Did they even notice?

I wonder what it was like to have Jesus at your wedding… I mean, yes, theologically Jesus is at every wedding, but I mean physically present at your wedding. I can tell you, there are times it is a little awkward to be a pastor at a wedding- depending on the family, the activities, and the relationship between the couple and the church. At any rate, in this passage Jesus goes to a wedding, and it is at this wedding Jesus does his first miracle.

Now, we must understand that Jewish weddings in Jesus’ day were quite different that weddings today. Primarily, the length of the wedding. Jewish wedding celebrations were much longer than our receptions of today- many times lasting as long as 7 days! Can you imagine a week long party for a wedding? And the groom and his family were the ones to foot the bill- and it was a major embarrassment to run out of supplies for the guests- especially food and wine! In fact, there is more than one documented lawsuit in ancient Rome of people being taken to court for not providing wine at a wedding feast.

Mary comes to the rescue of the bridegroom and his family, asking Jesus to do something about the predicament. I find two things extremely peculiar about the working of this miracle. Can I share them with you?

First, as far as we can tell, the bridegroom had no idea what Jesus did for him on that day. There is no mention of an exchange between Jesus and the groom. If we read through story word for word it seems as though Jesus is doing an amazing miracle, and the main recipient of that miracle is completely oblivious to what is being done on his behalf.

says that

As I was studying this passage today I began to feel very uneasy in my heart, because I began to think, how many things has God spared me from today that I am unaware of? How many car accident has he kept me out of? How many health problems could have risen up in me? How many costly home repairs has God given me favor over? How many times is God at work, and I am oblivious to the entire thing?

I spend quite a few hours of my life at the hospital. In fact, I have seen quite a few of you in a hospital bed. I have seen many of you take pills, get IVs, and other forms of treatment, and you know what, I have yet to see any of you have a miraculous change as soon as the meds hit your body. No, I have not seen anyone take a pill and regenerate to full strength as soon as it hits their stomach. Instead, you take the pill, you get the IV, and the drugs do their work behind the scenes. While you and I are talking, while you are sleeping, while the world turns the meds are working behind the scenes, we cannot see what they are doing, and though there are no outward signs the antibiotics are fighting off the infection, the anti-inflammatory are bringing your swelling down…it is the same with God.

A wise man once said “If you are praying about it, God is working on it” Friends, we should all repent for the moments in our lives when we are completely unaware of exactly what God is doing on our behalf.

Second, despite all of the work that went into the miracle, there is no glory in this story- Here’s what I mean by that- this is the first time that Jesus does a miracle, and no one seems to notice; He does not make a scene, Jesus does not climb up on the table and do a intense magic act, he is not concerned with causing a commotion. Sometimes I think we can get caught up in sensationalism- the idea that in order for Jesus to be doing something people have to be falling out in the floor, or speaking in tongues, shouting amen at the top of their lungs, etc. etc… But this story shows us that Jesus is not in the showmanship business.

There is no glory in this story for Mary either. She saved the day! She was the one that brought the entire situation to Jesus’ attention. Mary is really a model of intercessory prayer in this story, isn’t she. Taking the concerns of another to Jesus- I mean, after all, what business is it of her’s if they run out of wine? She isn’t the bridegroom. But she serves as an intercessor for another’s problem.

Here’s the the thing, friends. Being an intercessor, most of the time, is not a glorious job. In fact, it can be a very challenging task. Like Mary, intercessors are in the background, carrying burdens with others, and many times, even when things go right, they are not acknowledged. Intercessory prayer takes humility friend. We need more Mary’s- people that are content to stand in the gap, and have no need of getting glory.

Richard Foster wrote that ““If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer. Intercession is a way of loving others.When we move from petition to intercession we are shifting our centre of gravity from our own needs to the needs and concerns of others.”

Mary, as she approached Jesus, was not concerned with her needs or her benefit, but the needs of another. However, there is little glory in giving yourself away.

When we move from petition to intercession we are shifting our centre of gravity from our own needs to the needs and concerns of others.”

Finally, there was no glory for the servants. Part of the challenge in understanding these servants is remembering that this miracle is happening sometime around 30AD. The text tells us there were 6 stone water jars for purification, and each held 20-30 gallons of water- so 120-180 gallons is what we are talking. Now if I needed to fill 180 gallons of water- no big deal. I will get our the water hose and turn on the spigot. In fact, I will probably let the water fill and I will start another project instead of standing there watching the water fill. Now, I did a little research and found that the average gpm for a standard water hose setup is 24gpm....so in around 7 minutes or so you are all full.

Problem? Cana is in a desert region…no running water, no spigots, no hoses....this whole task just got a lot more complicated.

Those sevants put in some work, and I wonder what they were thinking while they did it. How is water going to help? Who do they thing they are going to fool with this?

But in the end, doing what Jesus said bring the blessing.

Can I just be frank, friends..... the only way that you will ever find joy in Jesus, by beginning with obedience. The problem is that many times obeying Jesus is not glamorous of fun. Remember what Jesus said? Take up your cross and follow me- that does not sound fun.

So what should we do, friends? Well, as I prayed through this passage this week one of the questions that God asked me over and over was- will you serve me when it is mundane? When it is no fun? When no one notices? When it seems boring?

I would love to tell you that serving Jesus would alway be magical and glorious, that it would always be exciting and something bulletin board worthy....but honestly most of the time it is not. Most of the time it is filling tanks with water, it is simple, it is not glamorous. My question for you today is, will you serve Jesus anyway?