There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
Today's Gospel is often read on a Sunday as it signals the beginning of Jesus's ministry. Because of our complex calendar, which is based on seven-day weeks and a year of 365.24 days, this comical, evocative story has been relegated to a Saturday this year. But the Church often likes to honor Mary on Saturday, and so we can notice her cameo appearance at Cana.
But wait, it's more than a cameo. She was "there" and her son with his disciples were "also invited." In fact, she initiated Jesus' intervention when she told him, "They have no wine." And she charged the servants of someone else's house to "Do whatever he tells you."
We'll not hear again in Saint John's Gospel about the "mother of Jesus" until he is crucified. But we can hardly ignore the significance of these two moments and her vital presence at the beginning of his ministry and at its fulfillment. Not its end but its fulfillment.
First, she is the invited guest and her son is with her. Just as she gave birth to the Savior she now ushers him into a world that is crying for deliverance. Though there is ample water, it is not satisfying. Yes, it lubricates the food as we chew, swallow, and digest it, but it does nothing for the spirit. There's not much taste in water, it fails to uplift. And they've run short of wine.
In my experience, when someone throws a party, they provide a superabundance of everything. There are preprandials, appetizers, salads, entrees, sides, desserts, and drinks of every sort from aperitifs before and water, wine, coffee, (regular or decaf), during; and afterward, digestifs, beer, liquors, and the hard stuff. They don't run out! In Louisiana, I never attended a meal or party without taking a plate home. And when I couldn't be there, they'd send one to the rectory! Plenty is the word!
But there is not plenty in Cana. Something is seriously wrong and the Mother of Jesus acts -- even before the headwaiter knows about it.
Something is seriously wrong in our world and this Jewish woman takes charge. First, she engages her Son, and then she directs us, "Do whatever he tells you." We will not hear her speak again but her work is not finished.
It is fulfilled when we take her into our homes. Jesus has died and we take her home because she gave him flesh. We hold her in our arms as we have held her son. Their work is neither finished nor fulfilled unless we take them to our homes.
When the water gushed from the lanced side of Jesus, the Church was born of his baptismal water. The unnamed disciple and the nameless mother were joined by the blood and water and spirit of Jesus. They are his body now, and his body, stretched like a cross, knows no limits as he embraces the universe and all its creatures.
We have only to obey their commands: "Do whatever he tells you!" and "Behold your mother."
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.