Monday, 3/20On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them,
‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. Jesus’s first miracle. Done in the midst of his mother Mary, friends and family at a wonderful celebration of marriage. Compared to many of his other miracles which were done in life and death situations (raising Lazaurus, calming the sea waters, healing lepers, etc.), this one was done amidst hope and love (and thankfulness for more wine!). Many times we turn to God in our lives when we are in the midst of a crisis, when we need to plead for his intervention so the sick may be healed, or we are so overwhelmed with our day to day lives that we have no energy or hope left. It seems rarely that we thank God for all the graces he has given us. Families, children, grandchildren... friends who help carry us through tough times without us realizing till much later. The gift of the people of Christ Church Greenwich who carried me and my family after my wife Loren’s death, knowing that their love and strength helped us to move forward, and to see how truly blessed we are. We should never take for granted all the ones who are put in the path of our journey with God, and I for one will be forever grateful. - Gregg Gregory Today's |