It Was the Strangest Wedding I Ever Attended!

It Was the Strangest Wedding I Ever Attended…

(The Jesus Diary Continues)

I think the next time I saw Jesus was at a wedding ceremony in a town called Cana. He, his mother, and some of his followers had been invited to the celebration. I don't know why Joseph wasn't there; maybe he had a job to finish in his carpenter shop.

I also knew the family, so I was there with some of my friends. We all planned to have a good time, for the wedding couple were known to be very generous hosts, serving plenty of delicious food and wine of excellent quality.

I was glad to see that Jesus was invited and I hoped to get a chance to talk to him. I heard he was gathering some followers and I was hoping I could be one of them. 

The ceremony was perfectly executed under the most stringent rabbinical standards. The bride was radiant; the groom stately and handsome. Moms cried, the musicians played, we all danced the Hora, the food was set forth, and the wine poured. We had just raised the first toast. And the wine was good, very good.

But I had noticed when I entered the dining hall that there was a certain tension in the room. What could be wrong?  Everything was perfect, so far, and the hosts were known for their partying and party-giving skills. Maybe it was just me, over excited at the thought of seeing my Jesus again and maybe even getting to be one of his men.

The tension  soon exploded into a full-blown controversy. The rumor spreading across the room made no sense. They have run out of wine? Already, with just the first toast gone down? How is that possible? If there had been a wine merchant in the crowd at that moment I think he would have been killed.

The argument that ensued was most frightening to behold. "You didn't order enough!" "Yes, I did!" I thought I was listening to kids fighting on a playground. The yelling and cursing went on for hours, it seemed, although it was actually only about fifteen minutes. Whether the merchant was short on his shipment or the shipment was hijacked on the road to Cana was never determined. But the voices were rising and the threat of violence was in the air. The bride was in tears; the brave groom tried to comfort her while glancing menacingly at the wine steward.

A soft, gentle voice soon quieted the crowd. It was Mary, the mother of Jesus! Evidently she had a plan to solve this catastrophe. She walked to her son, who was sitting in a corner laughing and joking with some of his friends. He hadn't noticed that the wine had run out and was oblivious to all the fighting. Maybe Mary had some wine at home and was going to ask Jesus to go and get it. Just like a mom, she was always trying to solve everybody's problem. Jesus and his pals could certainly find some wine somewhere and salvage this party.

Mary told him about the shortage of wine. We all figured he would hop up right away and do something about it. After all, she is his mother. But, his response astounded us. He basically told her it was of no concern to him and she should not worry about it. But she just looked at him in that way that only moms can look at their sons, and confidently said to the wine steward "Do whatever he tells you." I think I detected a twinkle in her eye. Jesus did not disappoint her, but rose to the occasion in spectacular style.

We wondered what he was going to do to get a sufficient quantity of potable wine for so many people. Nobody had a clue; but Jesus had it all figured out. As was usual in a Jewish wedding there were a number of large vessels for washing up before dinner. "Fill those jars with water," he told the wine steward. And so he did, all six of them. These were quite large jars, each holding about twenty gallons.

After the jars were filled as Jesus had instructed, he walked over to them, dipped his finger in one and nodded in approval. Then he pulled his finger out. It was purple! 

"Now let the steward taste it," he said. A large ladle was brought forth and dipped into one of the jars. There was a lot of twittering among the guests, for the thought of no more wine was frightening. If Jesus didn't come through for us now the party was over.

The steward filled the ladle carefully, raised it so he could sniff its aroma, rolled his eyes, and sipped a bit of what now looked to be wine. His eyes widened, a smile beamed on his face, and he uttered a single word. "Wow!"

The crowd erupted in applause. He had done it! Jesus quietly walked away, rejoining his friends. His mother smiled. The wine flowed freely and did not run out again. Before I knew it I had had my fill of this excellent wine and was starting to feel a little woozy.

All too soon the party was over, and I never did get a chance to talk to Jesus.