They have no wine.

 

Second Sunday in OT  C  2022

Today we begin the ordinary season of the year. Today’s readings tell us about the true identity of Jesus, who he is, and what his mission is. We need to know who Jesus is and understand his mission if we want to be his true disciples. We respond to God’s love through lives that encourage forgiveness and reconciliation. The readings of today reveal to us that the Lord God rejoices in the Church. God is generous to his children and he rejoices in them.

The Scripture message today is very clear: Jesus brings joy, and he shares in the joys of others.  Our discipleship of the Lord Jesus is meant to be a joy-filled experience. The German philosopher Nietzsche once said: “If Christians want me to believe in their religion, they will have to look as if they are saved.”  Today’s Gospel account at the wedding feast of Cana is indeed a great revelation of God’s presence and activity in our midst.  We see God revealing himself again in what Jesus does in this wedding scene. 

This first miracle of Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana is a very human story and tells about the relationship of Jesus and his mother.    Mary does not even need to ask.  She knows her son and even if she does not know fully how everything will play out she knows who he is and why he has come. “They have no wine,” is all that she needs to say. Then she simply tells the stewards:  “Do whatever He tells you.”

Wow!  There is no uncertainty in Mary’s trust that Jesus will respond will take care of this need so that the celebration will continue.  What about our relationship with Jesus and our trust that Jesus will accompany us in our hour of need?  Mary indeed is our guide and our mother who leads to trust more fully in Jesus.

 

 

In the Gospel, this lavish response to a simple human need is a vision for us of the abundance of God's kingdom. It challenges us to respond generously when confronted with human need today. We respond as best we can, fully confident that God can transform our efforts, bringing the Kingdom of God to fulfillment among us.

This message of joy can be seen in all the Scripture readings today.

The first reading gives us the celebration of Joy over the restoration of the relationship between God and his people. Years of exile had made Israelites realize their foolishness and now they consider it a privilege to serve the Lord God. God comes to them as a special gift.  God had remained silent for a long period of time because of the sins. Now God’s people will be obedient and trustful to God who is their Savior.  The reading begins with God breaking the long silence measured by years of exile following the collapse of the kingdom. During that time pride and arrogance lost their hold on the people. Now they are ready to accept God’s plan for them.  Israel is now given royal status and the nation shines like the glorious crown, a royal diadem in God’s hands. God honors Israel with the new name, my beloved, my espoused one. They are now God’s people.  This wonderful transformation is not for the benefit of Israel alone. All the other nations shall benefit from it.

In the joyful hymn of Isaiah, we see how God prepares for His remnant people, the ones who had remained faithful to him, good gifts, and more particularly his own presence. God and his people will be joined together in the New Covenant. 

Paul in the second reading tells us that all gifts come from God but with a purpose so that we may proclaim his glory in his kingdom.  These gifts may be diverse but they all proclaim God’s own glory.

 

 

 

 Paul enumerates the gifts the Christian Community has received. These gifts are a gratuitous present that has come to each from the almighty.  The people of Corinth believed that whatever gift they had, including the spiritual, was due to their own merits.  Paul says that diverse though these gifts are, they all come from the one God. All of us have distinct abilities. We are called upon to use them to complement one another, for the good of the whole community, for building up God’s Kingdom on earth. Paul lists nine gifts, but the charisms are not limited to nine. Christians receive whatever gifts necessary to fulfill their mission in life.

The Gospel presents to us the first miracle performed by Jesus at a wedding.  A wedding is a time of abundance and celebration. From the food and wine that are served to the music and dancing that follow, weddings overflow with the goodness of life.  At a deeper level, weddings speak about love, compassion, and unity.  Wedding feast Cana is a sign of God’s love and compassion. Here Jesus takes care of the family who is about to be pushed into a state of embarrassment. At the same time, he accepts the word of Mary to do a good act and present the family things in abundance.

The story of the marriage feast at Cana we heard in today’s Gospel is narrated by St John only. The event had made a deep impression on him as it happened only a few days after he and four disciples had decided to follow Christ. At this wedding, he witnessed the first miracle worked by the Lord which must have impressed him a great deal.

Today’s Gospel passage reveals to us one of the events that came to pass to manifest to us that the promise of God the Father was being fulfilled in the fullness of time. In the Gospel, we see Jesus, his mother, and his disciples at a wedding. And it is not a religious ceremony but a social celebration of the wedding. Jewish weddings

 

 

 

of those days could last a week. This was a time of grand celebration and Jesus and Mary along with the disciples were part of it

The action of Jesus turning water into wine is the first of the seven signs that Jesus performed and recorded in the Gospel of John.  On the surface, signs appear to be miracles but John presents them with a particular purpose.   These miracles have a strong symbolic significance that tells us about Jesus and also his messianic work.  

We are at a wedding feast in Cana, Galilee. The wine has run out. We witness that Jesus is able to transform water into the very best wine, just as the Father can change a forsaken people into ones that are his delight.

As at the wedding feast, they have no wine symbolizes those situations for us when we have no hope that come from the anxieties and setbacks that we all experience.  At one time or another, we are in the circumstance of having no wine when we are without hope.

In these discouraging moments in life, may we too be mindful of the words of Mary:  “Do whatever he tells you.”  It is always God’s desire that we experience life in abundance.  May we have the trust of Mary that Jesus is for us Lord and Savior. When we can trust in Jesus, of course, water will become wine.

 

Have a Blessed Day.