One day in the village of Cana, a wedding is celebrated where Jesus is an invited guest.  He came to rejoice with the bride and groom and all who had gathered this lovely blessing of a man and a women united by God in marriage. 

Whether the nuptials occurred in the countryside of Galilee or take place in Auburn; whether the formalities are all observed flawlessly or somewhere an embarrassment happens, Christ is present whenever and wherever a gift of God is given.

In reality, He is the Gift.  But along with Christ are given all good things.  He responds to something as inconsequential as an empty last glass of wine. 

No doubt the celebration had peaked.  The guests had drunk freely.  All the available wine had already been consumed.  It was possibly a minor awkwardness.  If all the wine was gone, the guests must already have had a splendid time.  It is simply the sensitivity of his mother which brought the matter to Jesus' attention.

But even her inference that it was a shame no more wine could be served does not hold Jesus to any obligation.  It was not his responsibility.  Others, the master of the feast or the bridegroom, ought to supply the wine.  "What does this have to do with me? Jesus asked Mary. "My time has not yet come."

Our Lord was obligated only to one will - the will of His Father.  Even here at the wedding in Cana, Jesus is preparing for that moment when his hour would come, the hour when God's lavish giving in quantity and quality would be revealed in Christ's emptying Himself in death, pouring out His life blood at the cross. 

After three days, He gave His gift to us its crowning beauty in the resurrection.  The veil is removed, the rejoicing begins, and your and I are invited to join the celebration of The Bridegroom and His bride, the church.

Never would Jesus fail to give, nor could he.  Not out of obligation, but from his far better mercy and love Jesus gives. 

In Cana He directs the servants to fill six large stone water jars.  And by his Word, Jesus gives to all at the celebration a wine of such exquisite vintage that even after consuming all the previous wine, and senses are dulled, no one could deny the superiority of what Jesus gave.

It is that way with all of us.  Yes, we should provide the wedding wine.  We should be not only proper and honorable but even righteous.  We should be men who freely and completely love their wives sacrificially and faithfully to the end of our days.  And yes, we should be women who honor their husbands and serve with kindness and deference.  We should provide for others and ourselves.  We should live honorably and keep our vows.  We should be seamless in our character and conduct.

But we aren't.  Our senses are dull and our preparations fall short.  And our sins are more than embarrassment. They are our shame.

Yet, for us, Christ has come - fulsome in his giving - not because he is obligated to us but because he chose to love us, to love us lavishly, freely, and completely.  He gives only the best, the best of Himself even to the extent of pouring out His own life, his own body and blood, the red wine of the cross.