fill the jars

Jesus said to the servants, "fill the jars with water".

A simple request.  And yet.  There were six jars, each holding 20-30 gallons.  It would take considerable effort to fill them, even if there might already have been some water in some of the jars.  Water had to be hand-carried in those days, and a simple village such as Cana of Galilee would have had no centralized water or sanitation systems.  120-180 gallons would have required a considerable number of trips over a considerable distance.

So one can imagine the servants silently wondering why, in the midst of all the serving needed for a wedding, including dealing with a desperate need for wine, they were being asked to load up on water, for purification rites, no less.  Being servants, they did Jesus' bidding on the outside, but were perhaps questioning or even grumbling on the inside.  And then, after all of that, they were asked to draw some of that water to take it to the master of the banquet...for what purpose they could only imagine.  But again, they did it.  And they alone, through their obedience, however reluctant, witnessed Jesus' first miracle.

As we pray, and are advised by Jesus to pray persistently, I wonder if you as I have ever questioned why we're doing this, when it seems as if nothing useful is to be gained by it.  Or I wonder if Jesus has ever asked you to do something somewhat crazy at His Request, only to find yourself caught up in the miraculous.

So, dear friends, let's fill those jars.