Posted on 09/16/2019 4:45:24 AM PDT by metmom
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding” (John 2:1–2).
A wedding was a major social event in first-century Palestine, and the ensuing celebration could last as long as a week. It marked the culmination of the betrothal period, which often lasted for several months. The couple was considered legally man and wife during their betrothal period. They did not, however, live together or consummate the marriage during that time (cf. Matt. 1:18). On the night of the ceremony, the groom and his friends would go to the bride’s house. They would then escort her and her attendants to the groom’s house, where the ceremony and banquet would be held.
John states that a particular wedding was held in Cana. That both Jesus and His mother attended suggests the wedding involved relatives or friends of the family.
By attending this wedding and performing His first miracle there, Jesus sanctified both the institution of marriage and the ceremony itself. Marriage is the sacred union of a man and a woman whereby they become one in the sight of God. The ceremony is an essential element of that union, because that’s when the couple publicly vow to remain faithful to each other.
That Jesus attended the celebration also reveals the marked difference between His ministry and that of John the Baptist. Instead of being a voice in the wilderness, Jesus had the more difficult task of mingling with the crowds and ministering to them in their daily existence.
Ask Yourself
Does your faith travel with you into social settings like this? When your time is your own, when the conversation is light, when you feel a long way from the workweek or the usual pressures of life, are you still looking for opportunities to be used of God and helpful to others?
Studying God’s Word ping
One little niggle: reasonably sure the Jews at that time referred to their country as Israel or maybe just Judah..
"Palastina" was the Roman invader's name for their country. Their a hidden message by the author?
Jesus performed His first miracle at the behest of His Blessed Mother, by changing the water into wine for the wedding guests.
This was a precursor to His changing the bread and wine into His Body and Blood at the Last Supper.
As Christ dies for our sins on the cross, He leaves His followers His Body and Blood so that He would be with them physically in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Except it didn't happen...When they were done eating, Jesus acknowledged that it was STILL wine...
As Christ dies for our sins on the cross, He leaves His followers His Body and Blood so that He would be with them physically in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Why??? And nonsense...You guys claim you get some sort of spiritual benefit from the wafer as it somehow transfers from your intestines to you soul EVEN THO JESUS SAYS IT DOESN'T...
BuT Jesus already had that covered...He sent the Holy Ghost in his stead to supply our spiritual needs that no fresh meat and drink could supply...Perhaps you guys should come up with a better explanation, that more Catholics might believe in your Eucharist...
I wonder if James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, was the second oldest child of Mary and Joseph, and if so, how soon after the birth of Jesus, did Mary give birth to James, if indeed he was the second child of Mary?
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While an interesting question It doesn’t help much in knowing The Savior or about His life.
We don’t have a scriptural answer to your questions but there are a couple clues as to when James was not yet born.
We are inclined to think of the wise men as visiting the manger of the Lord Jesus in His infancy but in reality Jesus was a toddler when the wise men appeared and gave gifts to finance their journey to Egypt. While it is possible that James could have been born by then and there was no mention of being more than one child when the wise men visited I tend to think there would have been some mention. Since Luke gives us the most information of the birth and journey to Egypt and he personally knew Jesus, James and even Mary you would think he might have mentioned it. If James were born in Egypt then they would not have traveled with him until he was no longer an infant. which could have easily made Jesus 5 or 6 years James senior. It is more likely that when the angel told Joseph he could go home that he was ready and left immediately. There was no birth control in those days but there was a prescribed time after a birth before intercourse. I don’t imagine that Joseph and Mary as young people waited any longer than necessary to consummate their marriage. I would guess the difference in ages is 4 or 5 years tops and that might be pushing it a little.
As far as marriage as an institution The Lord made it clear that it was ordained by God and it was between a man and woman. When The Lord refers to the Groom, the Bride and feast he is obviously condoning the customs of the day and marriage in general.
We are not made aware of who the wedding was for. There are many who say that because Mary was in charge that it was one of her children getting married. Some say that the wedding feast must have been for Jesus’ own wedding. I don’t have a position on whether or not The Lord ever married, to me it is irrelevant. Tradition of the day said that to be a Rabbi, or teacher that you must be at least thirty years old and be married. So I can see why some might propose He was at his own feast but, I doubt it. If it were His own feast He would have been too busy to worry about getting more wine that would have been Mary’s problem. I’m more inclined to think it was one of His siblings getting married. While this is a logical assumption it is only a possibility, there are actually other circumstances where Mary may have been in charge. Perhaps one of her siblings children were getting married and the sibling was no longer living. If she were the oldest then she would be in line to take charge. If she had older siblings who were not as well off as Mary then she may have been defacto in charge. We don’t know if he was still living but Joseph was a Carpenter so while not wealthy certainly not close to poor. If Joseph had died then likely Jesus and His siblings as was customary took over the business. Think of a carpenter as a builder of houses. Jesus told a couple parables using house building. Most house builders do pretty well.
