Going from Water to Wine

2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 62, 1-5 / 1Cor 12, 4-11 / John 2, 1-11

If you heard me begin a story with “Once upon a time”, you’d know that what follows is a fairytale.  You’d know how to understand and interpret the following story.  You’d know that a “once upon a time”-story should not be heard or read as something you might come across in the Charlotte Observer – at least, we hope not!

John begins his story of the wedding feast at Cana with the words:  “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee…”  It was on the third day that Jesus rose from the dead.  With these words John is sending us a signal.  He is telling us he wants the story of the wedding feast to help us to get to know Jesus, the Risen Lord.  After all, he is the only Jesus we have.  Jesus – the Risen Lord – is the only Jesus we can love and follow.

The action in the story centers around water becoming wine.  Somehow Jesus turns water into wine.  But Jesus works signs and miracles – not tricks – not magic.  What John wants us to understand is that somehow Jesus, our living Risen Lord, turns our water – our ordinary lives – into his wine – his abundant life and love.  We will come to know the Risen Lord as we come to know ourselves being transformed – being changed from our water to his wine.  We will come to have our own “third day” resurrection experience of Jesus when we begin to sense ourselves being called and empowered to a love that does not measure itself out but simply gives itself, pours itself out.

At the wedding feast the amount of water become wine is incredibly abundant – 125 gallons of wine.  That’s a lot of wine!  The point is that we come to know the Risen Lord in the generous, great-hearted love we grow into having for one another.  Our lives and our loves become un-measured – poured out for others – just as we will recall Jesus doing in this Eucharist:  the chalice of my blood… poured out for you and for many.

To be honest, I think that we as individuals and as a church find Jesus’ extravagance difficult to take – even embarrassing.  We prefer to do the sensible thing.  We prefer to measure life and love very neatly.  I think we measure our lives, our loves, ourselves much too much.  And when you think about it, people who treat life like accountants aren’t exactly the kind of people you want to have at your wedding feast.  As you’re eating the wedding cake, the question: “How much did it cost?” just does not fit.

Let us learn to stop counting and calculating our own love and the love others have.  If we don’t, we only shrivel ourselves and stifle God’s Spirit within us.  Let’s join the wedding feast.  Let’s learn to marvel at – not measure – our love.  It’s the Lord’s swelling presence within us and among us.  Then we will recognize the signs and miracles Jesus continues to work among us – signs of his real, risen presence.  Then we will see his glory and we will begin to grow in faith.

Fr. Pat Earl, SJ