Question about the wedding of Cana

[dizzy_dave]

At the wedding of Cana they ran out of wine. Why did the servants go to Mary for help? Since this was before anyone knew Jesus was God. Jesus had not yet started his ministry. How did they know they would get help by going to Mary?

 

[EphelDuath]

And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine.

newadvent.org/bible/joh002.htm

So it looks to me as if Mary had just noticed they had ran out of water, and asked her son to do her friends a favor.

 

[Ramalama]

My favorite part of the mystery is when Mary says, “Do whatever He tells you.” Yup - that’s what I need to do.

I realize that had nothing to do with your question, I just had to add that.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I have seen it speculated that the wedding involved a relative of Mary, and that she was probably involved in the preparations. It doesn’t say that the servants turned to Mary for help. She may have been overseeing things, and saw the problem coming as part of her efforts.

 

[The_Truthinator]

It’s clearly evidence that Jesus was getting married and so Mary, as the bridegroom’s mother, had certain obligations…

Or not…

Well, since Jesus and his family were invited, it probably was a close relative or friend getting married, and so it is understandable (especially in the former case) that Mary would have a part to play in the whole affair.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I recall our pastor years ago pointed out that Jesus had caused the problem by bringing all His seminarians along. They drank all the wine.

 

[dizzy_dave]

This is a bit off topic but since we are talking about wine. Why do Catholics have such a bad reputation for being drunkards? I don’t know of any practicing Catholics who do so. I know of many non-practicing Catholics who get drunk a lot.

Back to the topic:
Any good Bible studies talk about this more in detail?

 

[Al_Masetti]

At the wedding of Cana they ran out of wine. Why did the servants go to Mary for help? Since this was before anyone knew Jesus was God. Jesus had not yet started his ministry. How did they know they would get help by going to Mary?

Anne Rice wrote an interesting book recently [Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt ?]… speculating about the life of the young Jesus.

Everyone already knew that Jesus was someone special. There were many episodes in His life, some of which are recounted in the New Testament. Most probably there were many others not published.

Keep in mind, also … Mary was a “Jewish mother”. So, when Jesus said “My time is not yet come”, Mary just ignored Him. She just told the waiters, “Do whatever he tells you.”

You can supply the accents and emotional emphasis yourself.

• playing the role of Jesus and after His mother gives the order to the waiters, Jesus says, “Maaaaaaa!!!”]*

 

[Leopard]

…Why do Catholics have such a bad reputation for being drunkards?..

Why does any ethnic prejudice exist? Because prejudiced persons hold bad opinions, true or not.

 

[Petergee]

Why do Catholics have such a bad reputation for being drunkards? I don’t know of any practicing Catholics who do so. I know of many non-practicing Catholics who get drunk a lot.

Like just about all of the vicious calumnies about Catholics which are still commonly believed in English-speaking countries, it was invented by the Anglican establishment in England during the three centuries (1534 to 1829, with two short breaks) in which they persecuted Catholics, as an excuse for the persecution. It was probably helped along by the fact that many Catholics in England were poor or homeless, and one of the few pleasures available to the poor was amazingly cheap liquor, and unlike the rich, when the poor get drunk it’s usually in public. The rumour received a further boost with the rise of Methodism and other new sects in the 18th-19th century which regarded drinking any alcohol as a sin. Naturally Catholics pointed out the error of this.

 

[NotWorthy]

Does anyone think it’s odd that Mary was mentioned here first?

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding

Mary was there… oh, and Jesus was also invited.

But back to the original question. The stewards did NOT go to Mary. She noticed the problem and came to her Son for assistance. That’s the way it should always be.

 

[NotWorthy]

This is a bit off topic but since we are talking about wine. Why do Catholics have such a bad reputation for being drunkards? I don’t know of any practicing Catholics who do so. I know of many non-practicing Catholics who get drunk a lot.

Catholic organizations allow alcohol at various functions. At some of the these functions, someone may get drunk. Whether he’s Catholic or just a visitor, his actions tend to reflect on the whole group. Have you ever seen another religion put on an event where drinking was allowed?

Back to the topic:
Any good Bible studies talk about this more in detail?

AgapeBibleStudy.Com has a great bible study on the Book of John

 

[Texas_Roofer]

At the wedding of Cana they ran out of wine. Why did the servants go to Mary for help? Since this was before anyone knew Jesus was God. Jesus had not yet started his ministry. How did they know they would get help by going to Mary?

It was Mary probably acting out of compassion probably for a poor couple which could not buy more wine asking Jesus for assistance, Mary ordered the servers not the other way around

…Why do Catholics have such a bad reputation for being drunkards?..

In the south there was quite a bit of anti-catholic views, similarly the Protestants strongly opposite alcohol, so calling Catholics drunkards was a means of social separation. There of course may be additions reasons.

