Water into Wine

Today's church sermon centered on John 2:1-12, the "Wedding at Cana," or "The Miracle of Turning Water into Wine." It got me thinking ... what is the finite state machine regarding this depiction in John?

1. The event happened as depicted and it was a miracle
2. The event happened as depicted but it has a natural explanation
3. The event happened but in a fashion different from its depiction
4. The event did not happen at all

Did I capture the complete finite state machine? #3, I think, needs some teasing out. The others seem pretty finite.

It strikes me as an interesting exercise in how to approach the miracles of Jesus, with this one used as an example. My use of a finite state machine is merely a way to approach it with a cold, methodical eye at first. Analysis of meaning and application can come later ... let's first analyze the different possibilities.

I love that term -- finite state machine. When I first saw that, way back in the fall of 1985, I was completely mystified. The term "machine" was a physical thing to me; a mechnical system. The notion of it being something other simply didn't occur to me. It was a mental block that took quite some time to overcome.