St. John the Evangelist nourishes the Christian at a veritable feast today, a nuptial feast. In the famous wedding at Cana where Jesus performs the first of His signs or miracles, John describes the event with carefully chosen words. He packs into each course a variety of juicy, rich themes that are meant to nourish the soul and please the palate with fresh truth and hope-filled grace.
“They have no wine.” These words of Mary to her Son suggest that the couple, probably a poor one, has run out of wine and will soon be embarrassed before their guests. On another level, John is proclaiming a deeper truth about the human condition. Wine, especially for Jews, symbolizes joy. Human beings, suffering from both original sin and personal sin, have lost the first grace that God poured upon us at creation and the resultant joy that comes from living at peace with ourselves and with God. As human beings estranged from God, we have no wine.
“Do whatever he tells you.” Mary knows that she does not have the answer to either quandary, the wine or the lasting joy, but she knows Who does. She points the wedding servers with confidence and faith to her Son. This famous command defines Mary’s existence in time and eternity. She is the Queen Mother who knows quite well that her Son came to redeem the world from sin and sadness and renew the world with forgiveness and joy. Her desire is to point the whole world to Jesus.
“Fill the jars with water.” Jesus provides the wedding feast with an abundance of choice wine. John makes it clear that the miracle produced about 160 gallons of surprisingly good wine. On a deeper level, our Saving Lord does not come to earth as our Redeemer to offer a bland feast with sparse pickings. Rather, Jesus comes to fill His beloved children with joy and life. “I have come that you might have life, life in abundance” (Jn 10:10). Jesus comes to remove the stain of sin that drags us down, restore us to an unfettered, intimate union with God our Father, heal our broken hearts and restore the joy of life. “You have kept the good wine until now.”
“Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana.” We cannot overlook the fact that Jesus’ first miracle in John’s Gospel took place at a wedding. Jesus’ work at pouring new life and grace into the world had to involve marriage and family life. The family is the pillar of society. Since Jesus came to renew humanity, it would necessarily involve the outpouring of new life into the precious union of man and woman, which is the best, most complete place for the procreation and education of children. It is most fitting that Mary would encourage her Son to perform the first of His signs at a wedding.
The joy that comes from knowing Christ and being created anew dwells in the Christian even in the face of great trials. The saints often bear witness to this deep-rooted joy. St. Maximilian Kolbe, known for giving his life as a substitute for a fellow prisoner at the concentration camp in Auschwitz during World War II, knew a profound joy in the midst of extreme suffering.
After convincing the German soldiers to let him take the place of another man chosen to die as a punishment for the death of a prison guard, he was condemned to die by starvation. He lived much longer than expected and retained a remarkable, positive attitude during this period of torment. He continued to pray with the inmates, hear confessions, sing hymns and maintain a spirit of joy while starving to death. This faith-filled resilience to their torture so disturbed the German soldiers that they changed their plan and killed him with an injection of carbolic acid. St. Maximilian’s faith and the joy that flowed from it were a source of light and hope for many prisoners.
Jesus Christ, through His suffering and death, has restored grace, life and joy to our broken world. Faith in Jesus results in a renewal of the human heart that brings extraordinary strength and joy, even in the face of trials and suffering. Christ’s transformation of water into wine is a great symbol of the new life and joy that God longs to give us. “You have kept the good wine until now.”
