Most of us have been to a lot of weddings. They are usually pretty formal affairs, and couples generally consider it among the most important days of their lives. These days, it is not uncommon for people to hire a small army of professionals to assist in the planning and operation of wedding ceremonies and receptions. It would be unheard of, I would think, in one of today's meticulously planned wedding celebrations, to run out of food or beverages.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus attends a wedding where that unthinkable event takes place. He attends a wedding celebration where, we are told, "the wine ran out." Jesus calmly orders the folks in charge to fill some ceremonial hand washing bins with water, and to serve that water to the guests. The guests discover when they taste the water that it has turned to wine, finer wine than the host initially served.

This story, the "Wedding at Cana," tells us a lot about Jesus and sets the stage in John's gospel for Jesus' priorities and ministry. First, we learn that Jesus enjoys people, joins in important events, and enjoys celebrations. I have even heard this story used to "prove" that Jesus did not prohibit alcohol consumption -- how could he, the argument goes, if he made wine himself? Jesus was not the grim, stern figure often presented in media depictions. In fact, most of the gospel stories take place in very social environments and around meals.

Secondly, we learn that Jesus isn't afraid to bend rules in the name of serving people. I doubt very much that serving wine in ceremonial hand washing bins would be encouraged by civil or religious authorities. These are instruments of religious purification, not beverage containers. I mean, it's a little like serving beer in communion chalices at a church dinner. But Jesus enlists these items in an effort to keep the wedding celebration going, and to help the host avoid embarrassment.

Finally, we see what has so often been pointed out about Jesus from this story, that he turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Jesus turns water into wine. In so doing, he turns a potential social disaster into a miracle.

So if we describe Jesus as a person who embraces celebration, who puts people before rules and regulations, and who transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, then I must ask myself as a follower of Jesus Christ does this describe me? I have to admit that most people I know probably wouldn't describe me in this way. I spend more time worrying than celebrating. I spend more time playing by the rules than I do focusing on the needs of others, and I live a pretty ordinary life. But today we are challenged to look for more.

We all have plenty of the ordinary in our lives. We have ordinary problems, ordinary frustrations, and ordinary struggles. Yet we are promised today that if we follow Jesus Christ our lives can be extraordinary. This is a rich and inviting promise. As we begin a new year and enter the time in the church calendar that is called "ordinary" my hope for myself is that I will remember to attempt to do and receive the extraordinary in Jesus' name.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.