Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
Announce his salvation, day after day. Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and praise; give to the Lord the glory due his name!
Worship the Lord in holy attire. Tremble before him, all the earth; say among the nations: The Lord is king. He governs the peoples with equity.
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.
“And the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.”
Fr. Enric PRAT i Jordana (Sort, Lleida, Spain)Today's reading helps us to consider the blessings that come when we enjoy the presence of Jesus and his Mother, Mary, in the midst of human events, such as the one we are contemplating: “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” (Jn 2:1-2).
With differing degrees of power, Jesus and Mary call us into the presence of God wherever they are, and, where God is, there is found love, grace, and wonders, because God is goodness, truth, beauty and abundance. At sunrise, the darkness of night is driven away, and the earth is warmed. Thereby, life is encouraged and nourished, making both human existence and nature fruitful. Similarly, when we allow God to arise in our hearts, we know the blessings of peace and happiness, even when we have been unreceptive or spiritually asleep.
Jesus Christ is sent by God to be present with us, and to communicate with us in divinely profound ways. God's deeds enter our hearts through Jesus Christ's humanity, and through Mary's presence, and the results are as surprising and pleasant as the experience of the host who did not know who he had invited to the wedding, but who, nevertheless, received unexpected blessings from the presence of Mary and Jesus, an invitation that might have been due to ties of kinship or friendship. Before He changed the water into wine, Jesus had not performed any miracles, and there were few who really knew who He was or the significance of His mission.
He went to the wedding because He is in favor of intimate human relationships, and because the integrity and devotion of the family attracted him. By his attendance, Jesus introduced God into what otherwise was an unremarkable family celebration. “Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee” (Jn 2:11), and it was also there where the Messiah “opened his disciples' hearts to the faith, thanks to Mary, the first believer” (St. John Paul II).
Let us, by exercising our faith, move closer to this example of the human behavior of Jesus, thus coming to know and imitate his human dimension as far as we can, learning to love more and more, as we listen to his word, ever growing in faith and trust, until we come to see the face of the Father in him.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“Mary’s heart, which, cannot but pity the afflicted, moved her to take the office of advocate, and, to entreat her Son to work a miracle. If unasked, this good lady has done so much, what will she not do for those who invoke her intercession?” (Saint Alphonsus Liguori)
“Mary does not really ask something of Jesus: she simply says to him: ‘They have no wine’. She doesn't ask for anything specific, much less that Jesus exercise his power, perform a miracle, produce wine. She simply hands the matter over to Jesus and leaves it to him to decide about what to do.” (Benedict XVI)
“On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign -at his mother's request - during a wedding feast (Cf. Jn 2:1-11). The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence.” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 1613)
