Stroll through Scripture for January 11, 2026

Based on John 2:1-11

The wedding at Cana is a familiar story to many.  In fact, I remember a comedy skit that Rowan Atkinson (who was famous for being Mr. Bean) did on this passage of Scripture in which he was dressed as a priest and read the passage adding some extra details not in the story. 

This story comes right on the heels of Jesus calling his first disciples.  They start to follow him and ask where he is staying, and he responds by saying “come and see.”  John’s Gospel is different than the Synoptic Gospels in a variety of ways.  For starters, it’s the Gospel that fell the least rushed.   It feels as though the most common work in Mark’s Gospel is “immediately.”  In John’s Gospel so far, we have had a theological treatise on creation and the Word and Jesus being very chill in calling his disciples with “come and see.”  And now when we are ready to start moving into the Gospel and Jesus’ work, the very first story is about a wedding.  

This is also where we see a contrast in John’s Gospel with the Synoptic Gospels.  Whereas the Synoptic Gospels all tell of Jesus’ first miracle as either an act of healing or exorcism, John’s Gospel tells of something far less intense.  And in this story, Jesus isn’t really interested in showing who he is quite yet saying “My hour has not yet come.”  Again, Jesus is in no hurry in John’s Gospel.  

I think there are some reasons for this.  First, John’s Gospel is different.  We don’t get the same stories as in the Synoptics.  So, John’s Gospel takes on a different sense of time.  John’s Gospel is concerned with enlightenment, in a sense – in showing who Jesus is and letting it sink in.  John’s Gospel isn’t interested in shock and awe, but rather in showing the bigger picture of Jesus and letting humanity catch up.  John’s Gospel has also been said to be a two story Gospel – meaning that there’s the more literal sense of what is going on (which can be considered the ground floor), and a more expansive metaphorical sense of what is going on (which is like standing on the second floor and looking out – you can see more).  

Something else that we can notice from this Gospel is that momentum builds as the Gospel develops.  In chapter one, Jesus starts alone, and then John the Baptist points out who he is and a couple of John’s disciples start to follow.  Then they go and recruit a couple more.  And we are told that after the sign of changing water into wine, “his disciples believed in him.”  This is a slow building of momentum.  Nothing is rushed.  There is deep meaning.  John’s Gospel is still radical today in a world that demands immediacy.  

Questions for further reflection:

•  We live in a fast-paced world and society.  How is Jesus inviting us to slow down and notice how he is at work?