And the best is saved for last...

And the best is saved for last...

So, what is the whole story of Jesus about, according to John's gospel?

According to John's inaugural story of Jesus' public activity, it is about a wedding.  More:  it is about a wedding banquet.  More:  it is about a wedding banquet at which the wine never runs out.  More:  it is about a wedding banquet at which the wine never runs out, and the best is saved for last.  The story of the wedding at Cana invites us to see that the story of Jesus is about this.

Ponder this metaphor...
Jesus, the incarnation of God's love, 

is the wine that never runs out, the best saved for last.

Marcus J. Borg, The Heart of Christianity

Renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg encourages Christians to seek not only literal, historical details in the Gospels, but also a metaphorical understanding of the stories, as a means of finding deeper and richer meanings there.  Applying this to the story of Jesus turning water into wine that we heard this weekend, Borg says that yes, the "spectacular deed" is important as evidence of Jesus' identity as the Son of God, but that the placement of this story at the beginning of John's gospel means that John is using it as a more global indicator of "what the story of Jesus is about" as a whole, particularly within the rich web of images associated with marriage in the Judeo-Christian tradition. 

Photo source:  Paolo Veronese, The Marriage at Cana, 1553