The Wedding at Cana

01-16-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

The Gospel of the wedding at Cana shows how John the Evangelist could present the earthly dimension and reveal its divine mystery. His narrative is what the theologian Henri de Lubac describes as the spiritual interpretation of Scriptures: “The spiritual meaning is, then, found in all sides, not only or especially in a book, but first and foremost in reality itself.” Divine mysteries and realities are present in and revealed in the ordinary events of salvation history.

To understand the theological implication of the event at Cana, we go back to Jewish Shavuot, or Pentecost, commemorating the giving of the Torah and the covenant at Mt. Sinai. When the Lord offers a covenant relationship to Israel after bringing them out of Egypt, the people responded: Everything the Lord has said, we will do. (Ex. 19:8)

The Sinai Covenant is similar to marriage between God and His redeemed people. In the 1st reading, the prophet Isaiah uses the analogy of marriage to reveal the love of God for His people. At times we feel that God abandons us, like a jilted lover, but in truth, He has not abandoned us and will never abandon us. “As the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall God rejoice in you.” Christian marriage symbolizes the same model where the groom is Jesus Christ, and the bride is the Church. The bridegroom claims His bride, the Church; Christ washes away the sins of the Church in the waters of Jordan.

The presence of Mary at the wedding is not coincidental because she shows us a way to deal with a possible crisis. In the Gospel, she knows a source for choice wine that does not run out. In this scene, Jesus for sure knows the intervention of His mother. Jesus did not know that - the time has come to reveal Himself. But seeing the will of the Father unfolding at that very moment, He realized that the wedding feast is the best occasion to manifest the great love of God. Like the response of the Jews in their Shavuot Feast: Everything the Lord has said, we will do. – Mary: Do whatever He tells you.

Jesus offers us the new wine, the choice wine; it is the life with Him. It is a life filled with the Holy Spirit which we have received. A spirit poured on us at the new Pentecost. Whereas the old Pentecost is a life faithful to the law, the new Pentecost is faithfulness to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the new covenant. The Lord fills us with many gifts of the spirit. Jesus wants us to rejoice always in the new life He shares with us. For a disciple, to be a faithful bride means heeding the wisdom of Mary: Do whatever He tells you. Mama Mary, please awaken my heart to the words of your Son, Jesus.