2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C. Jan. 19, 2025
Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11
Theme:
“Do Whatever He Tells You”
Liturgical Context
The early Church identified three specific
events that reveal Jesus’ divine nature. The modern Lectionary and liturgical
calendar maintain them together in three liturgies. The first liturgy is the
visit of the Magi in the feast of the Epiphany that we commemorated on January
5th. The second is the Baptism of the Lord that we celebrated last
Sunday. The third liturgy is the Sunday that follows the Baptism of the Lord (the
second Sunday in Ordinary Time), which always has either a Gospel passage of
the Wedding at Cana (Jn 2: 1-11) for the Liturgical Calendar Year C, or John
the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus, the section that comes right before the
Wedding at Cana (John 1:29-42). The first part of this passage (Jn 1:29-34) is
read in the Liturgical Calendar year A, and the other part (Jn 1:35-42) is proclaimed
in the Liturgical Calendar Year B. Since we are in the Liturgical Calendar Year
C, today's Gospel passage is the story of the Wedding at Cana. The scripture
readings of this Sunday reveal how God transforms us. In the first reading, God
promised to transform the Israelites from “forsaken” to “My Delight” and their
land from “desolate” to “Espoused.” The gifts of the Holy Spirit that Saint
Paul talks about in the second reading transform each of us differently and
enable us to serve the same Lord. In the Gospel, Jesus transforms water into
wine at the wedding at Cana. This “sign” (miracle) transforms the bridegroom’s
embarrassment into confidence, people’s sadness into joy, and the disciples’
absence of faith into the beginning of faith. This sign also reveals Jesus’ glory.
Historical and Literary Contexts
Our Gospel story is the first of seven
signs in John’s Gospel. The story of the First Disciples (1:35-51) precedes our
text, and that of the Cleansing of the Temple (2:13-25) follows it. The context
is the revelation of Jesus as Messiah.
Form, Structure, and Movement
Our text is a narrative account with
symbolism. Vv. 1-2 can be considered an introduction, and v. 11 a conclusion.
The body of the text has two parts. The first part is the dialogue between the
Holy Mother Mary and her Son Jesus regarding the Virgin Mary's request for more
wine (vv. 3-4). The second part covers the Virgin Mary’s instruction to the
servers, Jesus’s order to the servers, the water turning into wine, and the
reaction of the head waiter (vv. 5-10).
Detailed Analysis
Vv. 1-2. Cana is a town in Galilee
(see 1:43 and 2:11). On the third day. There are three tentative
interpretations. The first interpretation connects Jn 2:1 to the previous stories
to see if the third day is correctly counted. At the beginning of this
section (The Book of Signs), the narrator mentioned the expression “The next
day” three times: at 1:29, 1:35, and 1:43. The day John pointed his disciples
to Jesus (1:29-34) can be considered as the first or second day if John the
Baptist’s testimony to himself (1:19-28) is the first day. The second or third
day was when Jesus revealed himself to the first disciples after John the
Baptist identified Jesus as “The Lamb of God” and John the Baptist’s disciples
followed Jesus (1:35-42). The third or fourth day was when he went to Galilee
and found Philip (1:43-51). Therefore, if Jn 2:1 is counted from these previous
stories, it should not be the third day but the fourth or fifth day.
The second tentative interpretation is that
the third day could refer to the third day of the week of the wedding
festivities. According to Jewish customs, in Jesus’ time, people celebrated weddings
for the whole week. However, this interpretation cannot be supported for two
reasons. First, no one could organize a week-long wedding and run out of wine
after just two days. Second, the comments of the head waiter in 2:9-10 attest
that they were in the last moments of the festivities.
The third tentative interpretation is that
the third day is used symbolically. It alludes to the third day of Jesus’
Resurrection after his Passion and Death on the cross. Note that John recounts the
sign of the wedding at Cana to reveal Jesus’s glory, which will be fully
accomplished through Jesus’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Therefore, the third
day refers to the third day of Jesus’ Resurrection.
Vv.
3-4. The Mother of Jesus: The Gospel of John does not name her. When
the wine ran short: The wine runs out in the middle of the feast, causing
sadness to the guests and embarrassment to the bridegroom. “They have no
wine”: The only person concerned in this embarrassing situation is Jesus’
Mother. She tries to solve the problem by telling her Son, Jesus, about the
chaotic situation. Her words to Jesus, “They have no wine,” can be interpreted
as “They have no joy, people are sad, do something to restore their joy.” Here,
Jesus’ Mother is an intercessor of the people to Jesus. “Woman, how does
your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus’ response seems to
indicate his disinterest in the matter. “Women”: Jesus calls his mother
“Woman.” This address is not disrespectful; it was a regular and polite form of
address but unattested about one’s mother.[1] “What does your concern affect me?” Jesus
means, “What is this to you and me?” “My hour has not yet come.” This
could mean Jesus’ hour for the beginning of the ministry or his hour to
transform the wine into his Blood at the Last Supper has not yet come.
