On Jesus' 1st Miracle: The Wedding at Cana

[Sunflower15]

I was praying the Rosary at the Adoration Chapel this morning. When I got to the Wedding at Cana, for some reason, I wondered how do Evangelicals see this mystery?

It was, after all, the way Jesus began his ministry. By turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony. I’m sure beyond the obvious logistical problem and His compassion, there is some mystical truth contained.

But, my question is, how do those who think alcohol is intrinsically evil explain Jesus’ first miracle?

I sure hope someone doesn’t think that it was grape juice or something! It was a wedding reception!

Maybe it should also be mentioned that the Last Supper also had wine blessed by Jesus. So, He began His public ministry with wine at a celebration, and ended it with wine at a celebration!

btw, I don’t drink, [or hardly ever], out of personal choice [lack of interest in it]. I’m also vegetarian, out of personal choice. In case someone thinks my motivation for this question is that I have a secret attachment to alcohol. Not at all. But, I see the ATTACHMENT to it, [or anything else other than God], as evil, not the object -alcohol- itself.

I hope an Evangelical /Baptist or any other denomination that considers alcohol forbidden helps me to understand.

Thanks.

 

[Publisher]

Many years ago there was a song called “He Turned the Water into Wine”…the gist of the song…He took something base and average and made it into something nobel and rich…that’s what he does to our lives…this isn’t a “Protestant” perspective…just mine.

 

[Sunflower15]

Many years ago there was a song called “He Turned the Water into Wine”…the gist of the song…He took something base and average and made it into something nobel and rich…that’s what he does to our lives…this isn’t a “Protestant” perspective…just mine.

Yes. I absolutely agree. If you read my post, I even alluded to that saying that there is a “mystical truth contained” as well. I was wondering about the “actual” wine making part. It cannot be denied.

How interesting, you are a Quaker!
You know, maybe you think it crazy, but if I were Protestant, I would probably pick to be a Friend.
I have thought about this because I spend from 1-3 hours at the Adoration Chapel [where the Eucharist is exposed 24/7 for prayer communion directly with Jesus, quietly] I know that you don’t believe in the Eucharist, but in essence it is with Him that we are spending time quietly, in prayer and meditation, listening within…
And, I don’t know of any other faith that spends time in quiet like that…
Nice to “meet” you. Thanks for your reply.

 

[manualman]

I’ve had friends (not in the Quaker sense!) who indeed believe that the Cana wine was merely grape juice. Their logic goes something like this: “Alcohol is evil, so Jesus couldn’t have made it.”

The fuller argument goes on. They say grape juice was more highly valued than wine because of its rarity (can’t be stored in an era before refrigerators!). Wine was always second best. That’s why the servant was so surprised to find the ‘good stuff’ after the common stuff had already been served.

In fairness, it’s not all that many who really subscribe to such strange thinking.

 

[cthulhubryan]

This is one of the more difficult things about being protestant. It requires one to keep up two different sets of “truth” the first being that God is Omnipotent and that God is all Loving and Good. The second set is the ones you want them to be. I have this problem with my elderly baptist mother-in-law. In this second set you set the constraints on God that you feel He should have done for Himself. Therefore you have to start making things up that ignore both religious as well as historical and scientific truths. The wedding at Cana is a perfect example:

To the Fundamentalist protestant (Calvanistic, life sucks and don’t even think about having fun or God will get you) that line goes like this:

Jesus is God. God is Jesus. Jesus goes to a wedding at Cana therefore God does to a wedding at Cana. The host shows a remarkable lack of foresight and does not have enough refreshments for everyone. Host appeals to Jesus/God. Jesus/God makes wine for everyone (really good wine). But wait. Line of Reasoning 2 comes in and says: Alcohol is a sin and God cannot tolerate sin therefore God will not create wine, but God just created wine. Since as a Fundamentalist you are also saddled with Sola Scriptura and therefore everything the Bible says is the only source for teaching and preaching you therefore run into the Bible being wrong because the Bible said Jesus/God made wine but wine is alcohol and therefore the Bible is wrong, but the Bible cannot be wrong.

