Wedding at Cana

It was one of the biggest weddings of the season.

The bride’s father was rich and invited all the community.

We were hired from all around to come and work.
It was really busy –
All the preparations, and then the guests arriving:
Hundreds of them, it seemed, far more than expected.
Probably they all invited their sisters and cousins from the neighbouring villages!
There was dancing, there was eating, and a lot of drinking –
Toasts to the happy couple, toasts to the parents,
Then toasts to each other and to anyone else they could think of.
I was kept on my toes, I can tell you,
Running hither and yon to get the bottles
And pour the wine into the outheld glasses.
I couldn’t believe it when the steward told us
There was no more wine!
It was a disaster, the Master would be shamed in front of all his friends!
The steward was clearly troubled
And Mary came to ask what the problem was.
Mary always has an eye on what’s going on,
She makes everything run smoothly wherever she is,
Born to care, my mother always says.
The steward wasn’t embarrassed telling her,
She always seems to understand everything.
She told him not to worry, she would find a way.
I saw her go over to her son and say something to him.
He didn’t look too pleased at first,
Then smiled ruefully as a son will to his mother.
She said to us, ‘Do exactly as he tells you’.
He told us to fill the big purification jars with water
And we obeyed, though we couldn’t see how that would help.

It took us a few minutes – they are big, those jars,

And impossible to lift when full.
Then he said, ‘Draw the wine and give it to the guests’.
Wine? It was water we put in those jars.
But, sure enough, it was wine we drew out.
Clear as water, slightly green in colour
But with a scent of flowers and fruit and summer like you’ve never known.
It made you feel good just to smell it.
We were sent quickly to fill up the empty glasses –
People were beginning to look around for us,
Wondering where we were.

I overheard one guest say to the Master
That he had saved the best wine till last
And it was better than any he had tasted.
No-one but us waiters and the steward
Knew what had happened: I don’t know if the Master ever knew.
So how do you get good wine from jars of water?
Mary’s son had always been special but this?
I wouldn’t believe you if you had told me:
This was impossible, yet I had seen it with my own eyes.
A man who could do this could do anything.