Today Jesus reveals His divinity at the miracle at Cana. It was Mary who noticed that the wine had run short at the wedding: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Jesus replied: “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). Jesus’s hour came later at the Last Supper, where He turned bread and wine into His Body and Blood: “Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father” (Jn 13:1). He indicated that it was not yet time for Him to offer Himself. Nevertheless, He turned the water in the six stone jars into wine. We’re talking about an amazing amount of wine. Each jar held 20 to 30 gallons of water: that’s 600 to 900 bottles of the finest wine the world has ever known. The question is, why so much?
The answer is abundance. Jesus doesn’t just make enough so-so wine so the bride and groom can serve their guests; He gives them the choicest wine to last for years. Mary sees the need of the couple and speaks up for them. She trusts that Jesus will provide and confidently tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). Mary is both our intercessor and model for prayer. God wants to bless us abundantly; all we need to do is come to Him in prayer and ask Him to provide us with what we’re lacking in our lives, be it love, energy, joy, purpose, or whatever else we’re running short of.
Finally, it’s not a coincidence that Jesus performed this sign at a wedding. Marriage is a symbol of covenant love between God and His people. When His hour arrived, Jesus turned wine into the “blood of the new covenant” (Mk 14:24) out of His amazing, overflowing love for us. That wine became the shed Blood of our Savior.
Dear Jesus, please provide me with what I am lacking. Help me to accept your providence and lavish love.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
ISAIAH 62:1-5
PSALM 96
1CORINTHIANS 12:4-11
JOHN 2:1-11