John 2:1-11

What is your favorite part of a wedding reception? Is it seeing a banquet or buffet table laden with savory morsels and tasty bites? Is it seeing servers circulating throughout the room with trays of enticing appetizers? Is it looking forward to the sit-down luncheon or dinner with your previously selected entrée? Well, my favorite part is when the bride and groom cut the wedding cake and then the guests are served slices. I love cake! I especially like wedding cakes that are moist with a flavorful fruit filling and then covered in a butter cream frosting. And then if by chance there is a Groom’s Cake and it is chocolate, then that truly is “icing on the cake!”

Now this is just a hunch, but I do not believe Biblical bridal couples would have a wedding cake at their reception. What they did have was wine and this couple thought they had ordered enough for all their guests to have their fill. Now Jesus and His disciples were guests at the wedding. Good food was in abundance. Everything was so festive with the singing and dancing that the couple would cherish their wedding day forever. But then at this wedding reception in Cana, there was a problem! Mary, the mother of Jesus overheard a conversation about the hosts running out of wine.

 Mary slipped away to find Jesus. “Jesus,” Mary said, “they have run out of wine! Can’t you do something?” “What could I do?” Jesus asked Mary. But Mary knew that Jesus could do something. Mary told the servers, “Do whatever my son, Jesus, tells you to do. I think He can help you.”

What a way for their marriage to begin! The couple would be so embarrassed. While some wedding mishaps are humorous, this one would not be! They would never forget running out of wine while their wedding party was continuing.

Jesus spotted some large stone jars and He instructed the servers to fill them with cold water. In a short while they told Him that they had done as He had told them. He directed them to fill a cup with the jar’s content and give it to the “party planner.”

When he tasted it, he smiled. It was a miracle! The water had turned into wine! This wine was even better than the wine they were serving before. The man in charge took a cup of the wine to the groom. “My friend, taste this! You have kept the best wine until now! Most people serve the best wine first, but you have saved the best for last.”

The couple’s memories of their wedding and reception would be cherished forever thanks to a guest named Jesus.

Now what about a glass of fine champagne to go with a slice of this delicious wedding cake?

Prayer

O Jesus, You saved this wedding reception from disaster because people did what You told them. You wrought Your first miracle by changing water into wine. Help us to heed what You say to us today to continue to work miracles in Your name. Let us always celebrate and be thankful for the good things in life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.