THE STORY OF
ORLY
Orly still couldn’t believe what his eyes had seen that day. He lay in the dark on his blanket and just couldn’t quit thinking about it. Finally, he slipped out of the room and went outside to the front courtyard to look at it again. There was a full moon, and he could easily walk around without needing a lamp. He didn’t want to wake anyone else up. He needed time to think.
His mind started all over at the beginning. For the past several weeks he and all the other servants had been really busy getting ready for the wedding of Master Kenan’s son. Orly’s mother was in charge of the kitchen and she had been working night and day to prepare for the big day and that meant that he had not had a break in weeks. Work, work, work.
But that’s what you expect when you are a slave. He and his mother had been slaves since he was five years old. He was nine now and they still had two more years to work before they would be free. He used to spend a lot of time crying about being a slave and dreaming about being free, but he and his mother were well cared for and he was happy here. But he didn’t get up to think about that.
He wanted to try to figure out exactly what happened….
Let’s see. Oh, yeah, I was busy pulling onions because Mother had heard that more relatives from Nazareth were coming and she was afraid they wouldn’t have enough food prepared. She was going to make more of her wonderful fish sauce.
The lambs were roasting over the fires and the servants were turning them carefully so that they would be perfect for the meal.
Yesterday, a lady named Mrs. Mary had arrived from Nazareth. She was a sister to Master Kenan and had come to help with the preparations. She was very kind to me and even slipped me a cookie for helping her carry the trays out to the courtyard.
Then mid-afternoon, Master Kenan’s son, the groom, went to collect his bride and it seemed that the whole town decided to come to the wedding celebration. Mother was giving me directions. Mrs. Mary was giving me directions. Master Kenan was giving me directions. And Mrs. Kenan was giving me directions — all at the same time! Maybe that’s why I can’t remember exactly what happened. It was quite a busy day!
I remember that Mrs. Mary’s son, Mr. Jesus, arrived with a large group from Nazareth. Apparently, these were some cousins and maybe some friends of Mr. Jesus.
The lambs had been put on platters and the vegetables brought from the kitchen to the courtyard, and the men were lined up at the ceremonial washing jars. It had taken me all week to get those water jars completely full, but Master Kenan had insisted they have plenty of water for washing before the meal. The men were required by Jewish tradition to ceremonially wash their hands before eating.
I remember thinking that soon the guests would all be busy eating and maybe there would be food for the servants in the kitchen. My legs were dead tired, and my head ached. But I learned a long time ago not to complain. A good slave was always cheerful and eager to help.
As the meal began, I noticed that the ceremonial water jars were almost empty, but that was okay, because everyone was done with the washing for now. I figured I should probably make some trips to the well so that there would be water in case of latecomers. But there was plenty of time to take care of that later. I needed a break!
Some servants were assigned to wave palm branches over the food to keep away the flies and gnats. Some were busy refilling bowls and returning the empty bowls to the kitchen to get refills. But since I wasn’t assigned to those tasks, I knew that I could slip into the kitchen and rest for a few minutes and grab a bite to eat.
Mother had set aside some plain bread and cheese for the servants and there were probably 10 of the male servants already ahead of me with the same idea. Sitting down felt wonderful and the food was just what I needed. But I had just gotten a bite when Mrs. Mary came running in calling for help.
Or course everyone stood up immediately. She said that they were almost out of wine and that her son would tell us what to do. I assumed she wanted us to go and purchase some wine. We all walked outside and reported to her son, Mr. Jesus.
Mr. Jesus asked us to fill up the ceremonial water jars with water.
To give you an idea of how much work I’m talking about, here’s what the Bible says:
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.1
Now, a slave doesn’t ask questions, he just obeys — but let me tell you — I wasn’t a happy camper. That’s a lot of work.
At least this time I had help. It only took us about 30 minutes to get them filled to the brim. And all the while, I was thinking this is stupid! Who cares about the water jars? What we need is wine for the guests.
Then Mr. Jesus turned to Hosea, the oldest of the slaves who had helped fill the jars. He told him to dip some of the water into a cup and take it to the Ruler who was leading the wedding ceremony. I could see Hosea shaking because he knew he was going to get a beating for giving the Ruler water to drink instead of wine. He was shaking so hard that the water was spilling out all over the place. But like I said, we had learned to be obedient.
Here’s the part I don’t understand. Hosea had water all over him when he returned to us — but the Ruler said it was the best wine he had ever tasted! He complimented Master Kenan for serving the best wine last instead of first.
What happened between Hosea handing the water to the Ruler — and the Ruler drinking it? I can’t figure that out. But for the rest of the night, we dipped water out of those jars and served it to the guests. But when the people drank it, it was wine. I just don’t understand.
I know it wasn’t just a mind trick, because when a lady spilled her cup, it stained red. Water doesn’t do that. And there was the smell of wine everywhere.
I knew that I couldn’t sleep until I checked it out myself. So, here I am, standing out in the courtyard just a few hours before dawn. There’s such a mess. I know it will be a busy, busy day for me when the sun comes up. But I must know.
I dipped a cup into one of the jars. It was just water! I checked each of the six jars and they were all the same — just plain well water.
The only people who saw what happened were us 11 servants and Mr. Jesus’s two friends. His two friends seemed pretty surprised, too.
Hmm. Who is this man named Jesus and what kind of supernatural powers does he have? I want to find out more about him.
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1 John 2:6
