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On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
- John 2:1-12
In our previous reading, we read about the "fourth day" of Jesus' ministry, as included in John's Gospel. On this day, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. This wedding, my study bible points out, is the setting for the first of seven signs which are performed by Jesus in the Gospel of John. It tells us, "John uses the term signs to show that these miraculous actions point beyond themselves to the truth that the Kingdom of God has come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ." The setting of this wedding is significant, as in the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God with His Bride, Israel. Here Jesus' ministry begins in Galilee which had a large Gentile population. We recall Nathanael's disparaging question about Nazareth (of Galilee) in Saturday's reading, above -- and the fact that so many of Jesus' earliest disciples are also Galileans. My study bible calls this Galilean beginning a sign of the spread of the gospel to all the world. The "third day" means it's now two days after the previous one reported -- but it also sets a "Resurrectional" tone. My study bible says it shows that the marriage of God and His Church will be fulfilled in Christ's Resurrection. It also notes that other parallels between this marriage at Cana and the Resurrection account in 20:1-18 are that "both involve a woman named Mary who makes an appeal, and in both passages the disciples are invited to witness the event." My study bible also notes that John's Resurrection account (20:11-18) has a striking similarity to Song of Solomon 3:1-5, again showing the unity between marriage and our Lord's Resurrection. Jesus' presence at this wedding gives a blessing to the institution of marriage itself, showing it to be "holy and honorable" (Hebrews 13:4), says my study bible. This event occurs on the "sixth day" according to John's Gospel (we began with John the Baptist's testimony), which corresponds to the sixth day of Creation in Genesis, in which God created man and woman (see Genesis 1:26-31).
And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." My study bible says that this is an example of Mary's gift of intercession. It explains, "Even now, Mary continually speaks to her Son on our behalf and is our preeminent intercessor before His Throne." It adds that her capacity as intercessor is confirmed as Jesus grants her request here. And there is another aspect to this passage: wine is symbolic of life, so that gives two levels of meaning to Mary's statement that they have no wine. My study bible suggests they are: (1) that a marriage is not complete without the presence of Christ; and (2) that the old covenant was unable to bestow life even on the most faithful people. A note also explains that, contrary to certain modern usage, Woman is a sacred title in Scripture, an address conveying deep respect and distinction. Jesus' question to Mary here is more literally read, "What is that to Me and to you?" Jesus' response suggests that it's not yet His time to be revealed as Christ. That her request is fulfilled, however, teaches several things according to my study bible: (1) that Christ is Lord over hours and seasons and is not subject to them (after all, turning water to wine normally involves a process of time); (2) that the wedding party needed to be aware of their lack of wine first so that they might learn that it is Christ who fulfills all needs; (3) that we need to have perseverance in our petitions before God (Matthew 15:21-28); and (4) that the intercessions of the righteous have great power (James 5:16).
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. The waterpots were made of stone because stone would not contract ritual impurity, according to rabbinical teaching. The number six is significant, says my study bible. It's one less than the perfect seven, and "indicates that the Law, illustrated by water being reserved for Jewish purification, was incomplete, imperfect, and unable to bestow life." The water changed into wine is symbolic of the old covenant being fulfilled in the new, which is capable of bestowing life. The overabundant (filled to the brim) gallons of wine illustrate the overflowing grace Christ grants to all.
When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. My study bible tells us that the Fathers see this transformation as prefiguring the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
What are we to make of the insistence of Jesus' mother, Mary, at this occasion Let's remember this is the first sign John's Gospel gives us. Although Jesus has chosen disciples, and is now known publicly as a teacher, His word to His mother is discouraging! "My hour has not yet come" is clearly meant to tell her that it's not His time for revelation. But her confidence, her faith, is something else. She clearly knows about His mission, His identity. If not in the fullness of all that the promise of Gabriel to her meant at the Annunciation, this woman is closely identified with her Son, clearly a part of this ministry. We can see that they all travel together as sort of a great family -- He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples -- to Capernaum after the wedding. And of course this is not the only time an insistent woman will somehow "persuade" Jesus (if we can really use that word) to do something revelatory against what would seem to be His reservations to the contrary. We can, in some sense, parallel this with His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-42, after she asks Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Again, another parallel with that scene is the abundance of the "living" water Jesus teaches her about, like the water that fills these waterpots turned to the symbol of life, the wine. Indeed, we can make the case for insistent women all throughout the Gospels in so many events! (See, for example, the woman who touched His hem, the Syro-Phoenician woman, and of course Jesus' relationship with the sisters of Lazarus, which we will read about when John gives us the seventh and greatest sign in his Gospel, the raising of Lazarus). All of this is to say we go back to this key relationship to the woman who gave birth to Christ, the one who serves as "chief intercessor" to so many faithful. In this text, written by the disciple whom Jesus would call upon to care for His mother after His death (John 19:26), we're given hints about her relationship to her Son, her privileged position of understanding His identity long before anyone else did, and sharing the mystery of His life. Her faith in Him is complete confidence, but the Church reads her prompting here as intercession on behalf of those who have no wine. One simply has to wonder what kind of woman it would take to be mother to Jesus, who could love and bear Him into the world, be faithful throughout His ministry, and through the hardships to come? She is the saint who prays for all of us, whose compassion and understanding has been testified to throughout the history of the Church and those who call upon her as saint to pray for them as well. But let us remember her confidence, and most of all her loving Son who accepts her request on behalf of everyone at this wedding feast.
