In the name of God the Father, Christ Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God. Amen
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus
Today, the Indian Orthodox Church and her children begin our spiritual journey towards the cross on Calvary, where our Master was crucified for our sakes and redeemed us and on the third day rose again defeating death. We undertake this journey through the Great Lent. As we begin this journey, on this Sunday we begin with a feast where Jesus had gathered along with His disciples and began His public ministry. He began His ministry by performing a miracle, which is only mentioned in the Gospel of St. John – a miracle of transforming the water into wine.
We all are well aware of the story where, Jesus and His mother along with His disciples were invited to a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. We see in this Gospel account that a social faux de pas being averted through the intercession of Mother Mary, when she became aware that the hosts of the wedding had ran out of wine for the guests, while the celebration was well underway. And we also see how Jesus, through the intercessions of His mother, transformed 6 stone jars or 180 gallons of water into 180 gallons of wine.
I would like to share with you all some thoughts that have been with me for quite some time.
A Call for becoming one with God
A marriage as a sacrament symbolizes the union between two individuals, who are brought together in the presence of God. This union is not wrought by man but it has been wrought together by God through His divine will and intervention. Through marriage, two different individuals having differing personalities have been brought together to become one family unit, supplementing and complementing each other. In the sacrament of marriage, a man and a woman are given the possibility to become one spirit and one flesh in a way which no human love can provide by itself.
The Christian marriage symbolizes the love that God has for man, for it is only through the love that He had for man was He able to realize that man shouldn’t be left alone and a partner was created for the first man, Adam in the form of Eve in the garden of Eden. Also, the Christian marriage symbolizes the union between Christ and His bride, the Church. Just as marriage calls for the man and woman to come together and become one, and calls for physical, mental and spiritual upliftment of each other through a constant communion with each other, Christ through His love and sacrifice for mankind calls us to become one with Him and be in constant communion with Him.
For it is only through the union with Christ that man can become complete and achieve the status of divine and be called the ‘sons and daughters of the living God’. The various parallels between this event and the Resurrection account in St. John 20:1-18 tells us that the marriage between Jesus and the Church will be fulfilled through His Resurrection.
And as our Lord Jesus Christ attended this wedding celebration, His presence shows us that God both sanctifies marriage, and is present in our own marriages and families, and also that he sanctifies the celebrations of human life, and rejoices when we rejoice in Godly and happy occasions such as these.
A Call to intercede for others
When we look at the account of this miracle, we are able to understand that it was the presence and intercession of Mother Mary that acted as the catalyst in Jesus performing His first miracle and thus publicly begin His ministry. The actions and words of the blessed Theotokos is an example for us all of what it means to be a Christian, since she is the human being who has been most closely united with God, which is what the Christian life really means.
A wedding feast is underway and there are many guests who are there, participating in the festivities. The occasion is the coming together of two individuals but the center of attention for many is something else, it may be the latest fashionable clothes everyone is wearing or the adornments worn by the women in the feast, it may be the latest success in business venture the men would have gained or the new house or the new field they have purchased, it may also be the food and wine that is served for all, especially the wine to drink away their sorrows and worries and be glad once in a while.
During such a feast, it would be a social disgrace for the hosts to run out of wine and it would be a disgrace to the newlyweds, who are just beginning a life together. The guests would complain a lot, if they found that the wine had ran out and the celebrations would come to a halt abruptly. The disgrace would be so great that the day would haunt the hosts for a long time. So they have made their proper calculations and budgeted everything. They hope that there won’t be any shortcomings. But when the wine starts running out, the servants are the first ones who notice something is amiss. They begin their worried whispers among the fellow servants. But who cares for the whispers of the servants?
But it was Mother Mary, who was a guest at the celebration, who noticed that there was a problem. She heard the whispered concerns of the servants and the host of the wedding. She does not know how to help her friends out. But, I think, she anticipating her later role as the intercessor on our behalf, begins the role of intercession by taking the things she heard to her son, our Lord Jesus, and she said first of all – “They have no wine.” But this was not the time or the place where Jesus had planned to begin his ministry and his teaching about the Kingdom of God, and so he replies to her –
Woman, what has this got to do with me? My time has not yet come.
Even after hearing this seemingly rude and dismissive comment from her Son, she still intervenes and tells the servants to obey to whatever Jesus tells them to do. Even though Jesus Christ did not plan to do any miracles yet, even though it was not the time for Him to begin His ministry, yet His mother, the Virgin Mary, was sure that because she had asked, He would act.
