The Collect
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle (Romans xii. 16)
BE not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
The Gospel (St. John ii. 1)
AND the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water-pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Epiphany III - Message in a Minute
At the beginning of the service of Holy Matrimony, the priest reads off a list of reasons, taken from scripture, which explain why we have weddings. We say that God established marriage in the Garden of Eden; we note that the New Testament teaches us that the relationship between a husband and wife points to the unity between Christ and the church; and we cite St. Paul's general endorsement of the whole idea. We also read these words in this morning's gospel: "Which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence and first miracle that he wrought in Cana of Galilee." To this point, if Jesus did not think marriage is a good thing he would never have gone to a wedding in the first place, and he certainly would not have performed his first miracle at the reception.
The miracle he performs is a friendly, comfortable sort of miracle -- not at the same dramatic level as the creation of a new planet or the healing of an illness or the raising of the dead. The miracle at Cana covers up a social embarrassment -- the host of the wedding reception has run out of wine at the height of the party. Simply restated, Jesus' mother tells him that they have no more wine, he has a somewhat icy exchange with her, and then he changes an enormous amount of Water into an equally enormous amount of wine.
The miracle of Cana is an epiphany of Jesus as God. God the Father makes water into wine in nature through a series of steps. Jesus starts with water and ends with wine, but he short-cuts what normally happens in between. That reveals that he has control over natural processes, and that makes him God. So St. John reports, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory" -- that is to say, the miracle showed that he is God.
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