miracle 1

Last Saturday my eldest son got married. There is now another Mr & Mrs Lawton about the place which seems, at the moment, a little strange and rather spooky in a very lovely sort of way. The weather was great (a bit of a miracle in itself considering the terrible weather of the week previous and of the week after the great day.) We worked really hard particularly my wife as she, with the help of others, put the whole reception part of it together, transforming a village church hall from a place of badminton to a place of celebration with drapes and flowers, hog roast and gateaux.

At the end of last summer on the way back from France Annie and I stopped at a large supermarchè and bought the wine, a balance of red and white and champagne for the toasts. Thankfully there was enough. It would have been an embarrassment for us if we had miscalculated.

For the wedding hosts in Cana it was a disaster. The hosts were losing face with their guests and their community. The story is told in John chapter 2. When the wine ran out Mary tells Jesus. "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so.

If I was going to do a first miracle I think I would have gone for a little more drama. To turn 180 gallons of water into over 1000 bottles of wine surely needs a little shazam! Yet when Jesus did it no attention was drawn. The humble servants were fully in on the miracle, the master of the banquet was mystified and the disciples put there trust in Jesus presumably thinking they were on to a good thing!

I love Jesus. I love the richness and depth of what he does. I love the way he does the miraculous, yet without show and hype. For those of us who are willing, he will turn our ordinary and broken lives from shame and embarrassment into rich and fruitful ones as we put our trust in him and I know he will surprise us on the way.

Geoff Lawton, 04/06/2008