From Cana to Qana: From the Wedding Then, To a Slaughter of Innocents Now

Gary Leupp, www.dissidentvoice.org

In the second chapter of the Gospel of John (2:1-11), Jesus performs his first public miracle in the small Galilean hill town of Cana. His mother Mary is apparently involved in the planning, and Jesus and his disciples are invited. Maybe due to the presence of too many guests, the wine runs out before the party ends. Mary points this out to Jesus, expecting him to take care of the problem. "My hour is not come yet," Jesus tells her, implying that it was not yet the time for him to be working miracles, before his public ministry begins. But he does provide the alcohol, miraculously converting six stone jars of water into fine wine. This "was the first of the signs given by Jesus; it was given in Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him" (2:11). Cana has been much in the news lately. It’s now spelled "Qana" and falls within the borders of the state of Lebanon...

continua / continued