A Wedding in Cana and the Theophany of Jesus
A homily for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 62:1-5
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
John 2:1-12
The feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, which we celebrated on the liturgical calendar a couple of weeks ago, is a feast day that is said to have a “triple meaning,” that is to say that there are three major mysteries of Christ's life that are celebrated or commemorated as part of the feast of the Epiphany. Those three events are the coming of the wise men, which is the event that people seem most to associate with that feast, but also the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan, along with our Lord turning water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. The reality of this triple meaning is often reflected in the antiphons for the Liturgy of the Hours for Epiphany, which mention all of these mysteries of Christ’s life in the course of the day. However, the Church in her wisdom has chosen to give the other two events which are part of the celebration of the Lord's Epiphany-or revelation of Himself- their own special days on the liturgical calendar. Today is when the Church remembers the day that Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana.
This event is significant because it was a kind of “theophany,” or revelation of God. It was a revelation of who God is and his purpose for this world and in this world, and through this miracle it was the first revelation in Jesus' public Ministry of the truth and the reality that Jesus is God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Indeed, we find a very real awareness from Jesus of what was going to transpire if he did what his mother was asking, people were going to see this miracle, and a few would understand, most all of them would be amazed. The majority of the people present there would not fully understand the gravity of what it is they would witness that day. Jesus’ Divinity and power and Glory were on display quite literally for the first time, and it would be the first of many times in his public Ministry. Our Lord was impressing by his statement to his mother the reality that once he began to do the things that he was fully capable of-once he began his public Ministry in its fullness-there would be no going back. Yes, this was the beginning of Jesus’ public Ministry, but it was also the start of a journey, the end of which Our Lord knew was the Cross.
Mary was fully aware of who her Son was and is. Despite the words of Mark Lowry’s beautiful and popular Christmas song, Mary did know. In her complete humanity, she could not have been aware of everything that Jesus would do at that point in his life or her own, but by now, having raised this fully functioning adult, and completely aware of who his Father really was, Mary understood exactly what Jesus was capable of, and so she could easily have the faith to tell the stewards at the wedding feast “do whatever he tells you.”
In addition to seeing the Glory and power of Our Lord on display in the wedding at Cana when he turned water into wine, we can also see in the account of this event a glimpse of the real humanity of Jesus. In this small portion of Our Lord's life in today's Gospel, we see that Our Lord enjoyed and embraced normal human activity, and not only that, but that just as the rest of us, he enjoyed family and friends and a social life. We don't know who was being married that day. We do know that in those days Jewish wedding feasts could sometimes last multiple days and there is little reason to believe that this one would have been much different. The family likely purchased the amount of wine they could afford, not anticipating that it would run out. Jesus and his disciples were most likely there in a social capacity, these would have been friends of the family, or the bride or groom would have been someone they would have been familiar with. It is quite clear from the words of Jesus to Mary that his intent was to be a guest at the wedding just like the other guests, and to bring his disciples along also as guests. Jesus knew what he would be asked to do that day, but it's fair to say he would not want to have detracted from the attention given to the bride and groom and their families on such a special occasion. Jesus knew that once he did this thing and turned water into wine, yes, he would be doing a great favor to his friends. He would also be manifesting his power and Glory. However, he also knew that word would spread about what he had done, and the feast would become more about Him than it became about the bride and groom that day.
Despite these realities, Jesus performed the first of his miracles that day anyway. He did so because he was requested to by his mother. Not only is this testimony to the powerful influence of Our Lady in the life of Jesus, but it is a testament to the reality of the intercessory power of Mary with Our Lord. She was interceding that day on behalf of the bride and groom and the guests, just as she can intercede for us to Our Lord. Jesus' words would seem to indicate to us that left merely to his own devices,he might not have been inclined to perform any sign at all that day. After all, what is it to him if the hosts run out of wine? Yet Jesus listened to his Mother, who knew and understood the power of Our Lord. Mary knew not only who Jesus was and is, she knew both in faith and fact at the time what it was Jesus could do. Mary believed in faith that this was a problem Jesus could address, and that in the end, he would be willing and able to do so. Jesus demonstrates the power of his mother's intercession precisely by demonstrating his willingness to listen to her. So it is for us in our own prayers, Mary points the way to Jesus in prayer, she does not and cannot distract from our relationship with him. Knowing Our Lady can only make our relationship with the Lord Jesus a deeper one.
There is another reality being demonstrated here in the actions of Jesus and his willingness to perform a miracle for the family and friends of the bride and groom. Jesus' presence at the wedding feast of Cana demonstrates the importance of marriage as a Divine institution, one that comes from God, and in the Church's traditional theology, both the presence of Our Lord and His disciples (the earliest leaders of His Church) and the miracle which Jesus carried out that day of turning water into wine made marriage holy in a particular way, and in doing this Jesus made marriage a Sacrament.
That historical reality has always been the Church's understanding of the origin of Matrimony as a Sacrament. The presence of Our Lord at the wedding of Cana made Matrimony something beyond a mere natural estate that God recognized as necessary for the perpetuation of the Human family from the beginning of Creation. The Church understands a Sacrament to be something that is an outward and visible sign which has been instituted by Christ himself to confer Grace on those who receive it. More than merely performing a miracle, Jesus sacralized marriage, he made it especially holy beyond what the world had previously viewed it, and in doing so he raised the standard of what Matrimony means for those who follow Him.
At Cana Jesus showed his disciples and us the power of his mother's intercession, the manifestation of his Glory and who he is, the meaning of family, and the importance and the holiness of married life.