Life is full of surprises, some pleasant, some not. The Scriptures are filled with stories of God’s surprises cropping up where least expected: younger children obtaining the inheritance; the lowliest being seated up highest; an itinerant preacher, killed like a criminal, exalted to eternal, heavenly glory.

Anybody who has planned a wedding or similar event knows that they are filled with opportunities for surprises. For that bridegroom (who, in the Gospel story, has no direct contact with Jesus) the pleasant surprise came because somebody else had paid attention and had faith in Jesus.

We may think that the point of today’s familiar story of the wedding at Cana is that when we have faith in Jesus, our lives will be pleasantly changed. A Christian, however, needs to have a broader perspective, and realize that to have faith in Christ means that somebody’s life—maybe our own, maybe somebody else’s—will be surprised for the better.