The Actionable Parable of Water into Wine

There is a common theme throughout the parables and teachings of Christ and the early apostles which compare the Savior as the bridegroom.  We see numerous parables and lessons throughout the gospel of wedding feasts, the ten virgins, and the coming of the bridegroom; even Paul directly connects the church as a bride and the Savior as a bridegroom.  These all carry with them powerful messages of our relationship or desired relationship with the Lord, and the Lord’s desired relationship with us.

One of the most interesting experiences in the ministry of the Savior is detailed only in John – it is also one of the most commonly known experiences.  As John called it, it was his first miracle, and was as the request of his mother.

Here we have the Savior attending a wedding feast, and is approached by his mother.  For all intents and purposes, his mother makes reference that the event is out of wine, and requests him to do something. As a result, and with a little comment in reference to his time no yet at hand, he requests that six pots are filled with water and brought to him.  He then performs his first known or documented miracle in turning the water into wine.

What a unique and, in some instances considered, uncharacteristic use of His power. Where does this action fit into His message, His mission, and the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Nowhere else do we see in his ministry the use of his power and authority in performing a miracle that was so temporal.  Wine for a wedding feast?

We have heard throughout our lives numerous conversations of potential lessons in the miracle: the respect for his mother, the potential that this might be his own or a family members wedding, or even the intentional decision to begin to reveal his potential to the world.  But none of these potential answers really falls into what we know of Christ after this experience.  He wasn’t one to seek for attention with his performance of miracles, he was more or less one to perform miracles out of compassion, out of need, and by no means out of the need to attract attention.

In fact, through the account when the ruler of the feast tastes the wine and reflects that they have saved the best for last, this infers that no one really knows what actually took place to present that wine at his table.  The miracle comes and goes nearly unnoticed by most present, without the converting fanfare that one might hope for if he were seeking attention.

Yet, this begs another question: why would John include this experience?  Admittedly, through his own words, Christ did so much that if every one of his acts were recorded, the books of the world could not contain them.  So why take time and space, and detail what looks to be a relatively ineffective or unnecessary act from the Savior at a wedding he attended?

Could there be that there is something more than the event itself, and the fact that it was his first recorded miracle?

This short event, although on the surface holds little to the lessons of eternal principles, may be a parable in action.  There may be a lesson here, not in his words, but in his actions - an eternal principle. He may be trying to teach us as he did with his parables, but instead of telling the story, he is being the story.

Let’s step back and pretend for a moment, that this is a parable, a story someone is telling us that is to contain a spiritual message.

A Son of God attends a wedding feast in celebration of the union of the bride and the bridegroom.  The wine of the ground is served, with the best available wine served first, and then the dregs served last as is traditional at these feasts – as is therefore expected.  The event seems to go longer, or is more attended than expected and they prematurely run out of wine.   To honor this celebration this Son of God exercises his power and authority and changes water into wine.  As the wine is being served, it is heralded as the best wine which has been served – better than the wine which was served at the beginning of the festivities.

Does this parable not speak directly to us, and to our times?  Throughout the history of the world, the Lord has celebrated the union of the church (bride) and the Savior (bridegroom).  He has sent prophets and faithful spirits to the earth at various times to ensure that such a union is adequately represented, perpetuated, and that those attending the union remain participants for as long as possible.  Then there came a time when there was no prophets, no priesthood, no power or authority to participate in; and the Lord was required to restore that substance to the earth, and that wine to the union.    Yet, in doing so, he created and reserved only the very best to go forth at the end of the event.

We are that wine that has been reserved for the last days.  John, the master of prophecy, instills near the beginning of his gospel an experience which carries with it a strong message for those of the latter days; the best wine, as the ruler of the feast exclaimed, as been reserved until the end, and is a pure product of the Saviors power and authority being exercised.

We are the water that has been changed to celebrate this union, and we have been created by the Savior for this purpose.  We are the salt of the earth, we are the savor, we are the taste, and we carry with us a purpose and have been reserved for these last days to fulfill that purpose – in which we are the best equipped to do so; much better equipped than all of our predecessors.  It was the ruler of the feast which exclaimed that he was surprised to see the most tasty, purest, and best wine was reserved until the end of the celebration.

It is a fitting comparison when this experience is taking to consideration with the plan of salvation.  At the wedding feast, the Savior takes something as mundane and tasteless as water and turns it into something full, robust, and as the ruler of the feast would say – the best wine available.  Similarly, here in the plan of salvation, this experience at the wedding feast teaches us that Christ not only can, but will, take something as common place as we are, as flawed, as mundane and tasteless in an eternal sense, and make use something robust, full of flavor, and rich with taste – the best eternal beings that have ever been presented.

The Scars of Perfection

The Gospel is rich with so many small lessons and applications, that it is almost certain that even the most learned and spiritual scholar will appear before the judgment bar and say at least once, “Oh, that is what that meant!”

By spending a lifetime of looking at the scriptures, the words of Christ, and the teaching of living prophets from all angles we can learn small lessons that can be applied to help us better understand our role, our nature, and build our relationship with Christ.  The learning process is endless, and anyone who claims to have a market on these lessons hasn’t studied enough.

Some of these lessons come from looking at a circumstance in the scriptures from a different angle.  It come from closing our eyes and imagining that we are present in the experience; looking around us and seeing what we might see through the eyes of faith.