Here we hit a logical and religious infinite loop and neither Religion nor Reason can escape it. Therefore the poor preacher has to make something up that satisfies his need to be right and for God to be right even when He is wrong but we can blame someone else.

Therefore we invent the idea that God created grape juice. EVERYBODY loves Grapejuice. I personally love grape juice. Therefore we can satisfy both lines of reasoning and as a bonus we can blame the Catholics (it’s all their fault anyway) for mistranslating Grape Juice into Wine.

We will ignore the historical reality that grape juice was rarely made to be stored and if drank was done so at the time of being removed from the fruit. We will also ignore the Scientific reality of Grape Juice not being able to be stored for any length of time without being homogenized.

This was one of the many reasons God calls me home to Rome.

 

[Sunflower15]

I’ve had friends (not in the Quaker sense!) who indeed believe that the Cana wine was merely grape juice. Their logic goes something like this: “Alcohol is evil, so Jesus couldn’t have made it.”

The fuller argument goes on. They say grape juice was more highly valued than wine because of its rarity (can’t be stored in an era before refrigerators!). Wine was always second best. That’s why the servant was so surprised to find the ‘good stuff’ after the common stuff had already been served.

In fairness, it’s not all that many who really subscribe to such strange thinking.

Thanks for your reply.
Interesting…you know…sometimes I think the true miracle is that we even accept Jesus is Who He is!
We seem to be SO creative as to what this or that means!

I’m not even going to ask about whether the Last Supper wine was grape juice…and then, wine, and then, blood…

Because, funny enough…from the 1st to the “last” miracle that’s what happened!

 

[Sunflower15]

This is one of the more difficult things about being protestant. It requires one to keep up two different sets of “truth” the first being that God is Omnipotent and that God is all Loving and Good. The second set is the ones you want them to be. I have this problem with my elderly baptist mother-in-law. In this second set you set the constraints on God that you feel He should have done for Himself. Therefore you have to start making things up that ignore both religious as well as historical and scientific truths. The wedding at Cana is a perfect example:

To the Fundamentalist protestant (Calvanistic, life sucks and don’t even think about having fun or God will get you) that line goes like this:

Jesus is God. God is Jesus. Jesus goes to a wedding at Cana therefore God does to a wedding at Cana. The host shows a remarkable lack of foresight and does not have enough refreshments for everyone. Host appeals to Jesus/God. Jesus/God makes wine for everyone (really good wine). But wait. Line of Reasoning 2 comes in and says: Alcohol is a sin and God cannot tolerate sin therefore God will not create wine, but God just created wine. Since as a Fundamentalist you are also saddled with Sola Scriptura and therefore everything the Bible says is the only source for teaching and preaching you therefore run into the Bible being wrong because the Bible said Jesus/God made wine but wine is alcohol and therefore the Bible is wrong, but the Bible cannot be wrong.

Here we hit a logical and religious infinite loop and neither Religion nor Reason can escape it. Therefore the poor preacher has to make something up that satisfies his need to be right and for God to be right even when He is wrong but we can blame someone else.

Therefore we invent the idea that God created grape juice. EVERYBODY loves Grapejuice. I personally love grape juice. Therefore we can satisfy both lines of reasoning and as a bonus we can blame the Catholics (it’s all their fault anyway) for mistranslating Grape Juice into Wine.

We will ignore the historical reality that grape juice was rarely made to be stored and if drank was done so at the time of being removed from the fruit. We will also ignore the Scientific reality of Grape Juice not being able to be stored for any length of time without being homogenized.

This was one of the many reasons God calls me home to Rome.

Wow! If all these bouncing back & forth is going on inside their heads, no wonder they can’t possibly listen when we try to explain what we actually believe! No wonder they just go on and on, without stopping to listen or to consider. I couldn’t either!
And, they are the literalists! I don’t want to be unfair…but it almost seems [again, I don’t mean disrespect, but it does seem this way], that EVERYthing is taken literally EXCEPT whatever Jesus Himself said! In those cases, the strangest mistranslations, misunderstandings, misinterpretations suddenly pop up!

 

[manualman]

Now Bryan,

You aren’t being a very good heretic. What’s up with that?

 

[Sunflower15]

This was one of the many reasons God calls me home to Rome.

