Life is Greater with Jesus Christ
You might be wondering why you would want to leave the wealth and glory of the world behind ‘just’ to follow Jesus whom you have never seen with your eyes. The world has great things to offer, but all the money and prestige is nothing compared to the glory that comes with Christ.
At that time, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the wedding, with his disciples. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2.1-11
When we think of the Wedding at Cana, we normally think about the miracle of water being turned into wine. We normally think about the first public miracle that Christ performs at the request of His mother. Today I invite you to consider the quality of the wine.
“You have kept the good wine until now,” was the response of the steward. He didn’t realize that when Jesus Christ is involved everything is greater. The wine wasn’t the only thing greater at that wedding. The crowd had the opportunity to meet Christ face-to-face.
As we sing in every Divine Liturgy after Holy Communion, “We have seen the Light.” We know that life AFTER meeting Jesus Christ isn’t the same as life before, or at least it doesn’t have to be the same. The steward had every chance not to share the good wine with the guests.
We have every chance not to share Christ with our friends and coworkers, but then their life wouldn’t get any better than it was yesterday. Quite frankly Christ has already warned us what would happen if we ‘bury’ the blessings we have received. (See Matthew 25.28)
The steward of the feast chose to share the good wine with the guests. Have you shared the Good News of the Resurrection with anyone since Pascha? It isn’t enough to recognize how great life is with Christ. We must share the greatness with others if we love Christ.
There is no private miracle in the Bible. Every miracle that Christ performed was for the benefit of the crowd and us reading the Scriptures today. Once you realize just how great life can be with Christ, we can’t help but share the greatness with others.
Think about how you can share with your friends how much greater your life is with Christ. I don’t suggest approaching total strangers. There were no strangers at the wedding. The good wine was shared among friends. Share the Good News with your friends and it spreads.
Christ is Risen!
