Do Whatever He Tells You!

2022년 1월 16일

Do Whatever He Tells You!

< Second Sunday in Ordinary Time >

    Many Catholics choose today’s gospel when planning a wedding. After all, what better way to start a marriage than this reminder that Jesus is always the guest of honor? Nowadays there are professional wedding planners to help the bride and group prepare for every detail of their upcoming nuptials. First there’s the venue, the site where the wedding would take place. Next, the clergy to perform the wedding. Then the food. Then the booze. Then most difficult of all, the guests. Can you imagine the families of the bride and groom inviting Mary? Then what about her son, Jesus? Then what about that group of guys he hangs around with? Thirteen single adult men invited to a party where there was a lot of wine. What could possibly go wrong? Wouldn’t it be funny if the wedding planner intentionally hid the wine so Jesus and his gang wouldn’t get drunk?

This miracle of Jesus changing water into wine is, according to John, the first sign Jesus performed to reveal who he was. Curious how this story of the wedding in Cana fails to tell us who the bride and groom are. And what’s with all that wine? Six jars x 20 gallons = 120 gallons of wine! Notice too that nowhere in John’s gospel is the mother of Jesus called Mary. Lastly, this gospel records the last words of the Virgin Mary in the Bible: “Do whatever he tells you.” All these clues point to the truth that this isn’t just any wedding. The story starts “on the third day…” Sound familiar? It sounds like the Resurrection story. Guess what. It is! Jesus changes water into wine and later wine into his blood. The disciples are all there, and all the guests are believers. With the Virgin Mary and Jesus we can see this wedding miracle at Cana symbolizes the church. If so, we do indeed know the groom’s name. It’s Jesus. Following the instructions of the Virgin Mary, we too must do whatever Jesus tells us. And there will be wine, joy and love overflowing and in abundance.

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