The Wedding at Cana
By Commander Cody (CC-2224)
SUMMARY: Anyone who has been schooled in the Bible at a basic level would know about the wedding feast at Cana, and how Jesus performed His first public miracle during that event by changing water into wine. But could all this have really happened that way? Read on as you come to discover another side of this Bible story that you never may have even considered.
BRIEF NOTES: I was listening to a homily on the wedding feast of Cana, and I had this outrageous idea of writing a fanfic based on that event, one with a possible twist.
A bride and groom were being joined by a Rabbi, who had just recited a blessing of betrothal. Flanked by witnesses, as the groom placed a wedding band on the finger of his bride, he recited the declaration pronounced by his ancestors of long ago: "Behold, you are consecrated to me with this ring according to the law of Moses and of Israel."
After the ceremony reached a conclusion, it was not long before the joy shared between the bride and groom was shared among the many guests.
And it was this feast that Jesus and His disciples attended, with the disciples being content in their own enjoyment during this joyous feast.
Beside His left was His mother, Mary.
As Jesus sipped some delicious wine from a plain wooden cup, Mary, while holding hers, made an astute observation of the ceremonies. In her pensive mood, she kept watching, expecting nothing else to happen during the festivities.
But something was happening; and it would bode ill for all guests and the newlyweds.
From what she could perceive, there was something out of place. Facing to her right, one of the wedding guests, a bearded man, demanded an additional cup of wine as he held out his wooden cup. A young waiter, struggling to accommodate the demanding guest, could only shake his head, saying, "But I shall see if I can fetch more."
Mary was thinking that perhaps this was mere coincidence; that just out of random someone had exhausted his cup of wine. But two other people were requesting more wine, and another waiter could not meet their requests. Whether this could be a coincidence or not, it was cause for alarm for her.
She leaned closer to her Son. "Son," she whispered in a discreet manner.
Stirred, Jesus looked up from His cup of wine. "Hmm?" he asked His mother rather casually.
"There is a lingering concern that I cannot ignore," said Mary.
"Speak plainly, woman," said Jesus.
"The feast is not over," said Mary. "And there is no more wine."
Jesus shot back a look at his mother, his face askance. "What?" he retorted loudly.
"There is no more wine," Mary said a second time.
"That cannot be!" exclaimed Jesus, feeling cross. "I do not believe our hosts can be so inept with their wedding preparations."
"I have been observing one man asking for a cup, and a waiter cannot meet that request," Mary added. "And that problem is made dire by another man asking for a cup of wine, and he cannot have it."
"Then it appears that the guests are running of wine, but not out of wine entirely," Jesus replied, concluded, being more specific about the situation at hand.
"You get the point," said Mary. "Soon…there will be no wine left."
"Well…that's embarrassing," Jesus remarked.
"Obviously," said Mary. "Something has to be done."
Heaving a sigh, Jesus said to his mother, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." He faced the crowd, thinking over what Mary could do to solve the problem herself.
"Besides…" He continued, "The man in charge of the wedding feast…the head waiter…has that business. You can bring your concern to him, and I am sure he can order an additional supply of wine for the feast."
Mary thought about what Jesus told her. But she still felt uneasy about her Son's idea. "I'm afraid it won't be enough," she said bluntly to her Son.
Jesus shot a glance back at his mother. "What do you mean…it won't be enough?" he retorted.
"The problem will take too long to resolve," Mary answered her Son. "The head waiter, if he is doubtful about our claims, will take too long with bringing in fresh wine to the feast. And if anyone happens to hear us discussing the matter, we might cause a stir in the room. But even if that did not happen, there is still the same threat that looms large over the newlyweds: rumors will spread about them being terrible hosts to their wedding guests."
"Now, look," Jesus began protesting to His mother. "It was the head waiter who was supposed to make sure that there was enough wine to last the entire feast. Now I AM supposed to take care of that problem?"
"If necessary," said Mary, exasperated over her Son being difficult on her. "Anything would be better than just waiting for the inevitable prospect of failing reputations befall the bride and groom."
"What, you think I can conjure fresh wine out of thin air?" Jesus shot back at her quietly.
"You're the Son of God!" Mary exclaimed to her Son quietly, trying so hard not to make a scene. "Think of something!"
Jesus snorted in frustration. "Fine…" he conceded with His mother.
Mary then turned to the young waiter who, just now, tried to serve wine to a guest. Discreetly she summoned him. The young man approached to her, assuming that he had another guest to serve.
"I am sorry, but it appears…that we have no more wine left," the young waiter said to her.
