Mary and the Wedding Feast at Cana

      The Wedding Feast at Cana is the very start of Jesus’ ministry. It is here that Jesus performs his first public miracle and his disciples begin to believe in him. In this story, John uses some interesting literary expressions that can cause readers to misunderstand the deeper meaning. This dialogue between Jesus and his mother, when translated into modern English, can sound insolent and disrespectful on Jesus’ behalf. Before discussing the conversation between Jesus and his mother, it is important to note the words that John uses as he is describing the scene.

The very first words of this story are, “On the third day.” It can be easy for one to skip over these words without rendering as to why John would use such irrelevant information to start his story. One might even ask the third day of what; the week, the month, or the wedding party? John never specifies, rather he leaves the statement open ended which usually means that there is a deep theological meaning which will fall in line with the rest of the text. As the story proceeds, there are three subtle indications that explain why John starts the story with, “On the third day.”  The first indication is given in the same sentence, “the mother of Jesus was there.” The mother of Jesus is clearly mentioned here in the same way that John is sure to mentioned her at the crucifixion, “standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and…” (19:25). The next indication is given in verse four with the dialogue between Jesus and his Mother. Jesus is obviously reluctant to perform a miracle because he knows such an action will put his ministry in affect and lead to his sacrifice on the cross. He says that his “hour has not yet come,” which refers to his hour of passing from this world (13:1) which is ultimately fulfilled during the passion when he says, “It is finished” (19:30). The last indication that John gives for “the third day,” is in verse eleven. Here John says that through this miracle he “manifested his glory.” This is a paradoxical statement because Jesus ultimately “manifests his glory” when he rises from the dead, ironically on “the third day.” Jesus knows that once he reveals himself here, the road to the cross will begin.

The Prologue to the Gospel of John

The Gospel According to Saint John

John 1:1-5

(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was in the beginning with God; (3) all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (4) In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (5) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The commencement of everything visible and invisible begins with God. In the first chapter of Genesis, God brings order to the universe out of primal chaos. Moses uses the story of creation to show God’s all powerfulness, how he is uncreated, infinite and, eternal.  Moses uses words to depict this scene such as, “In the beginning,” (which preludes to how God is the beginning, the Alpha and the Omega, Rev1:8) and “Then God said… and there was” (the prevailing Word God).

The prologue of John’s Gospel is rooted so firmly in the creation story to show that John is no doubt portraying the good news to mankind that the Jewish God of the Pentateuch is the same God being made flesh. John uses three motives to make this point; God is the beginning, God is the Word, and God is the light. The initiation of John’s Gospel is grounded into the Old Testament story of creation so that he can adequately reveal that “the Word became flesh.” The Gospel of Saint John starts with the same three words as Genesis 1:1, “In the Beginning.” Genesis goes on to say however, “when God created the heavens and the earth,” the keyword being the adverb “when” which tells us that creation is about to happen.

John on the other hand, offers an ever deeper look at the situation by starting even before creation, when God and his Word was all of existence. John finishes the sentence with “was the Word.” The keyword being the verb “was”. John uses the word “was,” where as Moses uses the word “when.” John says “was” three times with three different meanings. He is speaking of a point in eternity before creation to show that God is existence “was the word,” God is relationship “was with God,” and God is predication “was God.” Looking at these three uses, a very deep connotation is found. “The Word” otherwise know as the Greek logos, is used as God’s instrument to personify the story of creation. John 1:1 is a direct parallel to the very same logos that Moses writes of in Genesis 1:3, “Then God said… and there was.” “With God” is then used to show the relational subscript of God and his word. The relationship is communication, as something that is God but external of him. “Was God” implies that “the Word” is external of God, but is fully God. The lack of a defined article between “the” and “Word” indicates predication rather than classification.

Happy New Year! This 2012 let your voice be heard! This is just a little something to chew on while we begin to see our next chapter of elections take place. As you cast your votes next November, remember, everything that Hitler did was legal. America has forgotten history, and when we forget our past it tends to repeat.

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