Introduction
St John tells us that at Cana in Galilee, the host of a wedding ran out of wine in the middle of the happy feast. Jesus and his mother were among the guests, and Mary prevailed on Jesus to change water into wine; and as tenth-century English abbot Elfric explained, Jesus hid a message in his miracle.
See John 2:1-11.
WATER symbolises an understanding of holy writ, which washes its hearers from soiling sins. The stone water-jars are the hearts of holy elders, hardened like stone against the devil’s temptations.
At the marriage, wine was wanting, for at Christ’s presence the Old Testament dried up from fleshly observances, and was transformed into spiritual counsels.* For as much as wine is better than water, so is Christ’s lore, which he taught to his Apostles by his presence, better than the Old Testament, which he taught through Moses; for whereas Moses’s Testament was bodily, Christ’s is spiritual. The Old indeed was a shadow and sign; Christ’s gospel is truth, fulfilling spiritually everything that the Old Testament signified by its various precepts.*
Certainly, the Lord might have filled empty jars with wine, for he made all things from nothing. But he would rather turn cloudy water to ruby wine,* and make plain that he had come not to destroy the Law or the prophets, but to fulfil them after a spiritual understanding.*
Based on a translation by Benjamin Thorpe
That is, observing the Law of Moses with its external duties had achieved all it could as a law of regulations externally imposed by authority, and needed to be turned into a self-imposed way of life freely adopted.
Hebrews 10:1: ‘For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect’.
St Cuthbert performed his own water-to-wine miracle: see Taste and See.
Matthew 5:17: ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil’.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Certain. See. Temptation.
2 His. Law. They.
3 After. Have. Lord.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding im-.
Confusables Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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