February 2018

They say everybody loves a good wedding!

This year there will now be two royal weddings as Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have announced their engagement to follow soon after Prince Harry and Megan Markle.

Although he was never the groom in a royal wedding (as he did not marry), Jesus however enjoyed a good wedding too!

According to the gospels, Jesus carried out his first miracle at a wedding – at a wedding in Cana, Galilee.  It was here where he famously ‘turned water into wine’.

Across the gospels thirty five individual miracles of Jesus are presented.  Every miracle of Jesus in the Scriptures is written to give us evidence for who he is – they act as a ‘sign’ or a ‘wonder’ that ‘reveal his glory’.  Each miracle demonstrates to us Jesus’ power and authority over the natural world.  Ultimately his miracles show us that he is the ‘Messiah’ (Hebrew for Anointed One) or the ‘Christ’ (Greek) who God sent into the world to be our Lord and Saviour and help us to ‘live life in all its fullness’.  Whilst they testify to His power over the natural world and give us good reason why we as Christians should worship Him – also every miracle seeks to help to meet a human need too.

For example, when we look at Jesus’ miracles we can see that Jesus’ healings restore physical health.  His exorcisms bring healing to the soul and mind.  The feeding the 5,000 gave the hungry the energy they needed for another day.  Jesus calming the storm brought to the disciples in the boat safety and security.

Everyone has needs.  There are our basic needs of food and water and shelter.  We have other needs such as good health and education.  We also have a need to be respected and valued as well as to learn to respect and value others too.  In order to live life to the full, Jesus believed also that we need to live a ‘joyful’ life.

At the wedding of Cana where Jesus turned water into wine – Jesus not only saved the bridegroom’s family (who like the Royal Family will do for Harry… the bridegroom’s family hosted the wedding) from embarrassment by solving the problem of the wine running out (!) but also he helped to keep the celebration a joyful occasion too.

Jesus’ miracle where he turned water into wine (granted their wine would have had a lower alcohol content!); even so it is an illustration to us that Jesus can bring to us joy.  Joy is another important human need.  Joy helps us to smile.  It helps us to be happy.  It helps us to relax.  It helps us to have a sense of worth and meaning and purpose.

The miracles of Jesus in the New Testament help us to see that Jesus wants the best for us.  They help us to see that Jesus can meet our every need.  As we come this month now into Lent, and as we focus in particular on our own needs for forgiveness for wrongs we have done or healing from past hurts that we have experienced, may Jesus meet your every need.  May you know his love and his power, his hope and his healing, his joy and his peace.  Then in response as did the servants at the Wedding of Cana, may we marvel at the power and greatness of God.

In Christ, Adam