This Protestant view backfired because Protestant often had high incidents of alcohol problems, because they had to hide their drinking, certainly having a drink at home or keeping bottle was not acceptable.

 

[Petergee]

Catholic organizations allow alcohol at various functions. At some of the these functions, someone may get drunk. Whether he’s Catholic or just a visitor, his actions tend to reflect on the whole group. Have you ever seen another religion put on an event where drinking was allowed?

Yes, very frequently. Just last month I went to a function put on by a Protestant church which included unlimited alcohol, which many of the protestants present took full advantage of, a few of them obviously having more than they could handle.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Yes, very frequently. Just last month I went to a function put on by a Protestant church which included unlimited alcohol, which many of the protestants present took full advantage of, a few of them obviously having more than they could handle.

Spirit filled?

 

[NotWorthy]

Yes, very frequently. Just last month I went to a function put on by a Protestant church which included unlimited alcohol, which many of the protestants present took full advantage of, a few of them obviously having more than they could handle.

Well, Petergee, Oz is evidently NOT down here in the Bible Belt , for that would never happen at our local Protestant Churches.

 

[Petergee]

Well, Petergee, Oz is evidently NOT down here in the Bible Belt , for that would never happen at our local Protestant Churches.

I guess that shows that consumption of alcohol is a cultural thing rather than a Catholic versus Protestant thing.

 

[epostle]

Wine cannot be preserved without controlled fermentation, or it isn’t considered good wine. In 1869 Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch, a physician and dentist by profession, successfully pasteurizes Concord grape juice to produce an “unfermented sacramental wine” for his Protestant church in Vineland, N.J., where he is communion steward. His achievement marks the beginning of the processed fruit juice industry, 1,836 years after the miracle at Cana. Jesus did not change water into grape juice.

Furthermore, Jesus knows that wine is a symbol of joy in the Old Testament, so when He transforms the water into wine He clearly indicates how His Father wants to restore joy to all people by restoring marriage to its original dignity. His saving mission includes offering couples an abundance of grace flowing from the Cross to experience the joy of becoming truly one, to persevere in good times and in bad, to transform suffering into saving grace, and to build a house for God in this world. Christ came to renew marriage by restoring it to its original splendor and filling couples with supernatural grace to live fully the life God intended for them…

The Wedding at Cana is very rich in beauty and mystery. It highlights that Christ wanted to renew marriage with grace and power, that Mary will forever teach us the path of charity and the path to her Son, and that Christ was preparing the world for his most precious gift, the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation, not so the wedding guests could glut themselves into alcoholic oblivion.
(gleaned from catholicexchange.com/node/9326 )

I think Catholic teaching on Matrimony is a powerful apologetics tool that is negleted.

 

[HailMary]

In Jewish tradition, marriages lasted 7 days (and this makes sense since to make a COVENANT with someone, in Hebrew, the word, literally, is you seven-yourself, not to mention that 7 is the number of the covenant).

On the 7th day, the bridegroom would enter into this tent where the woman would be vieled. The bridgegroom will UNVIEL (in Greek the word Revelation means the unvieling) her and connsumate the marriage. This being said, let us examine the mystery of the Wedding at Cana.

John 1:29:

                                              The **next day** he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

• the next day would imply the 2nd day since there is no mention before

John 1:35:

                                              The **next day** John was there again with two of his disciples

• the next day from the 2nd or the 3rd day

John 1:43:

                                              The **next day** he  decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow me."

• the 4th day

Ever wonder what St. John was hinting at with the counting of days? Most people don’t even realize the “next day” thing and just ignore it altogether.

John 2:1:

                                              On the **third day** there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

• the third day from when? the 4th day which means that is the 7th day.

Now, you can see, the Sacred writer mentions the Blessed Virgin first ( this makes Protestants cringe). Note that the text does not say, Mary was invited to the wedding but rather, “the Mother of Jesus was there” implying that she was waiting, just as the bride would be waiting in the tent on the 7th day of the wedding feast. Then the text continues and says Jesus has arrived with his disciples.

On the literal sense, we see a couple getting married that might have been ashamed if their wine failed but we see Jesus’ action from the request of Mary preventing this. But on a spiritual level, we can see that this is not just a wedding of this couple, an unmentioned people, but rather, its the wedding of the New Adam and the New Eve, Jesus and Mary.

Marital language, biblically (see Ephesians 5), is probably the strongest language that tries to describe the reality of the union of things. In this instance, the mystery of Cana is showing us, that on a spiritual level, Jesus and Mary are ever so closely united.

In fact, we can say that Mary is no more, since it is Jesus that lives in her.

God Bless

*“There is one small favor I would ask of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.” *
“Ask it, my mother,” the King said to her, “for I will not refuse you.”
~ 1 Kings 2:20