The refugee couple from Eastern Europe were puzzled by the letters in the corner of the wedding invitation they received from friendly neighbours some months after settling into their new home in Ireland. The rest was obvious, but "RSVP" made no sense. At length, the husband had a flash of inspiration: "I know vot it means. RSVP - Remember Send Vedding Present!"
Like many people who misunderstand the invitation of the Gospel, he thought it was a demand, whereas it was a gracious gift. Tomorrow's account of the wedding at Cana in Galilee (John's Gospel Ch.2:1-11) amplifies the truth that the Gospel good news of forgiveness and new life through Christ is all of God's grace and owes nothing to our efforts. As Archbishop William Temple famously put it: "We contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin for which we need to be forgiven."
Although it isn't the main melodic line of the Cana story, it is surely noteworthy that Jesus gave a stupendous present to the newly-weds, a gift worthy of the display of his glory which John insists the miracle of water into wine is really all about. The stone water jars were filled with around 120 gallons of water which Jesus turned into the greatest vintage claret never harvested from the vineyards of Bordeaux. Such wine was money in the bank, a hedge against inflation as well as covering the immediate expenses of the new home. This perfectly illustrates Jesus's teaching concerning the gracious character of the God whose generosity is never less than excessive by any estimate we apply. Chateau Lafite '61 would guarantee us a place in the history of nuptials, too!
The guests at this unforgettable wedding would have known that God had once turned water into something else. The water of the Nile turned into blood as a sign of the coming judgment on Pharoah at the time of the exodus from Egypt. By contrast, in the Old Testament wine is always a sign of the richness of God's blessing, and supremely of the messianic age when God's king comes to reign in righteousness.
This, then, is the first display of the glory of Jesus of Nazareth, God's annointed one, and he brings the new wine of the kingdom. The provocation to those present is to reflect that only God does this kind of thing, therefore the wedding guest from Nazareth is not who most people thought. This is the moment, too, when Jesus distances himself from his mother, Mary, who knew him better than anyone. He isn't at her beck and call, he is running to God's timetable and he gently reminds her: "My hour has not yet come." Much later in John's Gospel, Jesus cues the ultimate display of his glory when his hour does come and it is sensational, for his glory is his cross. Who could ever have conceived or improvised such a scenario for the showcasing of the glory of God as that sordid place of execution at Golgotha?
The challenge from this reading is the one the author legitimately lays before us, as before his first readers. Do we really know who Jesus is? If we do understand he is God's king, offering salvation as a free gift, will we therefore get down off our own pretentious little thrones, in humility receive what he offers, and acknowledge him as king over us?
The utterly unexpected heaven-sent 120-gallon wedding gift rebukes our secret, long-held suspicions that the Gospel is going to short-change us, that God is grasping, for ever wanting what we either won't or can't give him. The reality is diametrically the opposite, just as the best man observed with astonishment at Cana: "You have kept the best wine till now." For all who have entered into the wonder of a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord, this is always true to experience, for everything before was really only a half-life.
G.F.