Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your Name give glory;
because of your love and because of your faithfulness.

Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills to do he does. (Psalm 115:1-3)

In his first “sign” at the wedding in Cana, Jesus deflects attention away from himself.

First, it’s a son’s normal reaction because his mom is pressuring him to do something: “What is it to you? My time has not yet come.” And even when Jesus does “whatever he wills to do” and changes the water into wine, the steward doesn’t know who did it, so he gives praise instead to the bridegroom for saving the best wine for last.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your Name give glory.

In Jesus, John and the other Gospel writers see the glory of God revealed, “the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Though Jesus does point to himself in the signs, especially those that follow this first one, what he’s really doing is pointing to God. “No one has ever seen God,” writes John. “It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (John 1:18).

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your Name give glory.

We’re meant to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as his Body here on earth, sharing his forgiveness and healing power with those around us, and making known God’s love and faithfulness.

Morning and evening (at least) we’re also meant to give “Glory to God, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever” (BCP 102, 126).