by Ricky Doc Sauceda
I have been listening to people try and make more meaning of the wedding at Cana for a while. It is used to explain the obedience of Mother Mary, the authority of Jesus over Mother Mary and the insignificance of Mother Mary. Why? The whole purpose of the event has been missed, to my knowledge, by most believers. Jesus described later the relativity of what took place at Cana, but you need to put your mind on Him and put it together...it is all in the text of our Holy Bible. The water into wine represents the cup of the New Covenant which is for the forgiveness of sins. Whose? Ours. The miracle of the water into wine showed how the blood of Christ can be manifested. Are there other examples? Yes. The feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000 with bread and fish of which Jesus multiplied from just a few at each time. What is the bread representing? The manifestation of the body of Christ which we take in remembrance of Him.
So the water into wine is a statement of the wedding to come. What wedding? Jesus describes Himself as the bridegroom who will come at an unknown time. He says to be ready and have our lanterns filled:
Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
What is written is what we have not paid attention to...the bridegroom who is Jesus Christ our Lord is coming. Are you ready? The wedding at Cana lets us know what kind of wine we drink...the best wine to be offered. So, the miracle was great but as to why you now know.
John 2
Jesus Changes Water to Wine
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
Why is the manifestation of the wine and bread so important to us? It is in church, when we celebrate the Eucharist we must realize the manifestation is taking place...the bread and wine are indeed the flesh (body) and blood of Lord Jesus Christ...not symbolic. For He said:
John 6:53
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
What brought this revelation to me? If you read, I posted yesterday that I took bread at church and had no wine because we ran out. I got home and said my daily prayers and at the end I received my wine by manifestation in prayer. I described it for you and I was very surprised by it. But, now I see how it happened...through my faith in prayer. It came because that is exactly what is supposed to happen when we acknowledge Him and worship God the Father and Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. We connect with God and partake of the Lamb of God so that we will have life in us...to live eternally with Him. There is no other way:
John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
As I lay down to sleep last night I pondered why this had happened. Then the Holy Spirit revealed it to me by having me recount the events of my day. Then He had me reflect on the parts of the scripture I have included for you. So, how does Mother Mary tie into all of this? First, who raised our Lord? His mother and father...His parents raised Him. They cared for Him, nourished Him, taught Him...all the things parents do. Bearing this in mind, wouldn't you think Mother Mary knew the destiny of her son? Didn't she know He was the Son of God born in her by the power of God's Holy Spirit? I was reciting the final prayer of my daily rosary devotions...which are part of my daily prayer time. I was reciting the Hail, Holy Queen prayer:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy. Our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Afterward, the taste of wine was in my mouth and then the vapors and then the taste of wine again. She helped me receive my wine just as she was instrumental in revealing to the world our gift of the cup of the New Covenant, which was presented at The Last Supper, along with the Bread of Remembrance:
Luke 22:19-20
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
And what is the purpose of all of this? Our destiny:
Revelation 22:17
17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Blessings to you all in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.