Our imagination is a powerful tool – necessary for the development of faith.  Without the ability to imagine, to question, and to wonder, there would be no concept developed within our minds to have faith in.  A strong imagination can yield a strong potential for faith, as it allows us to conceive and believe in things, when the “evidence of things is not seen.”  Imagination is the first precursor to faith; and in this light, that parents would do well to encourage it, rather than subvert it.

With our imaginations in action, place yourself at the temple of Zarahemla that beautiful day when the Savior made his first resurrected appearance to the Nephites.  From the scriptures it can be estimated that is has nearly been a year since the horrific events that took place as a result of his crucifixion.  The city is beginning to be rebuilt in part at this time, the temple remains standing, and there is a potential influx of faithful Nephites entering the city as a result of a religious gathering which would have been traditional under the Law of Moses near that time of the year – it is potentially in preparation of the Passover.  It may even be unclear as to what exactly is going to take place for those gathered, with the potential understanding that the Passover may be fulfilled – but nevertheless without any further direction on how exactly to proceed, many people still gather in preparation near the temple.  It is no just happenstance that the twelve chosen disciples just happened to be present at the temple at this time.

Suddenly, the voice is heard, the Man appears, descends, and the presentation of the King commences.  Each bystander is beckoned to go and witness for themselves that he is indeed the Christ.  They each go and touch the nail marks in his hand and feet, they look into his eyes, and they see and know and bear witness that this is the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the Redeemer of their souls.  These moments are tender and for those of us who were not present, nearly impossible to fully imagine the splendor or comprehend the beauty of such a scene.

From there he gathers together twelve whom he calls to be disciples, those who will continue to teach, preach, and gather together his people. 

Then, as far as the recorded record describes, he quickly goes into teaching the Gospel beginning with a version of the Sermon on the Mount which was equally recorded in Mathew (possibly to begin to fill that gap of what to do now about the Mosaic Traditions, like the one they may have gathered for).  Between the two recorded sermons in Third Nephi and Matthew, there are a number of differences, which don’t necessary highlight errors in Mathew’s account, but only highlights that there are differences between the two circumstances. 

In Mathew, the mortal Jesus Christ of Nazareth seeks to teach his apostles, disciples, and onlookers the principles of the gospel, and the additional intent above and beyond the Law of Moses; he teaches what law will transpire, and what will be fulfilled, every jot and title.  In Third Nephi, the Savior appears having triumphed already over death and hell, having already fulfilled the law, achieved his mortal ministry and purpose, and is now teaching what law does transcend the Law of Moses.  It appears to be the same message, but by paying attention to the differences within the circumstances as well as the words used we can see more of the tone and picture of what Christ may be trying to teach.

One of those differences comes near the end of the first chapter of the sermon (3 Nephi 12: 48), when he says, “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.”  In this version he adds himself to the mix, “even as I” where in Matthew he excludes himself.  This appears to make sense to most readers, because the circumstances have changed.  Christ is now perfect in every way.  He may have been perfect spiritually during his mortal ministry and therefore warranted to be the perfect mortal sacrifice – but by the time he teaches this same sermon to the Nephites he has achieved a level of perfection that could not have been achieved before.  He has wrought the Atonement, he has trodden through the wine press alone, he has entirely aligned his will with the Father, and he has been glorified and resurrected in a perfect and immortal body.

 In fact, it is arguable that his perfected physical body may have been the only thing preventing him from claiming that same perfection during his mortal ministry.  But it is from this argument that an applicable lesson of the gospel may be found. 

Remember, place yourself there at the very moment when he says those words – take all the information gathered about the surrounding that we learn from the scriptures and apply them to the environment in your imagination.  One of the clearest things that should be applied to this imaginative exercise is his physical form.  Only a short while ago, you were one in your imagination who went and witnessed for yourself the prints of the nails in his hand and in his feet. 

As he stands before you preaching this sermon, he stands with such markings in his body – in his perfected, glorified, resurrected body.  He stands before you with his arms out stretched, piercings present, and says, “be perfect even as I.”  Yet, this body carries with it the markings of remembrance.  It carries with it a sign of betrayal, a blemish which reflects the human condition, and a constant remembrance of what his children, his brothers, his sister, and his people had done to him.  Can this be perfection?

The lesson here is he is defining this as perfection, for they are more than that.  They are wounds of love, the result of a willingness to turn the other cheek, to practice what he preached; and in the most sacred setting they are the scars of sacrifice. 

As the Lord stands before his people, glorified and marred, he teach them and us, that perfection is not seen in physical beauty, but in the willingness to take upon us the scars of sacrifice.  Perfection is not seen in the absences of mortal experience, but from the scars which reflect our response to the mortal experience.  They are not merely badges of honor, as a war hero might have, they have reflections of love, compassion, and authenticity.  We are not to live a life void of pain, but a life of faithful endurance through the pain.

As brothers and sisters, parents and children, members of society, our sacrifices for defending truth and right, for aiding in the kingdom of God, for living the Gospel, and for raising our children against the current from which media flows, will be eternal reflections of our dedication and will only enhance our perfection when that perfect day arrives.

When the opportunity arises to take the easy road or the painful but correct road – those scars will be a reflection of your perfection in your perfect day.