The Wedding at Cana

Today's Reflections

January 7, 2012

St. Raymond of Peñafort, priest
(OptM) WHITE
Saturday before Epiphany
WHITE

1 Jn 5:14-21
Ps 149
Jn 2:1-11

The Wedding at Cana

There was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. ³When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴[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.” ⁵Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. ⁸Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. ⁹And 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 ¹⁰and 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.” ¹¹Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

Reflection:

Do whatever he tells you. Turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, Jesus works the first of his signs. Aside from proclaiming his power, the miracle gives us a glimpse into the relationship between Jesus and his mother Mary.

The fourth commandment asks, “Honor your father and your mother.” Good children want their parents to be happy. They strive to satisfy their parents’ wishes and bring them honor and praise. Jesus presents himself as a dutiful and responsible son. He listens to Mary and obeys her. He heeds her appeal on behalf of the newly-married couple, to save them from embarrassment.

Mary, in turn, trusts her Son Jesus. She instructs the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”

With Mary’s intercession, let us present our requests and petitions to Jesus with complete trust. And let us do whatever her Son tells us.

My prayers will be motivated by love. My requests will be made respectfully. I will serve my brothers and sisters in Christ to the best of my ability.