The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-07-13
THE MARRIAGE FEAST
Joyous Features Of the Christian
Religion Clearly Presented.
DR.. Talmase Invites the Whole
World to Join in Its Holy
Merriment-The Wedding
in Cana.
copyright, 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
Wa ShinQtOn


is furnished by the requests that have
reached DR.. Talmage in northern Eu-
rope for a sermon in out-of-the-way
places where he did not expect to find
a single person who could understand
him. There, as here, he presents re-
ligion as a festivity and invites all the
world to come as guests and join in
its holy merriment; text, John H., 10:
"Thou hast kept the good wine until
now"
This chapter invites us to marriage
celebration. 1t is wedding in COM
mon life, two plain people having
pledged each other, hand and heart,
and their friends having come in for
congratulation. The joy is not the less
because there is no pretension. In each
other they find all the future they
want. The daisy in the cup on the
table may mean as much as a score of
artistic garlands fresh from the hot
house. When daughter goes off from
home with nothing but plain fathers
blessing and plain mothers love, she
is missed as much as though she were
a princess. 1t seems hard, after the
parents have sheltered her for IS years,
that in a few short months her af-
fections should have been carried off
by another, but mother remembers
how it was in her own case when she
was young, and so she braces up I'M
til the wedding has passed and the
banqueters are gone, and she has cry
all alone.
Well, we are to-day at the wedding
in Cana of Galilee. Jesus and His
mother have been invited. 1t is evil
dent that there are more people there
than were expected. Either some peo-
pie have come who were not invited
or more invitations have been sent out
than it was supposed would be ac-
cepted. Of course there is not sufti-
cient supply of wine. You know that
there is nothing more embarrassing to.
a housekeeper than scant supply.
Jesus sees the embarrassment, and he
comes up Immediately to relieve it. He
sees standing six water pots. He or
ders the servants to fill them with
water, then He waves His hand over
the water, and Immediately it is wine
real wine. Taste of it and see for your
selves. No logwood in it, no strychnine
in it, but tirst-rate wine. Twill not now
be diverted to the question so often
discussed in my own country whether
1T is right to drink wine. / am de-
'scribing the scene as it was. When God
makes wine. He makes the very best
wine, and 1870 gallons of it standing
around in these water pots-wine so
good that the ruler of the feast tastes
1t and says: "Why, this is really bet
ter than anything we have had. Thou
hast kept the good wine until now"
Beautiful miracle! A prize was offered
to the person who should write the
best essay about the miracle in Cana.
Long manuscripts were presented in
the competition, but a poet won the
prize by Just this one line descriptive
of the miracle: "The conscious water
saw its God and blushed."
We learn from this miracle, in the
first place, that Christ has sympathy
with housekeepers. You might have
thought that Jesus would have said
81 cannot be bothered with this house
hold deficiency of wine. 1t is not for
me. Lord of Heaven and of earth, to
become caterer to this feast. have
yaster things than this to attend to-"
Not SO said Jesus. The wine gave out.
and Jesus by miraculous power came
70 the rescue. Does there ever come
a scant supply in YOUR household?
Have YOU TO make a very close calcula-
tion? II is hard work for YOU to carry
on things decently and respectfully?
II so don't SIT down and cry. Don't 90