James the Lesser, later Bishop of Jerusalem, is the son of Alphaeus (Mk 3:18) and a woman named Mary (Mk 16:1) who is not the same person as the mother of Jesus (John 19:25).
Oh please,,you all wanna get all religious about this.The point being the disciples were a rowdy bunch of sailors “fishermen” on shore leave.They drank up everything from the free bar and made a mess.Mary sees it and lets Jesus know “with that look all mothers have’That He is responsible for thier behavior.People forget Jesus was also fully human,the disciples were brand new believers with a bunch of bad habits,and Not everything has to have a hyper religious reason.
Any priest duped enough to believe he can feed the divinity of Jesus The Christ to a mass of duped followers via their alimentary tracts is ripe for the signs and lying wonders that are coming. Do not accept the mark of the beast, priest.
Likewise the several references to stones and building may indicate that Joseph built houses with stone and furniture with wood. Was Jesus a stone mason as well as carpenter? I am inclined to believe that.
I like your reasoning! A rowdy bunch they must have been, and the amount of wine Jesus created attests to the appetites present! The head of the feast was first receiver of the created wine and he said it was the best! I do drift my thoughts to the time He was teaching in a house and His mother and siblings came to the door and asked to speak with Him ... as oldest, with Joseph dead, He was head of household under Jewish tradition.
Oh please,,you all wanna get all religious about this.The point being the disciples were a rowdy bunch of sailors “fishermen” on shore leave.They drank up everything from the free bar and made a mess.Mary sees it and lets Jesus know “with that look all mothers have’That He is responsible for thier behavior.People forget Jesus was also fully human,the disciples were brand new believers with a bunch of bad habits,and Not everything has to have a hyper religious reason.
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You are so far off base here. These were fishermen who were followers of John The Baptist, they were religious Jews, a very pious people. You denigrate these great men, for no reason or logic.
Yes. Jesus performed a miracle changing water into wine.
At the Last Supper he performed a miracle and changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood for His followers and delegated to His Bishops and priests in His name the same miracle to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood which we receive in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
I realize that this miracle and mystery is not understood or believed by many. Yes He sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and we receive the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:53–56).
The protestants lost the ability to receive the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist when they split with the Catholic Church, founded by Jesus. You are able to believe in God’s Word or not. As Catholics we believe that this is one of the most fundamental doctrines of the Catholic faith.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:53–56).
Jesus tells us that we must eat His Flesh and drink His Blood to have life. I believe.
They drank from jugs and cups. Were they potters?
Not trying to be a jerk, but people bartered back then too. I do your cabinets—you do my patio. It’s probably as old as the first profession.
I will accept and believe the word of God over your word.
Priests can also forgive sins as delegated by Jesus. I don’t remember if you are a baptized Catholic, if so, you can always ask a priest for forgiveness of your sins in the confessional.
May you believe in God’s Truth.
Was Jesus a stone mason as well as carpenter? I am inclined to believe that.
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House builders were mostly carpenters except for very expensive homes or palaces. Typical homes for middle class people were made of wood with stone work hired to a mason for the hearth and chimney in more well to do homes.
Masonry was already a very advanced trade and profession. Had Joseph or Jesus ever been masons we would have heard about it.
We see ruins of stone buildings now of ancient places but mostly they were the homes of very wealth people and government buildings. As you travel through the cities of the world today notice the difference in the abodes of the wealthy and the not so well to do. Large homes of the wealthy today are nearly universally brick or stone build on a wood frame. The builder was likely a carpenter by trade and hired masons to put on a veneer of stone or brick wile the less well to do simply nailed other materials to the wood frame. It was a little different then in that stones were the sole support of the house which made the walls very thick. This made it very expensive, it took a lot of stone and a lot of labor to build a house of a minimum of 3 courses thick stone. If larger stones were used you could decrease the number of courses but then the stones were much more expensive.
Stone buildings with three or more courses were relatively safe from thieves as they were somewhat more difficult to get into when closed up.
NO, Jesus said the contents of the cup was WINE and He said He would not drink it again until in the Kingdom. Take your beast whisperings where they belong, in a Catholic church. You are a priest in that religion, so keep it close with you. BUT do not accept the mark when commanded to you by the beast you now serve, apparently wittingly based upon your insistence to spread the great lies.
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