Or can it be taken very literally, he turned (a jug or more) of water into (the flasks of) wine, thereby making (more) wine? Late into the celebration the appearance of extra wine to soused partiers would be praised indiscriminately, hey thanks this is the best wine.
Quite possible! The quality of the wine is given as almost an afterthought, attested only by this "headwaiter" or "master of the feast." Here I'm guided again by Brown: this functionary could be anyone from a servant to a guest chosen because of his close relationship with the bridegroom. His frank talk to the bridegroom makes me think the latter, raising the possibility that he, too, was soused.
Brown, Wright, Scott, even Brer Rabbit woven into John’s Cana story! You go beyond the usual symbolism of abundance or messianic fulfillment into the political and rhetorical subtleties of hidden transcripts. The miracle is not deception but disclosure. Jesus “revealed his glory,” even if only a few saw. That tension between concealment and revelation edges toward what some have called the gospel as comedy—truth arriving in irony, surprise, and reversal, first grasped by the powerless. - Thanks, Bryce!
William, you have expanded my thinking about Jesus's miracle at Cana. The "gospel as comedy"--yes! There's such good literary theory regarding comedy vs. tragedy. Paul and others--Jesus on the road to Emmaus comes to mind--seem intent on turning apparent tragedy to comedy. And the "tension between concealment and revelation"--yes again. Thank you.
The best on all this is surely Frederick Buechner's "Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale" (1977), called close to C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters." Buechner's own writing interweaves those three dimensions. - Always good to hear from you!
I wasn't aware of Buechner's book. Thank you! I just ordered it.
By the way, you represent the part of my inner voice that somehow manages to whisper to me: don't be so categorical! In honor of that under-appreciated voice, I took out the qualifier "only" in this post's subtitle.
So be it! - I find that I can hear my own inner voice best when I don't try so hard to listen. Perhaps that's some kind of Daoism. I "only" know that effort can get in the way, and it's usually best to just let it be and not think about it.
Or can it be taken very literally, he turned (a jug or more) of water into (the flasks of) wine, thereby making (more) wine? Late into the celebration the appearance of extra wine to soused partiers would be praised indiscriminately, hey thanks this is the best wine.
I prefer non alcohol wine. I find it more thirst quenching. At the late end of the party the guests may have found that too ;)
Quite possible! The quality of the wine is given as almost an afterthought, attested only by this "headwaiter" or "master of the feast." Here I'm guided again by Brown: this functionary could be anyone from a servant to a guest chosen because of his close relationship with the bridegroom. His frank talk to the bridegroom makes me think the latter, raising the possibility that he, too, was soused.
Brown, Wright, Scott, even Brer Rabbit woven into John’s Cana story! You go beyond the usual symbolism of abundance or messianic fulfillment into the political and rhetorical subtleties of hidden transcripts. The miracle is not deception but disclosure. Jesus “revealed his glory,” even if only a few saw. That tension between concealment and revelation edges toward what some have called the gospel as comedy—truth arriving in irony, surprise, and reversal, first grasped by the powerless. - Thanks, Bryce!
William, you have expanded my thinking about Jesus's miracle at Cana. The "gospel as comedy"--yes! There's such good literary theory regarding comedy vs. tragedy. Paul and others--Jesus on the road to Emmaus comes to mind--seem intent on turning apparent tragedy to comedy. And the "tension between concealment and revelation"--yes again. Thank you.
Bryce,
The best on all this is surely Frederick Buechner's "Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale" (1977), called close to C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters." Buechner's own writing interweaves those three dimensions. - Always good to hear from you!
I wasn't aware of Buechner's book. Thank you! I just ordered it.
By the way, you represent the part of my inner voice that somehow manages to whisper to me: don't be so categorical! In honor of that under-appreciated voice, I took out the qualifier "only" in this post's subtitle.
So be it! - I find that I can hear my own inner voice best when I don't try so hard to listen. Perhaps that's some kind of Daoism. I "only" know that effort can get in the way, and it's usually best to just let it be and not think about it.
My inner voice resonates with this! It's singing that Eagles' lyric "Don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy." True in writing and life.
Wonderful.