The Wedding Feast of Cana

2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (C); January 19, 2025

Is 62:1-5.  Ps 96.  1 Cor 12:4-11.  Jn 2:1-11

Deacon Jim McFadden

            The Gospel recounts the familiar episode of the Wedding Feast of Cana, where Jesus transforms water into wine.  At first blush, we quickly  jump to the conclusion that this marks the first of many miracles that Jesus will perform.  But John the evangelist doesn’t couch it that way as the Gospel ends: “Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him” (Jn 2:11).  So, the event was not so much   a miracle but a sign: what does that mean according to the Gospel?

            A sign is a clue that reveals God’s love, which is not so much concerned about the power behind the action, but the love that caused it to happen.  Keep in mind that St. Paul compared the relationship between Jesus and his Church as that of a bridegroom and his bride (cf. Ephesians 5:22-23).  What that means is that God loves us so much that he wants to be married to each and everyone of us: “The two shall become one” (Genesis 2:24; John 17:21).  Amazing!

            So, this story at Cana teaches us something about God’s love that is always near, tender, compassionate.  The sign took place when a couple faced a difficulty in the most important day of their lives.  Right in the middle of the wedding feast, the wine is going dry, and they run the risk of social embarrassment, incurring the criticism and dissatisfaction of the guests.  The on-line drama, The Chosen, depicts  this dampening gloom in a very poignant dramatization.   

            Our Blessed Lady is aware of the situation and she discreetly brings the problem to her Son’s attention.  And, after a brief conversation, he does intervene without any kind of fanfare, but discreetly behind the scene, almost without being noticed.  Jesus simply told the attendants to fill the jars with water, which became wine.  That’s it!  This is how God acts then and now: with closeness to the situation and discretion.  The disciples saw what had happened and after they went down to Capernaum, I think they understood the way Jesus acted: the way he served in hiddenness. 

            This is how Jesus acts in our lives.  He serves us in hiddenness, in this moment discreetly, so much so that the bridegroom was congratulated by the guests for serving the best wine last!  No one noticed, only the servants.  This is how the seed of faith began to be developed within them—that is, they believed that God, God’s love was fully present in Jesus.

            So, it is with us.  As we reflect upon the Wedding Feast of Cana, let us try to go back through our memories, creating a life-graph of sorts, looking for signs that the Lord has accomplished in our lives.  Let us ask ourselves: what are the signs the Lord has accomplished in my life?  What are the hints of his presence as we draw  closer to him?  What are the signs that show just how much Jesus loves us?  Let us think not only of the peak, mountain top experiences, but the low, valley moments when life really got difficult, problematic, and chaotic.  In those moments, how did God let me experience his love?  …And let us ask ourselves:  with which discreet and loving signs did he let me feel his tenderness.  When did I feel the Lord nearer?  When have I felt his tenderness and compassion?

 Brothers and sisters, each one of us have these moments in our personal history, we just have to go back and search for them, to remember them, to cherish them which underscores that right here and right now I am being unconditionally and tenderly loved by God.  When we discover his closeness, great joy will enflame our heart because joy is the most infallible sign of God’s presence (cf. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin). 

            Let us relive these moments in which we experience his presence and Mary’s intercession.  May she, our Mother who is always attentive just as she was at Cana, help us to treasure the signs of God’s presence in our lives.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. In the Wedding Feast of Cana,  God acts with closeness to the situation and discretion.  Has this been your experience?
2. Jesus acts with hiddenness in our lives?  How do you process that?
3. As Teilhard de Chardin said, “joy is the most infallible sign of God’s presence.”  Are you a joyful person?  Why or why not?