THE WEDDING AT CANA

THEME OF THE READINGS

The image of the wedding occupies a central place in today’s liturgy. In our first reading today Isaiah uses the imagery of marriage to describe the relationship between God and his chosen people. God will marry them and their new name will be “My Delight Is In Her”. In the Jewish tradition, weddings were happy, festive occasions just as they are today. The marriage ceremony was considerably longer, during which time there was feasting and celebration.

According to the Mishnah, the bridegroom and his friends made their way in procession to the bride’s house. This was often done at night, when there could be a spectacular torchlight procession. The feast was prolonged, and might last as long as a week with risks of running out of wine or food.

This is the context of the gospel story at Cana. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is at the wedding. One gets the impression that the couple being married is either friend, or possibly related to Mary, and that she is helping with the arrangements, especially the serving of the food and wine. She seems to be one of the first to know that the wine is running out. The wine has run out, and there appears to be no solution. Either no more wine is available, or there is no money to buy more wine. The guests seem unaware of what is happening. If something is not done, all will be embarrassed.

This is no mere report, as our Lord knows. I believe Mary informs Jesus with the hope that He might do something about the situation. In the Jewish tradition wine was often seen as a gift and symbol of God's blessing (Deut. 7:13; Prov. 3:10, Psalm 105:). Wine is a symbol of celebration, happiness and mirth.  When Mary says: “They ran out of wine”; this means they had no joy.  There was gloom! Or do something, give them joy, give them happiness…

In response, Jesus blessed a young couple and brought joy to their wedding party first by his presence and second by saving them from embarrassment when the wine ran out.  Changing water into wine was a remarkable act of kindness. Jesus gives not only wine, but he gives the best and plenty to show the superabundance of the blessings which he came to offer.

This gospel tells us that the Messianic era has come. In the New Testament, the Messiah appears under the guise of the bridegroom. In the text of the wedding at Cana, in the words to the bridegroom, “Everyone serves good wine first and the worse wine when the guests are well wined; but you have kept the best wine till now,” the steward of the feast insinuates that Jesus is the groom. In actual fact, the “you” does not really refer to the bridegroom but to Jesus. This text is important, given the programmatic nature that it has in the structure of the fourth Gospel. Is there anything typical in this figure of Jesus as bridegroom?

1) First, there is the ability to turn water into wine, which alludes to the incipient joy and fullness of grace of the Kingdom of God. The water of the Old Testament, destined for purification, becomes the wine in the New Testament, of the Messiah who has come.

2) Messianic abundance. Jesus does not turn a few quarts of water into wine, but a large amount (sixty gallons). Jesus’ overabundance and generosity at the beginning of his public life will characterize the rest of his earthly existence and the very life of Christianity, of which it will constitute a structuring element. 3) The Messiah-bridegroom manifests his glory to his disciples, who believed in him. The glory of the bridegroom is precisely his giving himself fully to the bride, thus beginning a new era of relationships between God and humanity: the Christian era.

4) This union between God and his people is symbolized in the sacrament of matrimony where the expression of love to each other in the marriage mirrors the love and unity of God to his people. This is what we celebrate this week as we pray for Christian unity.

This miracle signifies “wine of the new covenant” and the “bread of life” which Jesus provides for his disciples in the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist. It also points to the Messianic banquet which Jesus will provide at the end of time. The miracles of Jesus demonstrate the power of God's love and mercy for his people. God's kindness knows no limits. And the ultimate expression of his love is revealed in the person of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He became flesh for our sake, and he died for our redemption, and he rose for our glorification.  Do you thirst for God and for the life of holiness he offers?

Yes, the presence of Jesus makes all the difference: at the wedding in Cana, at the shores of Galilee, in our own lives! The word of God on this Sunday, at the beginning of the year, invites us to recognize the presence of Jesus in our lives.  It invites us to recognize him as the Son of God!  Then we will be able to share in the fullness of life.

What I would like to leave you with today then, is the reality of God’s love for us, his marriage to us, the reality of our closeness to God in the Eucharist and that we must constantly be reminded that we are the ones who continue the work of Christ.  How will we do that in this coming week? How can we begin to transform our own little world in our own little ways?