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Gospel: John 2: 1-11
There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
“They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her,
“Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers,
“Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,
“Fill the jars with water.”
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
— although the servers who had drawn the water knew —,
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
“Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There’s an old Latin saying, In vino veritas.
“In wine, there is truth.”
Such is the case in today’s Gospel.
In this wine at this wedding in Cana, there is truth. Truth about Jesus, truth about Mary, truth about ourselves.
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Interestingly, this is one of only two appearances of Mary in John’s Gospel. She shows up at this wedding in Cana, inaugurating the Lord’s public ministry, then three years later at her Son’s crucifixion.
But Mary’s name isn’t used in either scene.
She’s only referred to as, “the mother of Jesus.” Such an intriguing fact points to the style of John’s Gospel – it’s highly symbolic and theological, built with layer upon layer. At each stage in his Gospel, there’s another lesson to be learned.
Today is the beginning.
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“They have no wine,” Mary says to Jesus.
She’s the one who notices the shortage. Thus, from the beginning, John depicts Mary as the attentive mediator between God and man. She points out our needs to Jesus, then turns and instructs us to, “Do whatever he tells you.”
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Although Jesus hears her concern, he gently rebukes her, saying, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?”
Notice Jesus does not refer to Mary in intimate terms; he uses neither “Mary” nor “Mom.”
But “woman.”
Properly translated, this word means, “lady.” In the ancient world, “woman” was a term of respect. But it never would’ve been used to refer to one’s mother.
Thus, when Jesus uses this term, he is not speaking to Mary in the context of their mother-son relationship. Rather, he’s speaking to her as her Lord, and she listens as his disciple.
This language signals to Mary that the time has come. Jesus will not return home after this wedding. Tonight, his power will be revealed, his ministry, and ultimately his journey to Jerusalem, will begin.
Their privacy, their time alone, the joy of their home life has concluded.
Although Mary does not know all that Christ’s ministry will entail – preaching, healing, death by crucifixion, or being raised from the dead – she signals that she’s ready to share Jesus with the world.
“They have no wine,” she says.
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Although he yields to Mary’s request, Jesus does not automatically provide the wine; first, he tests the faith of the waiters who remain anonymous. John doesn’t name them so that they could be any one of us.
“Fill the jars with water,” Jesus commands them. This must’ve made little sense at first – what good is extra water if they’re searching for wine?
Still, the waiters place their trust in Christ, heeding Mary’s advice to, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Suddenly, the water is transformed, not just into wine, but into the “choicest” wine, and an incredible amount at that, somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons!
John uses this miracle to speak of God’s abundance. Whereas the couple could not keep the wine flowing in spite of their best efforts, after all their human planning and resources have run dry, the joy does not end; God intervenes.
So, it is in our own lives.
Once we cease taking control and allow the Lord to act, divine transformation begins. Water is turned into wine. Scarcity into abundance. Ignorance into wisdom. Sin into grace. Death into life.
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Meanwhile, the headwaiter tastes the wine and responds stunned, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
From a human perspective, the logical thing to do would’ve been to serve the best wine first. But God reminds us through the prophet Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor are your ways my ways.”
God chooses to write straight with crooked lines. He directs our path and leads us to make decisions that, at the time, may defy human logic.
But, as Saint Paul says, “All things – even a shortage of wine at a wedding – work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”
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So, what does this mean for us?
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Invite Jesus to the wedding.
And don’t be afraid to include his Mother, either.
Just as the couple in today’s Gospel included Jesus in their celebration, so the Lord wants to be part of the daily rituals of celebration and sorrow in our own lives. When he’s invited, he transforms water into wine; scarcity into abundance; death into life.
The old saying is true, “In vino veritas.”
In wine – in this wine at Cana – there is Truth.
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Image credits: (1) Creative Fabrica (2) Catholic Faith Corner (3) Fine Art America
