On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
This Sunday, weddings, whether metaphorical or real, take center stage. The gospel tells of the famous wedding at Cana to which Mary goes accompanied by her son and his disciples. The scholar, Richard Burridge, points out that this tells us something important about God: “The Word made flesh, the God who dwells among us, goes to wedding parties, joins in our everyday activities and gets involved with human affairs.” God loves us so much that he wants to share in the small joys of our lives.
Mary, always ready to help, informs Jesus that their hosts have run out of wine. This would be hugely embarrassing for them in an age when hospitality was so important. Jesus, however, answers her sharply and even rudely, which may shock us. He addresses her as “woman”, putting a distance between them, and basically tells her to get lost. His actual words are “my hour has not yet come,” and the implication is that until that particular time comes, he should not act publicly. He seems to live on a different plane and time line from other people. This is the mystery of being both human and divine, both the carpenter from Nazareth and the Eternal Word.
But Mary refuses to be cowed by her son and so tells the servants to follow Jesus’ instructions. She trusts Jesus completely and knows he will help, so she acts on her faith. Of course, someone who persists, in spite of being rebuffed at first, is a common theme of the gospels – and they always seem to get what they want. So now the story turns to some large stone jars (verse six) which were used for Jewish purification rituals. Their selection is not an accident for these older, concrete rituals are about to cede place to the more abstract Christian sacraments. Jesus instructs the servants on what they should do and then they take the jars to the steward. Note that the servants follow Jesus’ instructions exactly. It’s simply not enough to sit back and expect God to act for us. We must persist in faith and follow God’s word. Then, accepting and following Jesus can lead to miracles.
The steward knows nothing about what has happened between Jesus, Mary and the servants and he is astounded by the high quality of the wine brought out so late in the party. The steward implies that the groom is responsible for this excellent vintage. Not coincidentally, in the next chapter John the Baptist will use the word “bridegroom” to refer to Jesus. Furthermore, one of the most common images for heaven in the Bible is that of the heavenly banquet: Jesus uses the image frequently to describe the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we look forward to that future banquet. Perhaps this is the ultimate message of the first reading and the gospel today: that we have great future joy to look forward to and some elements of it touch our lives already.
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