John 2:1-11 (NRSV)
Read John 2:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 2On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Verse 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Verse 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." Verse 4And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." Verse 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Verse 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Verse 7Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. Verse 8He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. Verse 9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom Verse 10and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Verse 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Devotion
When Jesus turns water into wine, the steward tastes and is amazed. The bridegroom is summoned and likely surprised. St. Augustine, however, expresses a response more like, "...yeah? And?"
Augustine writes that this sign "is not marvellous [sic] to those who know that it was God's doing. For He who made wine on that day at the marriage feast ... does this every year in vines. For even as that which the servants put into the water-pots was turned into wine by the doing of the Lord, so in like manner also is what the clouds pour forth changed into wine by the doing of the same Lord."
Augustine's less-than-awed reaction to Jesus' sign doesn't diminish the miracle. It magnifies the abundance in creation. We don't seek only one-off, miraculous grace infusions, or a far-off event. God reveals God's glory in the giving of daily bread and wine.
Look up: God's glory and abundance are all around you — for you.
Prayer
God, you turn water into every living thing. Grant us vision to see your signs in creation. Amen.