother. Jesus instructs the servant to fill the ritual purification jars with water. What is a ritual purification jar? It’s an ancient sink for washing your hands before there was widespread use of plumbing. You fill up this very large ceramic vat and people go to town washing their hands. One right after the other. The trick of course, if you ever find yourself at an ancient wedding, is try to get in the front of the line, because the further back you are the less clean the water will be. Keep in mind that the party was already underway so all of the people had already washed their hands. So at this ancient handwashing station that was already full of dirty water Jesus says to the servants to fill them up the rest of the way, then fill up a cup, and take it to the chief steward, the ruler of the party. What you should be thinking right now is: disgusting! Outrage! To knowingly give someone to d