“Jesus said to the servants ‘Fill these jars with water’. . . .
“Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast.’
They took him the water, which now had turned into wine.
John 2:1-11 TEV
John reports this incident as the first miracle performed by Jesus at the onset of his ministry. What is often overlooked is the nature of this “miracle”. What Jesus did was to create something out of nothing. Water as a beverage at this wedding has no meaning. Wine, on the other hand, plays an important and meaningful part of the celebration. I think it is that ability to create something meaningful from that which isn’t significant that is the lesson we can learn from this event.
Many of us are aware of the story of the mother who founded “Mothers Against Drunk Driving”. She lost her son in an automobile accident in which the other driver was intoxicated. The death of her son was a random, meaningless event. But she transformed an arbitrary event into something of great meaning as she created a movement to prevent others from having to face similar incidents in their lives. Like Jesus, the lesson is clear that we have the power to create meaning in our lives out of events that may appear to have no significance.
Each day, amidst the routine activity of our lives there are opportunities to create something meaningful and significant out of what appears to be ordinary or mundane.. Taking the moment to really listen to someone; to hear beyond their words and respond to them. To pause and compliment a person when they are doing a good job, even though what they are doing is just an ordinary part of their role, e.g. the person waiting on you in a restaurant. To give a hug to a family member who seems to be having a hard day. Each experience in life is an opportunity to create something meaningful. God has given us many gifts and one of the greatest is the ability to turn what appears to be meaningless “water” into meaningful “wine.” I believe that is the challenge placed before us through this story.
Prayer: Lord help me to see today’s opportunities for creating meaning out of the ordinary events of my life.
Reflection Question: Today, where will I have opportunities to transform the ordinary into meaningful events for others?
Reflections 