Dear Friends,
In today’s gospel passage (John 2:1-11) we read the narrative of our blessed Lord Jesus’ very first miracle — the turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. This event is recorded only in the holy gospel according to John.
There are a few important lessons for us in this reading:
- By virtue of His divine presence at the wedding in Cana, Jesus demonstrates His favor towards marriage and thus it is celebrated as a sacrament in the church.
- In our eucharistic understanding, wine stands for the blood of Jesus shed for our salvation. The “my hour has not yet come” that Jesus refers to is His glorification, which takes place on the cross.
- The imagery of wine suggests the messianic or heavenly banquet to be enjoyed by all the faithful in the time to come.
- Finally, the miracle is to be viewed as a starting point for faith – “and His disciples believed in Him.”
Throughout the gospels we read many accounts of miracles: healings, natural miracles, feeding miracles and raising of the dead. The miracles are signs of Jesus’ divinity. They serve as “beginning points” for faith and as testimonies to God’s love and compassion.
Faith, therefore, is to continue beyond the miracles and to develop over a lifetime. In fact, most of us have not experienced such miracles as those described in the gospels (though we may not have recognized them); yet we know in our heart that God exists, that He makes a difference in our lives and thus we strive on an ongoing basis to grow in our faith.
May this miracle performed at the wedding of Cana be a source of inspiration for us in our daily journey of faith and may our spiritual eyes be opened to recognize miracles about us and give glory to God.
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With prayers.
Hayr Simeon
July 20, 2008