There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Jn 2:1-11
The mother of Jesus was there.
Interestingly Mary is referred to either as 'woman' or mother of Jesus in the Gospel of John. She is never named.
“Woman, how does your concern affect me?"
While woman in the context of Jewish culture is a polite form of address, there is no indication that it was used with reference to one's mother. However, does John use it here in order to allude to Mary as the new Eve? As Eve's disobedience led to mankind's fall from grace so now the new Eve's obedience led to mankind's return to grace.
In the NT this expression was used by demons to Jesus. In the OT it expresses either hostility or lack of common interest.
Perhaps Jesus did not want to work miracles for family and friends.
My hour has not yet come.
The hour of Jesus was his passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
That is a lot of water which will be turned into wine. The abundance of wine is associated with the last days or the end time.
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory.
In John the miracles of Jesus are called signs. John relates seven signs and this is the first. These miracles are called signs because they point to Jesus as the Messiah.
In the Exodus event, the wondrous deeds performed by Yahweh for his people were called signs. So also the miracles performed by Jesus are to be seen also as God's intervention on behalf of his people.
MARRIAGE
Let's talk about marriage.
What do you think about the following statements? Agree or disagree?
- A woman has the last word in any argument.
- Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
- A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
- A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.
- Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.
- A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
- A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
In the United States for every 10 marriages, 5 end up in divorce. They asked those whose marriage endured what their secret was. The answer was not at all unexpected. They said that at the very start they made divorce a non-option. Consequently, when difficulties come that try their marriage, they were forced to work on it.
Another study was the reasons for divorce. The number one reason is? Yes, it's money. When I asked couples here in the Philippines what was the number one cause of quarrels, the answer was the same--money. Before getting married, the couple should have already discussed and agreed on the ground rules regarding money, raising children, career, etc. And later they should learn how to talk things over.
Will Smith of Men In Black fame was interviewed by Reader's Digest. These are his thoughts about marriage.
Q: You and Jada have been married nine years and, by all accounts, are very happy. What's the key?
WS: Communication. And divorce cannot be an option.
Q: Your first marriage ended in divorce.
WS: That is probably the most painful loss of my life. I quit. I could have fixed it. It really was not that bad.
Q: Some would say there's no reason to stay if a marriage isn't good.
WS: Once you say that, you've lost. With Jada, I stood up in front of God and my family and friends and said, ''Till death do us part.'' So there are two possible outcomes: We are going to be together till death, or I am dead.
A long time ago this was what we were told about marriage: Marriage is not like taking rice into your mouth and finding out it's hot you then proceed to vomit it out of your mouth. Marriage was and still is about commitment. For this reason every year on the occasion of one's wedding anniversary it is a good practice for husband and wife to come before the altar of God, not only to renew their wedding vows but also to ask God for the grace to be faithful to those vows.
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