You would think we'd know where the site of Jesus' first miracle took place - the turning of water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana. Scholars are still debating in which of four different sites, three in Israel, one in Lebanon, that the miracle took place. The name Cana comes from the Hebrew and Arabic word for reed, just as Roseau's name means reed in French.
It was also in Cana that Jesus healed a nobleman's son while the son was in Capernaum 20 miles away. In one gospel, the apostle Nathanael is said to be from Cana. The other three gospels call him Bartholomew. Same person.
What is the pilgrim to do who wants to visit Cana along with all the other New Testament high points? The sites of Bethlehem and Nazareth are well marked, as are Jericho and Jerusalem.
But Cana presents several options. One of the four possible sites is adjacent to Nazareth. After visiting Nazareth, the pilgrim could hike to nearby Ain Kanah, whose name means Spring of Cana. This spot was once a popular choice as the site of Cana but has fallen out of favor. There are no signs or monuments at the site. Only the spring remains which would have been needed for filling the six jars Jesus used for changing water into wine.
From there, The serious Cana seeker should hire a car for the nine mile drive to Khirbet Qana which scholars now think is the most likely location of biblical Cana. It's an archeological site containing the ruins of an ancient town. The name means ruins of Cana. It's lightly managed and there's no admission fee and few pilgrims.
If the pilgrim is more interested in the wedding feast/water to wine vibe, he or she must go to Kafr Kanna. This is the traditional site of Cana. People come from all over the world to get married at the Franciscan Wedding Church. The church has the additional cachet of possessing two of the six water jars Jesus used when the wine ran out at the wedding feast. Scholars are not so sure about the jars, or if this is the real Cana.
The fourth claimant for site of the wedding feast is outside the city of Qana in southern Lebanon. The wedding site is in a cave and also has jars. American pilgrims are urged by the State Department to avoid Lebanon due to the risk of kidnapping, land mines and general mayhem. When Jesus returns let's ask that he turn war into peace.
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| Water to wine jar in the Wedding Church. - A generous pour |
I went there! It is always interesting how everybody who runs these places is so sure that there place is the real place. There are several sites for the crucifixion, burial, and other places too. Me, I think there isn't much left from a land that has been torn up for the last 2000 years.
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