A Miracle Marriage
The first miracle Jesus performed was during a wedding at a church. A marriage between a husband and wife is a strong covenant and this promise is the foundation for a happy family. This covenant of marriage is the glue that holds together the entire family together. When this covenant is broken it shatters love, peace and joy which is the character of a hapy home. It makes since that Christ would perform His first miracle at marriage. At Abundant Rain we believe Christ is the restoration for broken covenants. He is the mediator that restores all things that are lost. When we hold fast to Christ we can begin to see miracles in marriages.
Abundant Rain Renewing wedding vows Cana, Israel
The Arab village of Kafr Cana in the Lower Galilee is identified in Christian tradition as Cana of the Galilee. Here, according to tradition, Jesus performed the miracle of the wine, when he went to a wedding of a poor couple and turned water into wine.
On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was in vied to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, Every man serves the the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (John 2:1-11)
(Ron & Terry Spradlin renewing wedding vows at The Wedding church of Cana, Israel November 10, 2011)
The Wedding Church of Cana, Israel
At Cana, just outside of Nazareth, Jesus entered public life at a wedding feast by performing the first miracle - the changing of water into wine (John 2:1-11). The events are marked at the Wedding Church, built by the Franciscans in the nineteenth century over ruins believed to date back to Jesus' day.
The Franciscans built a church in 1881 at Cana, a Galilean town five miles northwest of Nazareth, between Sephoris and Tiberis, in the small village now known as Kefr Kanna.
(Mike & Teresa Payne renewing their wedding vows at The Wedding Church of Cana, Israel on November 10, 2011)
Some say the wedding Jesus attended might have been held in a synagogue here. One tantalizing piece of evidence is mosaic whose Aramaic inscription is typical of synagogues. John 2:6 says that the water that Jesus turned into wine was "the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing," and was stored in jars of stone - a material believed in those days to maintain purity so the water could serve for ablutions before prayer.
A modern-day tradition is for couples to renew their wedding vows or props marriage in Cana, with the Wedding church as an unforgettable backdrop.
(Doug & Shelley Muse renewing their wedding vows at The Wedding Church of Cana, Israel on November 10, 2011)
Jesus asked the servants to fill 6 jars with water, then He changed the water into wine. This sign has deep symbolic value. Notably, the wine also symbolizes the Torah revealed by the Messiah. Jesus returned to Cana to do another miracle the healing of the servant of a Roman centurion (John 4:46-54), so that these two signs given in Cana would announce the formation of a new nation of believers, a people descended from Judaism with the disciples at Cana, and from the pagans with the centurion who also became a believer.
(Banquet table for lunch after we renewed our vows at The Wedding Church in Cana, Israel. We had a wonderful meal. Myra Gawf & Dawn Castro in background)
In 17th century Kafr Cana was officially recognized by the Vatican, and the pope officially confirmed that Kafr Cana is indeed Cana of the Galilee. Following this recognition the village was added to the list of Christian holy places. Some researchers identify Kafr Cana with the Kana mentioned in the ancient Egytpian Amama letters (from about 4,000 years ago).
One way or the other, in the Roman-Byzantine period (1,000-2,000 years ago), there was a large Jewish community here, but apparently by the Mameluke period (about 800 years ago) most of the residents of Kafr Cana were Christian, although there was still a Jewish community here, too. Today most of the residents of Kafr Cana are Muslim.
In the center of the village are a few remains of ancient buildings and burial caves. The villagers have built new houses to the southeast and northeast of the ancient village. The most important site in the village is the Catholic Church, built in 1879, on the traditional site of the miracle of the wine. Beside this church is the Greek orthodox church of St. George, built in 1886, which house two stone jars that Greek Orthodox followers believe are the jars in which Jesus performed the miracle of the wine.
(The Wedding Church of Cana, Israel; photo by Terry Spradlin)
There is also a church named after St. Bartholomew, built according to tradition, on the site of the home of Nathaniel of Cana (St. Bartholomew), one of Jesus' disciples.
Some 200,000 tourists visit Kafr Cana annually. Inspired by the miracle of the wine, a tradition has developed of holding weddings here, as well as renewing wedding vows to strengthen a marriage, and visitors customarily buy wine here. The street of the churches, in the center of the village, has been renovated and a promenade has been built, connection the religious centers. Small plazas have been built along the promenade, with rest spots, and the facades and courtyards of the buildings have attractively refinished. Infrastructure has been laid alongside the promenade for commercial and hotel facilities, so that visitors will be able to combine the comforts of modern tourism with their religious experience.
