Sometimes scripture can seem sparse on details; other times there are details that we just gloss over. During Sunday’s Gospel, John’s account of the wedding feast at Cana, one thing stood out to me even though I’ve heard this passage numerous times. 

The account of Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine has been reviewed and commentated on for thousands of years. When it comes to the dialog within the passage, many focus on what is said between Mary and Jesus. But if we consider that no dialog account is without need or meaning within scripture, then the address given by the head waiter deserves to have a closer look. 

“Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jn 2:10

Some may look at this as a third-party proof that Jesus changed the water into wine. But what if there is a deeper meaning? Is this only about the wine served at a wedding over 2,000  years ago? Or is it an eternal statement? 

From Genesis to the Psalms to Isaiah, various aspects of a wedding and marriage are described throughout the Old Testament. It is the building block of society. It is the family church. It reflects the relationship within the Trinity, albeit very imperfectly. The wedding feast is often considered to be an allegory used to describe eternity: it’s the picture that is painted for us humans as to what eternal life will look like when we are in heaven. Even the Church often describes herself as the bride of Christ. As members of the Church, we too are brides of Christ in that we are preparing for our marriage to God, which is our eternal life in heaven. The covenant of marriage is a sacred bond, so anything within the scriptures that references a wedding or marriage should cause us to pay more attention to the passage and look beyond the superficial meaning within the account. 

How is it that we know what was said between two unnamed people in this story? John being deeply spiritual in his reflections of his time with Jesus, includes this portion of the conversation because it takes on significance regarding our eternal life. If we think our life on earth is good, what is waiting for us is far superior. What the head waiter commented to the bridegroom at that moment refers to what Jesus, as bridegroom to the Church, does for our lives in saving the best for last. Through the ministry that Jesus carries out, He is able to open heaven to those who profess in word and deed that He is the Son of God and our Savior. Heaven is the good wine. Life is transformed from just plain old water to the tasty, refreshing wine. That our life on earth, a physical existence in time and space, is transformed into eternity with God, never in need or want again. 

As Christians, it is important for us to remember that our life is not contained to just our earthly existence. What we do daily impacts our readiness for the life to come. We hope for an eternal life spent with God, seeing Him as He truly is. We can be confident that God does provide the best: life that is everlasting.