We can apply this to ourselves as followers of Christ. We as Christians, living in this secular world are surrounded by many people and we partake of the celebrations of everyone who are near and dear to us. We are called not only to share in the times of gladness of others, but are called to partake in the pains and sufferings of those around us. If we are called for such, where do we find ourselves if we were called to that wedding feast in Cana? I am sure, we would be among the many who would be complaining about the shortage but not be involved in solving the burden on the hosts.
We as Christians are meant to be Christ to those around us and carry Christ amidst us through all occasions and seasons. When we find someone in any sort of trouble, we are to help them to the utmost possible, but also intercede for them to Christ Jesus. We also must have faith that Christ will answer our prayers, just as Mary had faith in her Son. And if He will act then we must be obedient.
If we pray for the needs of some friend or family member, and we ask the Virgin Mary to pray with us, are we willing to do whatever Jesus Christ asks of us to meet the needs of those we are praying for? If we are praying for guidance, are we willing to be obedient when Jesus Christ gives us direction, in answer to our prayers and those of the Virgin Mary?
A Call to transformation through grace
When we look at this Gospel account, we all remember that Jesus transformed the water into wine. But take a closer look at the account. The account states that six stone water-pots were filled with water. Elsewhere in the Gospel of John, “stones” are used to close the tombs after the burial of the dead. As Jesus brings wine from stone pots, so He later brings forth life from the grave, Lazarus’s (11:38-39, 41) and His own (20:1). Thus, the first of His sign foreshadows the last:
The wine of Cana is already the wine of Easter.
Also the water used was special water and was used solely for the ritual cleansing. By turning that water to wine, Jesus reveals that he comes to transform the old order, with its purity rules, into a new order of joyful celebration – to the once-for-all washing of baptism in the new covenant (Rom. 6:3–5; Titus 3:5–6). This is Jesus’ way of saying, “You won’t be needing that anymore, for the new wine of the new covenant is here” (cf. Mark 2:22).
Throughout the Scriptures, wine is symbolic of God’s grace and our resultant joy (cf. Deut. 7:1-13; Jer. 31:5-12; Isa. 25:6-9; Joel 3:18). Unlike water, wine is not necessary for life. Its superfluity is a picture of God’s superabundant grace.
Yet, the greatest problem that man faces under the sun is the fleeting pleasure in our idolatrous attempts to enjoy God’s gifts “apart from him” (Eccl. 2:25). This approach to life is a futile quest doomed to dissatisfaction. It is an attempt to get from God’s world what can only be found in God Himself (Rom. 1:21–25). It is a wine glass too soon empty. It is a party that runs out of joy (John 2:3).
But we find that Jesus, not following the ways of the world, does not water down the gifts of God, but makes available the very best wine in abundance, and to everyone who thirsts, without asking anything in return (Isa. 55:1–2). Let us marvel at the generosity of Jesus’ provision, seen in the conversion of six full containers of “twenty to thirty gallons each” (John 2:6). That volume of 120 to 180 gallons is the equivalent of 605 to 908 standard-sized bottles of wine today, a perfect picture of the benevolence of God:
“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16).
God has indeed prepared a table for us, and the cup set on it overflows. (cf. Ps. 23:5)
Finally, let us notice when Jesus performs His first miraculous sign: “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee” (John 2:1)
A close reading of the whole Bible suggests that it takes neither allegory nor numerology to see the significance of this detail. For the “third day” in the biblical world is frequently one of new birth and transitions from old to new. It is on the third day when Abraham sees the place where the Lord provides (Gen. 22:4–8), the third day when God meets His people at Sinai (Ex. 19), the third day when the Lord revives His fallen people (Hos. 6), and the third day when Jonah’s life is brought up from the pit (Jonah 2:3–6; Matt. 12:40). It is even on the third day of creation when the plants that make wine possible were first brought forth from the earth (Gen. 1:11–13).
Thus, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, as we prepare ourselves to meet our Savior on the Cross on Calvary to be resurrected with Him on the third day, the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee is a calling to us become one with Him through our baptismal death and through this oneness with Him be transformed by grace to the wine bestowed by the benevolence of God and being transformed by Him, we are called to intercede for the whole creation, for everything and everyone in this creation has been created out of His love for all.
May the intercessions of our beloved Theotokos and all the saints be a stronghold for our faith as we walk this blessed Lent. Let us intercede for this whole world which is undergoing the suffering from the Covid 19 pandemic.
Christ have mercy.
Your brother in Christ Jesus
Jobin George
Sources:
- Homily for the Wedding of Cana – St George Orthodox Ministry (stgeorgeministry.com)
- It happened in Cana of Galilee – Orthodox Church in America (oca.org)
- Sermon about the wedding in Cana, water into wine (thisischurch.com)
- Why Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine? | Tabletalk (tabletalkmagazine.com)
- Epiphany at Cana | Peter J. Leithart | First Things