My question is what do you mean “wanting to come home”? Why aren’t you a Catholic? You sure sound like one!

btw, I like your name…my youngest son’s name as well, same spelling

 

[cthulhubryan]

Now Bryan,

You aren’t being a very good heretic. What’s up with that?

I’m only a heretic until Pentecost!!!

 

[cthulhubryan]

My question is what do you mean “wanting to come home”? Why aren’t you a Catholic? You sure sound like one!

btw, I like your name…my youngest son’s name as well, same spelling

Thank you. I am scheduled to become Catholic on Pentecost. I love everything about the Catholic Church. I love being able to read the Bible with my full brain. I love my Blessed Mother, I love my German Shepherd. I love it all!

Good for you on your son, too few people name their children Cthulhu any more.
Just kidding, there has been a Bryan in every generation of my family back into the 16th century.

 

[Sunflower15]

Thank you. I am scheduled to become Catholic on Pentecost. I love everything about the Catholic Church. I love being able to read the Bible with my full brain. I love my Blessed Mother, I love my German Shepherd. I love it all!

Good for you on your son, too few people name their children Cthulhu any more.
Just kidding, there has been a Bryan in every generation of my family back into the 16th century.

Oh, welcome, then!

I like everything too…especially, the things non-Catholics do NOT like ~LOL I really don’t get it…the Communion of the Saints [as if we were the only ones who believe in the Resurrection! ], the Sacraments *, the Sacramentals [those TOO!], etc.

You must have a very “creative” family, uh? Good choice, though!
*

 

[Eileen_T]

When Pope John Paul II first brought in th Luminous Mysteries I wasn’t sure what I felt about it. After all, I had been saying the Rosary for decades and sudenly there were five more mysteries to meditate on.

In meditating on these new mysteries I was stepping outside my comfort zone and had to go deeper into Scripture and open myself to the Holy Spirit… and guess what… I found myself applying this also to the more familiar mysteries and suddenly I was discovering things I hadn’t even thought about before. It seems that I am having “Eureka” moments all the time. Or do I mens epiphanies?

Now I am thinking of taking other events from the Gospels and putting them into the Rosary so I can learn even more.

Anyway, the Miracle at Cana has so much to it than the mere recounting.

• Jesus at a celebration with relatives and friends - a marriage.
• Mary makes a request of Jesus which means she was aware of His power so it was not the first time He worked a miracle.
• Jesus tells her that His hour has not yet come
• Mary knows He will do something to remedy the situation, despite His reply to her
• Jesus performs the miracle anyway, just to make her happy - Marian intercession has a powerful Scriptural basis
• His first disciples witness the first public miracle

What do others understand about this Mystery?

 

[Sunflower15]

When Pope John Paul II first brought in th Luminous Mysteries I wasn’t sure what I felt about it. After all, I had been saying the Rosary for decades and sudenly there were five more mysteries to meditate on.

In meditating on these new mysteries I was stepping outside my comfort zone and had to go deeper into Scripture and open myself to the Holy Spirit… and guess what… I found myself applying this also to the more familiar mysteries and suddenly I was discovering things I hadn’t even thought about before. It seems that I am having “Eureka” moments all the time. Or do I mens epiphanies?

Now I am thinking of taking other events from the Gospels and putting them into the Rosary so I can learn even more.

Anyway, the Miracle at Cana has so much to it than the mere recounting.

• Jesus at a celebration with relatives and friends - a marriage.
• Mary makes a request of Jesus which means she was aware of His power so it was not the first time He worked a miracle.
• Jesus tells her that His hour has not yet come
• Mary knows He will do something to remedy the situation, despite His reply to her
• Jesus performs the miracle anyway, just to make her happy - Marian intercession has a powerful Scriptural basis
• His first disciples witness the first public miracle

What do others understand about this Mystery?

I would add what others said about taking something as plain as water and turning it into the ‘finest wine’, as He does with us;

His public ministry began with a celebration [Wedding] turning water to wine, and ended with a celebration [Passover] turning wine into His blood

This event could even be construed as Him blessing Marriage, no?

