January 20, 2019: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading: John 2: 1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from — although the servers who had drawn the water knew — the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

Reflection:

As we once again enter Ordinary Time, having closed the Christmas Season with the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord, we pause to reflect on this Gospel passage known to us as the Wedding Feast at Cana. Jesus again is revealed to us in his glory, this time through a “sign.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, a wedding feast is a sign of God’s love for God’s people and wine is seen as a symbol for abundant joy, love and celebration.

Jesus’ appearance and action at this wedding invite us to consider that his presence reveals his concern for us in our everyday events, needs and problems and, in our celebrations. Something ordinary is transformed into something wonderful when we turn to him. The emptiness (of the wine jars) is replaced by abundance (of quality wine). Our lives in Christ are meant to overflow with God’s love.

Action:

The newly-called disciples “began to believe in Him” as a result of witnessing this “sign.” Perhaps each day in prayer, conscious of the “signs” God works in our lives, we can reflect on how we came to believe in Jesus and how we can continue to grow in this faith in him.