In John's Gospel, Jesus does not do "miracles." In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus does "miracles," which are a translation of the word "dunameis," or "acts of power." (Incidently, this is the same word from which we get our "dynamite.") In John, Jesus does not do "dunameis," He does "semeion," or "signs." These signs, like all signs, are meant to point to some reality beyond themselves. In this gospel, signs point to the glory of Jesus, which is the revealed glory of God.

Today we read Jesus' first sign -- turning water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana, a town in Galilee. It is sometimes said that the Jesus revealed in John's Gospel is the most divine, the most unlike us, that is, His humanity is downplayed and His divinity is played up. Yet, I find it very interesting what Jesus chose (and He did CHOOSE) as His first sign -- helping a host avoid the embarrassment, the social nightmare, of running out of wine. This is a VERY human act.

Think about this. Signs reveal the glory of God, the character of God. God's glory had never before been visible to human beings (see my Jan 28 blog). Jesus, in revealing something about God through His signs, might have wanted to do something BIG -- turn the sun blood red, or delay the rising of the moon, or something equally dramatic. But no. Jesus goes to a wedding, a very important, even to this day, human social feast. And He turns purification water into wine. What aspect of God's glory, or God's character, does this point to? God is very concerned about us. God sweats the little things as well as the big things. God is with us.

What's going on in your life today that you would wish God would sweat with you?

"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." (Jn 1:16)

Just a small observation today. From the fullness of Jesus' grace, being the fullness of the glory of the Father, John says we ALL receive grace. This contrasts with what John says in 1:12 - "to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..."

I may be drawing too fine a point, but in 1:16, John seems to be acknowledging that Jesus brings God's grace in some form to ALL the world. Within that set of those who receive grace, there is a subset -- those who receive him -- who receive a specific grace, power to become children of God. Yet there is grace for ALL the world also. It's a different grace, but it's there none the less.

The Old Testament acknowledges that God sends the grace of rain upon the just and the unjust. ALL get to share in the grace of Creation, in which the Word was a participant. Even Paul acknowledges in Romans 1:20 that there is a revelation of God for all -- "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."

From the fullness of Jesus' grace, we ALL receive grace upon grace.