SERMON XXIII.

THE GLORY OF CHRIST AT CANA.

(SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY.)

ST. JOHN II. II.

This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory.

THE

HE Epiphany of Christ, in the wide range of the phrase, includes a great deal more than was suggested by the incident which we were considering last Sunday," when we saw how, as an Infant at Bethlehem, He was made known to the pilgrim-sages of the Gentile world. The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles means, practically, His manifestation to the human race; and this naturally and immediately suggests the question, What was it that was manifested in the manifestation of Christ? All that presented itself to the senses of the Wise Men was the Form of an Infant; their faith seized, whether more or less distinctly, that which was veiled beneath the Form which met their eyes.

Now, what it was that was manifested in the manifestation of Christ, is taught us in the Gospels for the two first Sundays after the Epiphany. In the Gospel for the first Sunday, the gradual increase of our Lord's Human Soul in wisdom and knowledge, so far as these depend

a Serm. xxii.

upon experience, is set before us in St. Luke's narrative of His dispute with the Jewish doctors in the temple, at the age of twelve. That He had a Human Body was plain to the senses of men; but here was proof that He had also a Soul which was truly Human. In to-day's Gospel St. John tells us how, at the beginning of the miracles which Jesus wrought in Cana of Galilee, He manifested forth His glory.

What did St. John mean by the "glory" which our Lord manifested in this first miracle? "Glory" is one of those words which we use in our common language with great latitude and haziness of meaning; and we sometimes carry our vagueness into the interpretation of Scripture, when Scripture has a precise and definite meaning, if we will only take the pains to ascertain it.

a

St. John, then, in writing his Gospel, has at heart one main object. He is anxious to show that Jesus of Nazareth can only be understood, and indeed that His human character can only be revered, when men recognize in Him a Divine Person, Who existed before His birth into the world, and Who altogether transcends the ordinary conditions of human life. This Divine Person St. John calls the Word; that is, the Everlasting Reason or Thought of God, having a tendency, like thought or reason in man, to express itself in some outward form, such as is human speech. As human thought takes shape in language, and thus strikes the sense of hearing, so the Everlasting and Personal Thought of God, entering into conditions of time, clothed Itself in a human form, and appealed, not merely to the sense of hearing, but to the senses of sight and touch. This Word, St. John tells us, is the Light; the absolute Light, from Whom all truth radiates. And the "glory" of which St. John speaks is a b St. John i. 4, 9.

b

a St. John i. 1; 1 St. John i. I.

b

radiation from this Light. "The Word was made flesh," says the Apostle, "and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." Generally speaking, during His tabernacling upon earth in a human Form, this "glory" of the Word was hidden; the earth-bound eyes of men could not see it. "The Light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." But on certain occasions It was manifested, at least to the eyes of the disciples. "The Life "the absolute Life, Who is also the Light—“ was manifested, and we have seen It, and declare and show unto you that Eternal Life, Which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." c Now, the miracle of Cana was an occasion when this "glory"-radiating from His Divine and Eternal Person, shrouded under a veil of flesh-poured forth its rays through the acts and words of Jesus of Nazareth. The "glory" of Christ in this passage is His Divine glory; it is the beauty and effulgence of His Divine attributes, although translated into forms which bring them within the reach of the human senses; and when St. John says that our Lord "manifested" this "glory," he implies that, although it had been almost entirely hidden for many years, yet that, like the sun behind the clouds on a dark day, it had all along been lying below the surface of our Lord's life, and, indeed, giving forth light, the source of which men did not recognize. Thus the miracle of Cana was, in the Evangelist's eyes, of the nature of a discovery; it was the rolling away of a cloud from the face of the sun.

Let us recall briefly the circumstances in which this miracle was wrought. St. John says that it took place three days after the first calling of Nathanael and Philip; and, therefore, four days after that of St. Andrew and St. Peter, of St. John himself, and, in all probability, a St. John i. 14.

b Ib. 5

I St. John i. 2.

of St. James. With this band of newly chosen disciples, our Lord had walked from the valley of the Jordanthe scene of His Baptism-into Galilee; and He had halted at Cana, the native village of Nathanael. A wedding-feast was being kept by a poor family of Cana; the members of which were, it is clearly implied, on terms of intimacy with our Lord's Virgin-Mother, who had lived for so many years at the neighbouring village of Nazareth. Mary was present; and, as was natural, our Lord and His disciples were invited, probably when the feast, which generally lasted some seven days, had already been continued for three or four. The supply of wine was running short; and Mary, who, as is clear from her own Magnificat, had inferred from the terms of the Annunciation the unique dignity and the miraculous powers of her Divine Son, applied to Him for help in the emergency. Whether she wished Him to work a miracle, or merely stated the case to Him, leaving it in His hands to act as He saw best, is not clear from the narrative. But St. Chrysostom observes that, like His cousins," she had not yet altogether that opinion of Him which she ought, but, because she bare Him, counted that, after the manner of other mothers, she might in all things command Him, Whom it was more fitting for her to reverence and worship as her Lord.” a Our Lord acts as He acted when twelve years old; as He acted at a later date, when His Mother and His cousins wished to speak with Him, in the midst of a crowd of persons whom He was addressing. He will not allow that the tenderest of earthly ties can be permitted to affect the solemn and predestined sequence of actions in the estab

a Hom. in Joann. xxi. § 2: Οὐδέπω γὰρ ἣν ἐχρῆν περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξαν εἶχεν ἀλλ ̓ ἐπειδὴ ὤδινεν αὐτὸν, ἠξίου κατὰ τὴν λοιπὴν τῶν μητέρων συνήθειαν, οὕτως ἅπαντα ἐπιτάττειν αὐτῷ, δέον ὡς Δεσπότην σέβειν καὶ προσκυνεῖν.

lishment of His kingdom. Even Mary may not hasten His resolves. Woman, what common interest have we in this matter?" (such is the real force of the original). "Mine hour for action is not yet come." a Mary does not reply; she merely bids the servants attend strictly to her Son's orders, whatever they might be, in the confident expectation that He will certainly act, though she knows not how. Behind the couches on which the guests are seated, are six vessels for holding water, placed there with a view to that ceremonial washing of hands and vessels before and after meals, which was a matter of strict custom among the Jews. Our Lord desired that these vessels should be filled; the amount of water poured into them would have been, speaking roughly, about one hundred and twenty English gallons. St. John, who was an eyewitness, gives these details with great particularity; and his silence implies that our Lord did not mark, either by raising His hand, or uttering any word of command or blessing, the moment of the miraculous change. But it must have taken place immediately on the filling of the vessels; since our Lord, without any pause, desired the servants to draw from the vessels and ask the president of the feast to taste. Then it was that what had taken place was discovered; the president complimented the bridegroom on the excellence of the wine, which, contrary to the usual practice, he had reserved for a late hour in the entertainment. The president did not know the source of the supply, as did those servants, who had poured water into and were now drawing wine from the vessels of purification. But that the water of purification had become wine must have been gradually whispered among the company from guest to guest. And whatever may have been the case with others, the disciples who had a St. John ii. 4.