As Christians, we believe in God who reveals himself to us in different ways. We believe in a God of revelation. In the past month, in our Mass celebrations, God has revealed himself through Jesus in several ways. At Christmas, God was revealed in the birth of Jesus, a humble baby born in a manger. God revealed himself to be in solidarity with all of humanity, as Jesus came to earth to be born as one of us. God revealed himself in a special way to the poor of the world, as the first people to visit Jesus were the shepherds who were tending their flocks at night. Then, God revealed himself in Jesus to the Magi, travelers coming to find Jesus from a faraway land. In joy and gladness, the Magi came to worship the Christ child and to bring him precious gifts. Last Sunday, God revealed himself in Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River when the Spirit descended upon Jesus, with a voice calling out from the heavens, calling Jesus the Beloved Son of the Father. Today, at the Wedding of Cana from John’s Gospel, God reveals himself in Jesus through his first sign and miracle, through the start of his public ministry.
Jesus’ miracle of turning the water into wine takes place at a wedding banquet in Cana. In the Old Testament, Israel was seen as the bride of God, which is portrayed in our first reading from Isaiah today. In the New Testament, the Church, the Christian community, is often portrayed as the bride of Christ. When we wish to celebrate a joyful occasion, such as a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, or a graduation, we usually sit down together to eat a great feast as a part of the celebration. We can picture our life with God, our life with Jesus, as a joyful banquet. Often in Scripture, we see Jesus sharing a meal with others, sometimes with those who would normally be excluded from the great feasts in Ancient Israel, such as the poor, the outcast, the stranger, and the sinner.
The Wedding of Cana reminds us of the meal we celebrate together at Mass. In the Eucharist, we gather to celebrate with the body and blood of Christ around the table of the Lord, to partake of this heavenly food and drink. The Eucharist is sacrifice, but it is also a celebratory meal as well. The Eucharist is not a mundane commonplace experience; it is an event of joy and thanksgiving. Going to Mass is not to been seen as a dreary obligation or a penance. At the core of the Eucharist, we celebrate all that God has done for us through his Son, Jesus Christ, through Christ's life, teachings, suffering, death, and resurrection, all of which are signs of God’s great love for us.
In his first letter to the Corinthians in our second reading, St Paul reminds us of the great gifts that God bestows upon us. These gifts are not merely to be used for ourselves and for our own individual benefit. Through these gifts, we are able to make our own unique contribution to our Christian community and to our brothers and sisters in society. These gifts allow us to be the Body of Christ, both individually and as a community. We are called to be thankful for the many people who have used their gifts to help us on our journey of faith. Using our talents together helps us in our celebration of the Eucharist. Perhaps the celebratory tone of the Eucharist could be enhanced if more of us used our gifts and talents to the betterment of the community and to contribute to our Eucharistic celebration.
We cannot talk about the Wedding of Cana with mentioning the presence of Mary. A friend keeps on reminding me that when I first met him, he asked me if I had a devotion to Mary. I answered him: "Of course I do. All of us priests are called to have a devotion to Mary." Many priests will tell you that without uniting our prayers and our priesthood to Mary and without Mary accompanying us on our journey, we would not make it as priests. It is through Mary's compassion and attention to detail that Jesus becomes aware of them running out of wine at the wedding. But Mary also points us to something else: In interpreting today's Gospel, we can see Mary as representing the Church. Just as Jesus came to the wedding party through Mary, Jesus often comes to us through Mary and through our Church community. The Church and our Church community help bring us closer to the fullness of life in our faith. Mary's role in the Gospel today is a symbol of that.
So, as we get return to the rhythm of Ordinary Time in our liturgical calendar, as we are continuously fed by the Eucharist and continue our journey of faith, let us see our life of faith as a gift from God that will be continuously transformed into the finest wine, just as the water was transformed by Jesus into the finest wine at the Wedding at Cana.