The Miracle You Missed

When Jesus Made Wine and Nobody Noticed

I recently preached on the miracle at Cana—this wild story where Jesus turns water into wine so the celebration can continue. And not just any wine, but the good wine, the stuff you'd expect to come out at the beginning of the party, not when everyone's already had their fill.

But here's what stood out to me this time around: nobody really notices what happens. The crowd assumes the host just brought out more wine. They're surprised, sure, but only that it's high quality. No one seems to realize a miracle has just taken place. Not the guests. Not the host. Maybe not even the bride and groom. Only a few people are clued in—Mary, Jesus, and a handful of disciples. And maybe Nathaniel in particular.

A Miracle in the Background

Nathaniel gets an interesting moment earlier in John’s Gospel. Jesus tells him to watch closely, to keep his eyes open for something special. Later, we find out Nathaniel is from Cana in Galilee, so there's a good chance he was actually at this party. I can’t help but wonder—was this miracle, at least in part, for him?

It’s the first sign in John’s Gospel, the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and yet it slips by almost everyone. And that made me think of a film.

Tree of Life and the Cosmic Interlude

Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life is one of the most confounding and, I think, most beautiful films I've ever seen. It's not everyone's cup of tea—long, slow, art house, drenched in metaphor. But in the middle of this intensely personal story about a young boy, his loving mother, and his stern father, there's this bizarre shift.

Suddenly, we're watching the birth of the universe. Stars form. Galaxies swirl. Time speeds forward. Life crawls out of the primordial soup. Dinosaurs show up. Then, just as abruptly, we return to a boy's strained relationship with his father. It's jarring.

But here's my take. That cosmic interlude is saying something profound: the smallest, most personal moments—a boy's anger at his dad, a quiet act of grace, a miracle seen by only a few—they hold cosmic weight. They may feel insignificant when measured against the vastness of the universe, but they are the moments that shape us.

Moments That Shape the Universe

Think of a moment in your own life that seemed small at the time. Maybe it still feels small when you tell it to others. But you know deep down that it changed you. It was your cosmic interlude. A hinge point where the universe turned, just a little, on your axis.

That’s what I think this wedding at Cana was. A moment intentionally hidden in plain sight. Missed by the crowd. Missed by almost everyone. Except for those for whom the moment was meant.

And for them, it wasn’t just about wine. It was about the birth of a new kind of reality. A sign that God was doing something new. A glimpse of resurrection breaking into the ordinary.

So maybe today, don’t rush past the seemingly insignificant. Pay attention. Your miracle might be right there, quietly reshaping your world.