The Gospel for this Sunday in John 2:1-11
1. The crisis at Cana
A crisis situation arises during a wedding at Cana. The wedding could end up compromising the newlyweds. Mary is the first to notice that the wine is running out and decides to help the young family. She brings the problem to the attention of Jesus, the only person who can resolve the embarrassing situation.
2. Keywords
“They have no wine”
The wedding steward was responsible for looking after the wine at the wedding. He was not yet aware of the crisis, but Mary had already seen it. She knows that mundane matters are important to a young couple. She is present in this family from the very beginning. She enters into their vital concerns and problems.
“And they filled the jars with water”
The Greek word “hydriai” signifies a vessel, a pitcher, a vat designed to contain a variety of things. St. John writes about the stone vats that was used for Jewish ritual washings, of which there were many. Each vat could contain two or three measures. A measure is about 40 liters, so a vat could hold from 80 to 120 liters. Now, there were six of them! That is how much water the servants had to bring, and Jesus turned it all into the best wine. What God gives us is beyond our wildest dreams. Today in Cana (Kafr Cana), there is a Church dedicated to the miracle at Cana, where you can see similar water-tanks.
“Do whatever he tells you”
A Polish proverb says: “The Lord God has a coffer without a lid for every man.” Jesus wants to give us a lot and lead us through our crises. However, he cannot do it without our “I want.” We need to trust in His Word, in what He says, and in doing what He asks.
St. John Paul II explained it this way: “‘Do whatever he tells you ...’ means listen to Jesus my Son, follow his Word, and place your trust in Him. Learn to say ‘yes’ to the Lord in every circumstance of your life. It is a very encouraging message, of which we all feel the need.”
3. Today
It is good to invite Mary into your life and affairs. She is the first to see approaching crises and reacts immediately. There is only one condition to get out of the crisis: “Do whatever Jesus tells you.”
