ACC ~ John 2 v9

JESUS USES HIS POWER FOR A PURPOSE

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: He who did not want to change stones changed water at Cana. HYMNS ON VIRGINITY 14.11. [1]

[1] ESH 323.

MIRACLE BEYOND THE SENSES MANIFESTS THE POWER OF GOD

HILARY OF POITIERS: On the wedding day in Galilee, water was made wine. Do we have appropriate words or senses to ascertain what methods produced the change by which the tastelessness of water disappeared and was replaced by the full flavor of wine? It was not a mixing; it was a creation, and a creation that was not a beginning but a transformation. A weaker liquid was not obtained by admixture of a stronger element; an existing entity perished, and a new entity came into being. The bridegroom was anxious, the household in confusion, the harmony of the marriage feast imperiled. Jesus is asked for help. He does not get up or busy himself. He does the work without any effort. Water is poured into the vessels, wine drawn out in the cups. The evidence of the senses of the pourer contradicts that of the one who draws it out. Those who poured expect water to be drawn; those who draw out think that wine must have been poured in. The intervening time cannot account for any gain or loss of character in the liquid. The mode of action baffles sight and sense, but the power of God is manifest in the result achieved. ON THE TRINITY 3.5. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:63*.