Isaiah 62: 1–5; Psalm 36: 5–10; I Corinthians 12: 1–11;
John 2: 1–11
This is a reflection prepared for St. John’s,
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, January 20, 2019.
“THE FIRST OF JESUS’ SIGNS, A SIGN OF GREAT
THINGS TO COME”
(Homily texts: John 2: 1-11)
An
overall view of the Epiphany season:
This season carries with it a subtitle, “The Manifestation of our Lord
Jesus Christ to the Gentiles”. So, on each Sunday of this season (which is,
this year, longer than it usually is, due to the fact that Easter falls late
this year), we explore one way in which we come to know Jesus Christ, made
known to the world. So, for example two weeks ago, on Epiphany Sunday, we heard
a Gospel text from Matthew, relating to us the visit of the Magi, those
mysterious figures who’d seen in the heavens a sign that something wonderful
was going on in Judea. They, being Gentiles, come as the first of an enormous
group of people down through the ages (yes, that would include you and me,
Gentiles) who will come to know Jesus Christ. Then, last Sunday, we heard
Luke’s account of the Lord’s baptism, a theme we consider on the First Sunday
after the Epiphany each year. We heard, last Sunday, God’s approval of His Son,
“You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.” And, too, the Holy
Spirit’s presence was known in the descent of the dove upon the Lord. So, in
His consent to being baptized, the Lord demonstrates by His actions what He
wants us to do. Or, as we said last week, the Lord calls us to “Follow me”.
How
does today’s Gospel text fit into the Epiphany theme?: John makes two
things clear about Jesus’ action in turning the water into wine: 1.
This is the first of the signs[1] that
Jesus did, and 2. This sign manifested His glory.
So we
may say that the miracle before us today marks the beginning of Jesus’ earthly
ministry. It is a ministry that will unfold before His disciples’ eyes, and,
eventually, before many people’s eyes. It is a ministry that demonstrates
Jesus’ power over the created order, and, in particular, His power to
transform.
Trouble
in the text: Many readers and many biblical scholars have
puzzled over Jesus’ response to His mother (who, by the way, in this text and
in the entire Gospel account John has provided for us, is never mentioned by
name), when He said, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?” (John 2:4)
To
our contemporary ears, His response sounds harsh and disrespectful. And yet, by
the standard behavior of the time, it was customary for a man to speak to a
woman in public in such a manner, and perhaps even to one’s own mother. Two
more examples can be found in John’s account to substantiate this claim: 1.
Jesus, talking with the woman at the well in Samaria, refers to her in
the same way, saying, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on
this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father….” (John 4: 21);
and 2. From the cross, Jesus speaks to his mother, saying, “Woman, behold your
son.” (John 19: 26)
What
do we make of this incident?:
Several points might arise as we consider this text:
A demonstration of
faith: Notice what Jesus’ mother does in
the wake of His comment to her: She is undeterred and tells the servants to “Do
whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)
Nowhere in the scriptural witness do we have any evidence that Mary knew
what Jesus was capable of doing. Yet, she tells the servants to do whatever He
tells them to do. Apparently, she had a sublime faith that He was able to
address the situation.
The best is yet to
come: One point that might arise from
this event is the fact that Jesus created the best wine, which was reserved for
the last part of the wedding feast. In times past, just as it is today, hosts
put their best foot forward, offering their guests the best they have to offer
at the beginning the celebration. And that was the expected treatment that the
bridegroom in Cana was supposed to offer to his guests, as well. Yet, Jesus
provides the best for the latter part of the celebration. His reference to his
“hour” points forward, in John’s Gospel account, to His “hour”, that is, to His
death, resurrection and ascension. Truly, this is the best of what God has
offered us in Christ. God saved the best for last. In Jesus’ death,
resurrection and ascension.
The power to create
and to transform: God’s power, if we
were to try to summarize it briefly (yes, that’s a risky venture, to be sure!),
consists of God’s power to create, recreate and transform. Here, in Jesus’ miraculous
transformation of the water into wine, we have God’s power to create and to
transform in view.
What
does this have to do with you and me?
Perhaps the point God wants us to “get” is that an encounter with Jesus
Christ has everything to do with God’s power to create,
to recreate and to transform. After all, that’s the reason the Father sent the
Son, in order to make God’s power to change who we are currently into what He
(God) would have us become eventually.
May
God’s power to change the way things are into the way He wants them to be be
evident in our lives and in our hearts.
AMEN.
[1] Some biblical scholars offer a subtitle for
chapters two through twelve of John’s account, calling this section “The Book
of Signs”.
