- published: 23 Apr 2015
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In the Christian New Testament, the Gospel of John refers a number of times to a town called Cana of Galilee.
Among Christians and other students of the New Testament, Cana is best known as the place where, according to the Fourth Gospel, Jesus performed his first public miracle, the turning of a large quantity of water into wine at a wedding feast (John 2:1-11) when the wine provided by the bridegroom had run out (see Jars of Cana). Although none of the synoptic gospels records the event, mainstream Christian tradition holds that this is the first public miracle of Jesus. However in John's gospel it has considerable symbolic importance: it is the first of the seven miraculous "signs" by which Jesus's divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured.
It is still a matter of discussion among theologians whether the story talks of an actual material transformation of water into wine, or is a spiritual allegory. Interpreted allegorically, the good news and hope implied by the story is in the words of the Governor of the Feast when he tasted the good wine, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now" (John 2:10, NRSV). This could be interpreted by saying simply that it is always darkest before the dawn, but good things are on the way. The more usual interpretation, however, is that this is a reference to the appearance of Jesus, whom the author of the Fourth Gospel regards as being himself the good wine.
Lorik Cana (IPA:ˈlorik ˈtsana) (born 27 July 1983) is an Kosovar-Albanian footballer, who plays for Lazio as a defensive midfielder and the Albania national football team. He is the captain for Albania at international level.
His father's experiences in football inspired Cana to take up the sport as well. In 1997, he joined the local team Dardania Lausanne an amateur football club founded by the Albanian community in Lausanne, coached by his father. He played at Dardania until the year 2000, when he was spotted and signed by the French club, Paris Saint-Germain.
He was invited to Arsenal at the age of 16 for trial, but failed to attend because he was denied a British visa. At Paris Saint-Germain he spent three years working through the ranks of the French club. Cana finally made the first team in 2003 and quickly became a main player. During the 2003–04 season, he played 32 games and scored one goal, as the team won the Coupe de France and finished second in the French Ligue 1, proving to be one of the most successful seasons of his career so far. This was repeated the next season when he also played 32 games for the Paris team and scored one goal. In his senior debut for Paris Saint-Germain, he was awarded man of the match.[citation needed]