"My thoughts exactly," Mary replied. "But my Son will come up with a solution to this problem. So see to it that you do whatever He tells you."
"As you wish," he said to her. He then turned to Jesus, who seemed to have what he thought would be a way to remedy the wine shortage. Jesus made a hand gesture to the young man indicating that he was to be summoned up close.
"I want you to fill the water jars with water," Jesus immediately told him. The young man became stunned, as if this was an unexpected thing for a wedding guest to say.
But before he could even make sense of what this strange man had just said to him, he was summoned again.
"Also…" Jesus leaned close to whisper into the young man's ear. "I also want you to…"
Jesus continued whispering to the young waiter. The waiter then nodded his head as he proceeded to carry out whatever Jesus had requested of him.
"And now…we wait," said Jesus.
"For what?" Mary inquired curiously to her Son.
Jesus looked at his mother again. "For the solution to your concerns."
Half an hour later…
The young servant, with a cup in hand, began drawing out wine from the stone jug. When he filled the cup to the brim, he handed the cup to the head waiter.
"Mmm…this delicious wine is delicious!" the head waiter said to him, pleased by the quality taste of the wine. "The finest I've ever encountered! I shall inform the bride and groom. They will be most pleased!"
Without another word the head waiter made his way out of the back room and into the room where the bride and groom remained seated at table. He even had the audacity to pat the groom on the back, in order that he could grab his attention. The groom, having had his attention grabbed, faced the head waiter, anxious over this unexpected interruption.
"You know, everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, an inferior one gets served," the head waiter said to the groom. "But you have kept the good wine until now."
"Why, thank you, sir," said the groom, feeling quite flattered. "I…I never had anticipated such an encouraging compliment."
"Indeed, thank you," the bride conceded as well, feeling flattered as well by the words of the head waiter. "I shall never forget your encouraging words."
"We never had delicious wine of such delicious quality at a time like this during the feast," the head waiter finished. "Enjoy, my friends."
Epilogue…
The Head Waiter made his departure from the main room to the back room. Some of his waiters were drawing out what appeared to be a fresh supply of wine.
"Did someone request a fresh supply of wine?" the head waiter inquired his inferiors under him.
The young waiter pointed to the back door. Following the direction of the young man's pointing, the Head Waiter immediately made his way to that particular direction.
But something caught him by surprise. For before his eyes was parked a wooden cart drawn by a lone mule. Beside the cart were seven stone jars with a carrying capacity of twenty to thirty gallons of wine. The jars had been unloaded from the cart. How could that even be possible?
Utterly astonished, the Head Waiter looked around until he caught sight of a cart driver remaining in his cart.
"Is…is this where the wine came from?" the Head Waiter inquired the driver, remaining in his astonished state of mind.
"Apparently, a delivery was requested to this place," the cart driver answered him.
The head waiter began examining the delivery up close. He even touched some of the jars in order that he could rule out the possibility of a delusion. Then he counted the stone jars.
"Seven jars…enough to last the entire feast!" exclaimed the Head Waiter. "How…however did you anticipate such a need as this?"
"I never anticipated such a need," replied the cart driver. "But it appears you did."
"Wait…that is not possible," said the astonished Head Waiter. "How could…but…"
The cart driver fetched a clay tablet from his seat, along with a writing stylus for pointing and writing.
"As I recall, a young man came to my master's wine shop and requested a delivery of this finest wine," said the cart driver. "I think he was part of your group of waiters, since he said to me that this fresh supply of wine for a wedding feast was ordered…on behalf of you."
"But…I could not have made such an order," the Head Waiter said to him, unable even to think that such a grand munificence could ever be brought to solve a wine shortage in a timely manner.
"If this is such a concern…would you prefer a refund and I take this delivery back to my master's shop?" the cart driver asked the head waiter.
"No, no, not at all," answered the Head Waiter. "I shall assume responsibility for the delivery. And gladly. I never knew that we were almost out of wine."
"Well, then, perhaps you would consider taking a more thorough physical count of your inventory," the cart driver advised him.
"I shall," said the Head Waiter, intent on considering the advice that the cart driver gave to him. "Good day, sir."
"Good day," said the cart driver.
The Head Waiter ambled his way back to the house as the mule-drawn cart departed the house. The thought of how the fresh supply of wine came not just to the house, but on time, especially since they were nearly running out of it, still intrigued his anxious mind. For it was as if he had been given a complex riddle and his mind still reeled over solving it.
"So if it was not I who ordered this fresh supply of wine…then…who?" the Head Waiter asked himself.
THE END
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