January 16th 2022.  Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL John 2:1-11

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

 

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GOSPEL John 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine’. Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said; ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now’.

This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Each one of us is called to live in a spousal way, whether we are married or single. However, this existence can sometimes become monotonous or stale. What can be done when this happens?

The miracle performed at Cana is the first sign of the salvation Jesus offers to humanity. This Gospel is read to us after the celebrations of Christmas, the Maternity of Mary, the Epiphany and the Baptism of Christ. Now, after contemplating these mysteries, we turn to consider how they impinge on our lives. The theme of the wedding feast is an essential one because – regardless of the particular mission one might have - humanity is called to live in a spousal way (self-giving, unitive). However, some married people live as if they were still single, whereas some consecrated people live spousally, giving themselves in service to the Lord and others. Each one of us, regardless of our state in life, is called to live this kind of self-giving, to enter into this wedding feast. At Cana, however, the wedding feast takes a bad turn. They run out of wine. This recalls the moments in all of our lives when things become insipid, monotonous, dry and stale. We accept a mission, but later give in to the temptation of banalizing everything. This loss of the sense of the extraordinary can happen in marriage, ecclesial life and in many different areas.

 

2. We need the intercession of Mary! To have the beauty of our lives restored, we must respond with obedience to Christ, even in the little things.

When this happens what can we do? The intercession of the Blessed Virgin can obtain that which seems to be not forthcoming. In the dialogue of Cana between Christ and his mother there is something very profound, though obscured by difficulties in translation. What begins here will be completed at the foot of the cross. The sign Jesus performs is a little peculiar. In fact, he does nothing himself. The fulcrum of the event is in the words Mary expresses: “Do whatever he tells you”. This, effectively, is the same sentiment Mary expresses at the Annunciation. She gives us the key to resolving our insipidness. To have our beauty restored, we must learn to do what the Lord says. In Cana, obedience to God’s word involves the urns used for purification rites. These urns were lying empty which indicates that the family was not using them for the purifications prescribed by the Law. Great errors do not happen in isolation. When one begins to neglect our relationship with the Lord in small things then we risk falling into deeper infidelity. Jesus is directing the family to begin with these urns which had not been used for their proper task of purification. With Jesus, we return to obeying the little things well, and then the wine of greatness begins to flow! Sometimes when a disaster occurs, we do not see the small things that led to this situation.

 

3. When we allow God to have the reins in our lives, then he will achieve a transformation. The cross will be turned into the road to salvation.

The servants do as Jesus asks them, even though it seems totally incongruent! They take water in urns that were normally used for purification to be tested by the head waiter. He testifies that the wine is of an altogether different quality. Indeed, we have entered into something completely new here, something that humanity could never have achieved. God can change the nature of things. He transforms water into wine, a human being into the child of God, the cross into a road to salvation. This, the first of his great signs, is achieved by Jesus doing nothing. The servants carry out his word. When we fill with water the urns of purification, we will see the transformation that he can achieve. What matters is that we no longer do things as everyone else does them, but according to the initiative of God. This Gospel encourages us to see in Christ a completely new quality of things.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

The Gospel recounts the story of the wine running out at the wedding feast of Cana. A marriage feast is an image of the best of relationships, and is often used to symbolize the joy of a proper relationship with God. But the fact is that, sooner or later, the wine runs out in all human relationships! All relationships eventually encounter crises, but a crisis doesn’t mean that the relationship should be broken off or abandoned! A crisis is an opportunity to begin relying on God. Only the Lord can be the basis of a bond that is good and permanent. The crisis is an opportunity to lift the relationship onto a higher level. In the Gospel, when the wine runs out, what does Our Lady do? She turns to Jesus and instructs everyone to do as he says. When crisis comes in life then we must stop relying on our own strategies. Instead we must abandon ourselves in obedience into the hands of Jesus. When we abandon ourselves to him in obedience, then the wine begins to flow! Then we begin to live joyful and productive lives!