Vv. 5-10. “Do whatever he tells you.” Although
her Son did not assure her he would grant her request, Jesus' Mother advised
the servants to do whatever Jesus told them. This indicates that Jesus’ Mother
knew her Son very well from home. In v. 3, Jesus’s Mother was the intercessor
of the people to Jesus, and here, she is the intercessor of Jesus to the
people.
V. 11. As the beginning of his signs: This is Jesus’ first of the seven signs in the
Gospel of John. Jesus did it to reveal his glory. His disciples began to
believe in him: This first sign marks the beginning of the journey of faith
of Jesus’ disciples.
Pastoral Implication
In our Gospel story, we heard Jesus, his disciples, and his Mother were
invited to a wedding feast in Cana, a town in Galilee. The wine runs out in the
middle of the feast. The bridegroom is embarrassed, the guests are sad, the head
waiter and servants are confused, the faith of Jesus’ disciples is low, Jesus’
Mother is concerned, and Jesus seems disinterested.
The wedding feast represents the heavenly banquet we celebrate at each Mass. The
water Jesus transforms into wine represents humankind, and the wine represents
Christ-likeness. The Blessed Mother Mary is the only one concerned about this
chaotic situation who tries to solve the problem. She intercedes to her Son,
Jesus, in favor of the people. She tells Jesus, “They have no wine.” Here, the
Blessed Mother tries to tell her Son that the people are missing one thing that
makes them happy. In other words, humankind is missing divinity. So, she
requests that Jesus, who shares the human condition (except for sin) through
the Incarnation mystery, may allow the people to share his divinity. Until
today, our Blessed Mothe Mary has been concerned about all the worries and
pains we are going through. She is our intercessor and mediator to her Son,
Jesus. She takes our worries to her Son whenever we pray to Jesus through her.
Jesus replies, “Woman, how does your
concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” The first part of Jesus’ answer
teaches us that the concerns of our Blessed Mother Mary become the concerns of
her Son Jesus. When we pray the rosary and other devotional prayers to the
Blessed Mary, we ask her to make our problems become her concerns and bring
them to her Son, Jesus. All the prayers that pass through the Blessed Mother to
Jesus are granted because the concerns of the Virgin Mary affect her Son. In
the second part of Jesus’ answer, “My hour has not yet come,” there are two
interpretations. First, Jesus refers perhaps to the hour of his ministry, which
has not yet started. Second, He alludes to the Last Supper hour when he will transform
the bread and wine into his Body and Blood, prefiguring his Passion, Death, and
Resurrection. So, this transformation of the water into wine here prefigures
the Jewish feast of Passover that Jesus will transform into the Eucharistic
celebration at the Last Supper.
The Blessed Mother asks the servers to do
whatever Jesus tells them. In her role as mediator between us and her Son, the
Blessed Mother Mary not only takes our concerns to Jesus, but she also brings
Jesus’ concerns to us. She asks Jesus to do what we want, and she asks us to do
what her Son Jesus wants. In this part of the Gospel, the Church first
encourages us to have devotion to the Virgin Mary. She is our mediator and intercessor
to her Son, Jesus. No one in this world knows Jesus better than her Mother
Mary. In our devotional prayers to the Virgin Mary, she takes our needs to Jesus
and brings her Son’s needs to us. Second, the Church teaches us that the “sign”
(miracle) is the junction of Jesus doing our will and us doing Jesus’ will. Many
of us want Jesus to do what we request, but we ignore doing what Jesus wants us
to do. Jesus wants us to believe in, love, and follow him. He wants us to serve
and support his Church. He wants us to be the “other Christ” wherever we live. Let
us have a devotion to the Virgin Mary and do whatever her Son Jesus tells us.
Note all the transformations that took
place in this Gospel story: water into wine, sadness into happiness (the
guests), embarrassment into confidence (the bridegroom), and following Jesus
with no faith into following Jesus with faith (the disciples). All these
transformations happen in every Eucharistic celebration (Mass) we attend, like the
one we celebrate now. The gifts we have brought will be transformed: the bread
and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, our sadness into joy, the divisions
among us and our families into unity, our lack or little faith into immense
faith. Jesus continues to reveal himself in the liturgy of the Mass. Let us
always celebrate Mass with reverence. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church
in Jackson, MS
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate
Coordinator
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