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On the third day, a Wedding took place in Cana. John 2:1

The best things in life need to be savored. Like a a fine dinner that one needs to chew slowly to truly appreciate the Chef’s choice of various spices and unique fresh vegetables meant to dance on the taste buds. In fact, one should ideally first relish the presentation of the meal with ones eyes before even beginning to eat. Imagine your favorite gourmet dessert and how it is best to slow down and then close ones eyes and linger over every bite so one can appreciate the sea salt that has been sprinkled in or the nuts that add just the right crunch.

Recently, the sweet sisters have been slowing down to savor the Gospel of John. Instead of watching a video or reading about another sisters take on a portion of scripture we are feasting on this finest of foods for ourselves.

We started with the story that begins Jesus’ ministry, when he changed ordinary water into the best wine and his disciples saw the glory of God and believed.

Gathered in a circle in my family room, we held our Gospel of John booklets and started reading the first 12 verses in chapter 2 and then I said, Let’s read it slowly through again. And then we started for a third time and carefully chewed on each verse and started to ask observational questions.

We carefully asked the observations questions for the inductive OICA study which includes: Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and application.

Observation: Who, What, Where, when, why and How.

Who: Jesus, his mother Mary, his first disciples, a bride and bridegroom, the servants, the master of the banquet Where: the town of Cana, just north of Nazareth (where Jesus was raised) When: on the third day.

but when the question of “why? needed an answer:

We. were. stumped.

We kept coming back to why did Jesus’ first miracle/ sign happened on “the third Day”. What is the significance? Why would this be significant to the first disciples who were guests at the wedding?

And then it happened. Sweet Sister Marni flipped to Genesis Chapter One and read to us what God did on the third day.

And God Said, “Let the waters under the earth be gathered into one place,and let dry land appear,” and it was so. Genesis 1: 9

On the third day, God (the Creator God) transformed water into dry land. And then “God saw that it was good”.

What an “Ah Ha !” Moment for us.

Only God could change water into dry land.

Only God could change water into wine.

What is God telling us through this first miracle/sign of Jesus’ ministry on earth?

Jesus IS God.

Jesus was there at Creation as God refers to himself as “US”

“Let US make God in OUR image, in OUR Likeness” Genesis 1:26

and as John continually declares in his prologue,

“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God. John 1:1

And Oh sweet sisters, as I have delved deeper into this Special 3rd day of creation, I have discovered that God also created all the vegetation, and plants and trees that bear fruit and seed. Of course when I read about fruit and seeds, I thought of God’s sweet echo in the story of Cana of the wine that is made from grapes.

Grapes! Sweet grapes that were crushed to create wine.

Can’t you just see the gears turning in the heads of the disciples (present and future) when they see and taste that it is “the best wine” and they are reminded of how God on the third day “saw that it was good.” ?

Do you believe that Jesus is God?

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which He revealed His. Glory, and his disciples believed in Him.

(John. 2:11)