Timing is Everything

It is currently said that hope goes with youth and lends to youth its wings of a butterfly; but I fancy that hope is the last gift given to man, and the only gift not given to youth.  Youth is pre-eminently the period in which a man can be lyric, fanatical, poetic; but youth is the period in which a man can be hopeless.  The end of every episode is the end of the world.  But the power of hoping through everything, the knowledge that the soul survives its adventures, that great inspiration comes to the middle-aged.  God has kept that good wine until now.  GK Chesterton in 'Charles Dickens'

In my daily GKC quote calendar this one came up, and this quote stirred my mind.  Mostly the line regarding keeping the good wine until now.  It gave me a new understanding of the original event.  There is much to be said for getting through the experiences thinking there is nothing on the other side (hopeless) and you come through stronger and with hope for future experiences.  But back to the line - "...kept that good wine until now."

Jesus at the wedding in Cana (John 2) turns water into wine.  He directs servants to fill jars with water and he directs them to take some to the master of ceremonies who says - "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

This has always been one of those Bible things that puzzled me.  It was never crystal clear to me why this was his first miracle and then Jesus' comment to Mary "why involve me?  My time has not yet come."  Always rather fuzzy to me.

Well reading more into the MC - "you have saved the best till now."  The jars that were filled were used for cleansing ceremonies and washing before eating.  Up until then all the cleaning was external, now the cleansing was going inside;  instead of just washing hands Jesus makes you able to drink the clean wine.

Thinking of Jesus' life as the entry of the good wine.  I'm sure there are much deeper implications, but that just got me to chuckle at a "well, duh" moment.