I agree with the intercessory power of Mary in full display for the very FIRST miracle! He didn’t even seem inclined to do it, maybe He thought is frivolous, but to please MOM, oh, well…the rest is history…

 

[Bill_Pick]

I was praying the Rosary at the Adoration Chapel this morning. When I got to the Wedding at Cana, for some reason, I wondered how do Evangelicals see this mystery?

It was, after all, the way Jesus began his ministry. By turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony. I’m sure beyond the obvious logistical problem and His compassion, there is some mystical truth contained.

But, my question is, how do those who think alcohol is intrinsically evil explain Jesus’ first miracle?

I sure hope someone doesn’t think that it was grape juice or something! It was a wedding reception!

Maybe it should also be mentioned that the Last Supper also had wine blessed by Jesus. So, He began His public ministry with wine at a celebration, and ended it with wine at a celebration!

btw, I don’t drink, [or hardly ever], out of personal choice [lack of interest in it]. I’m also vegetarian, out of personal choice. In case someone thinks my motivation for this question is that I have a secret attachment to alcohol. Not at all. But, I see the ATTACHMENT to it, [or anything else other than God], as evil, not the object -alcohol- itself.

I hope an Evangelical /Baptist or any other denomination that considers alcohol forbidden helps me to understand.

Thanks.

Some say Jesus change wine in to water and some say it was not strong drink

 

[Sunflower15]

Some say Jesus change wine in to water and some say it was not strong drink

I’m not arguing what some might say, just that the Bible says it was wine…they knew what wine was back then, and the Bible distinctly refers to it as wine.

Maybe it was the sweet lower alcohol content wine, like kosher wine.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Some say Jesus change wine in to water and some say it was not strong drink

I suppose one can say it took our Lord to change water into wine, and it took man to change the wine back into water.

VC

 

[cthulhubryan]

When Pope John Paul II first brought in th Luminous Mysteries I wasn’t sure what I felt about it. After all, I had been saying the Rosary for decades and sudenly there were five more mysteries to meditate on.

In meditating on these new mysteries I was stepping outside my comfort zone and had to go deeper into Scripture and open myself to the Holy Spirit… and guess what… I found myself applying this also to the more familiar mysteries and suddenly I was discovering things I hadn’t even thought about before. It seems that I am having “Eureka” moments all the time. Or do I mens epiphanies?

Now I am thinking of taking other events from the Gospels and putting them into the Rosary so I can learn even more.

Anyway, the Miracle at Cana has so much to it than the mere recounting.

• Jesus performs the miracle anyway, just to make her happy - Marian intercession has a powerful Scriptural basis

What do others understand about this Mystery?

Eureka Eileen!! In all the times I read this story, the Marian intercession aspect never occurred to me. You da bomb!

 

[josie_L]

Eureka Eileen!! In all the times I read this story, the Marian intercession aspect never occurred to me. You da bomb!

I love enthusiastic Catholics.

P.S. I react the same way when I discover something new I hadn’t previously known, and I’m a cradle Catholic.

 

[madabkr4tx]

I was praying the Rosary at the Adoration Chapel this morning. When I got to the Wedding at Cana, for some reason, I wondered how do Evangelicals see this mystery?

It was, after all, the way Jesus began his ministry. By turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony. I’m sure beyond the obvious logistical problem and His compassion, there is some mystical truth contained.

But, my question is, how do those who think alcohol is intrinsically evil explain Jesus’ first miracle?

I sure hope someone doesn’t think that it was grape juice or something! It was a wedding reception!

Maybe it should also be mentioned that the Last Supper also had wine blessed by Jesus. So, He began His public ministry with wine at a celebration, and ended it with wine at a celebration!

btw, I don’t drink, [or hardly ever], out of personal choice [lack of interest in it]. I’m also vegetarian, out of personal choice. In case someone thinks my motivation for this question is that I have a secret attachment to alcohol. Not at all. But, I see the ATTACHMENT to it, [or anything else other than God], as evil, not the object -alcohol- itself.

I hope an Evangelical /Baptist or any other denomination that considers alcohol forbidden helps me to understand.

Thanks.

I didn’t know Baptists forbade alchohol. They forbid overindulgence.