Dcn. Tom McClelland's Homily:
        2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 14, 2007

The wine at the wedding feast has run out.  In the gospel, Mary pointedly says to Jesus, "They have no wine."  Have you ever run out of wine?  The celebration of this wedding at Cana in Galilee was apparently a very big party, and it probably was in its second or third day and was expected to last at least another day longer.  Today, when we plan parties, whether it is in our home or for a parish event like a [St. Patrick's Day Dinner] [Hunter's Dinner] or a wedding reception for a family member, what is one of the last things you would want to have happen?  To run out of something!!  "Oh, my gosh!  What an embarrassment.  Especially if it is a key ingredient like the wine."  Maybe your concern would be more with food than with wine, but whatever it is that you would be concerned about, running out about half way through the party would be a major problem.  In this gospel account, Mary looks right at Jesus and says, "They have no wine."

The first perspective we can take on this unique event of changing water into wine is that it is Jesus' first miracle.  We say that it is his first self-manifestation, the first visible demonstration of his power.  Notice that there was not a lot of fanfare.  We are not told that anyone other than Mary and Jesus and the servers had any clue about what happened.  Of course, word must have leaked out later, at least to the disciple John, so that he could write about it in his gospel.  But as it is written, the evangelist, John, informs his readers (and us) of this miracle so as to establish in a fuller, richer way just who Jesus is and to assure us that he is an extraordinary, supernatural being.  He is God's Son.

In a very real sense, this miracle at Cana, which reveals and manifests Christ's identity to us, is part of the larger three-fold Epiphany story.  First, on the Feast of the Epiphany (which we celebrated last Sunday), we heard about the Magi from the east coming to Bethlehem by following the star.  This is Christ's manifestation to the Gentiles, to the people of the whole world, not just to the Israelites.  Second, there was Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River, celebrated last Monday, when God's voice from heaven says, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."  This again is a direct, clear revelation of who Jesus is.  Third, we now have Jesus' own manifestation at Cana to reveal his powers.  Two of these three Epiphany events are so important — the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan and his self-manifestation at Cana — that Pope John Paul II included both of them in his five Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary — the mysteries of light.  These three Epiphany events confirm the identity, the Sonship, of Christ and the fact that his Incarnation is for people everywhere — for every one who will accept him.

But let's get back to the wine, because there is another perspective on this remarkable event.  Have you ever run out of wine?  I ask that question in a figurative sense.  I'm not asking, "Have you ever run out of Merlo or Zinfandel or Chardonnay or port or Ripple?"  When that happens to you or me, I believe we should relax and go back to the party store or to Glen's a day or so later and buy some more — and consume it in definite moderation — a little bit at a time.  But in a figurative sense, "wine" may refer simply to that ingredient of joy and happiness and sparkle that we all want to be part of our lives.  Our "wine" can be the headiness of success, or the thrill of romance, or the satisfaction of a well-earned promotion, or the joyous birth of a new grandchild.  It is excitement and festivity.

This "wine," for example, can be experienced by a high school graduate being accepted into the college of her choice.  She arrives on campus in September, breezes through freshman orientation, makes four great new friends, and studies with gusto for 6Ð8 weeks.  Then her mid-term grades come back lower than expected, she doesn't get selected for the lead in the Christmas musical, her field hockey team has lost every game, and her dorm roommate turns out to be a loser.  She is out of wine.

Maybe you are given a new project at work.  It is just the sort of thing you've wanted to do for a long time.  You are teamed with 3 or 4 great co-workers, and the first really cool piece of new equipment for the project arrives.  Whatever training that was needed has been accomplished, and then it happens.  The customer cancels the order.  You are out of wine, as you go back to washing windows.

Some of you have experienced a really good marriage, but maybe somewhere along the line, for some reason, the wine ran out.  You know what it means when the wine is gone.

Faith can seem to be an easy, sustaining thing when things are going well, but when your spouse dies, or your child gets sick, life can turn a bit sour.  Again, the wine ran out.  Hope is an easy thing to talk about to somebody else who is in despair, but when you or I are diagnosed with a terrible sickness, the wine will run out fast.

When our wine runs out, what does the gospel say to do?  Turn to Jesus in complete faith and expect an answer.  Believe that he can and will help you.  Mary didn't say, "What do you think my Son, can you help them out?"  No.  Mary had absolute faith.  Though Jesus seems to beg off by saying his hour has not yet come, Mary ignores this and tells the waiters simply, "Do whatever he tells you."  "Do whatever he tells you."  What an incredible statement!  Her instruction says plainly to the waiters, have total faith in him, just as I do.  Follow his instructions completely.  He will not lead you astray.  Or trick you.  Or deny you.  Her words also convey the message that we are to obey Jesus completely.  In fact, we could adopt her statement as our five favorite words: do whatever he tells you.

Another facet of Mary's statement, "do whatever he tells you," is of course that before you act you have to listen to Jesus.  Imagine that!  Listen to Jesus first, and then act accordingly.  Of course, the best way for you and me to listen to Jesus is to be tuned in to him at all times.  Pray 15 minutes every day.  Read your Bible, especially the New Testament scriptures.  Go to Mass every Sunday.  Talk to your family and friends about Jesus and his teachings, because there is no better way to understand something than to put it into your own words and explain it.  Talk about your faith.  Also important, as part of your prayer time, be sure there are sufficient periods of pure silence so that you can actually hear his message.  In all of these activities, you give Jesus an opportunity to restore the wine in your life.  If you're not praying daily, reading scripture, going to Mass, and talking with others about Jesus, you are making it very hard for him to help you.  Remember, he works miracles, not magic tricks.

And that brings me to the last aspect of this first miracle of Jesus' that I want to talk about today.  For this miracle of changing water into wine, did you notice how Jesus relies on the servers for help?  He said to them, "Fill the jars with water," about 150 gallons or so.  Jesus did not conjure up wine out of thin air.  He did not solve the problem by creating something out of nothing.  Once the servers had filled the water jars, then he said, "Draw some out and take it to the headwaiter" — the one person who was probably the most concerned about the lack of wine.  The point here is that Jesus needs us to help effect his miracles for others.  We have heard so many times that we are his hands and feet now.  It is clear we are part of the equation of his restoring the wine of others.

Jesus is clearly the transformative power!  We must turn to him if we are out of wine in our own lives.  And we have to assist him by being his servers when someone else is out of wine.  By Jesus' self-manifestation at Cana, we see that he has the power to draw wine from the bland water that we often have to drink.  He comes with the message that even though we have had disaster and hurt and betrayal, growth and fulfillment and new wine can rise from that.

The message of this gospel is not only that Jesus manifested himself in the third Epiphany event at Cana, but that he can transform the loss, the boredom, the pain, the betrayal, that any and all of us may feel from time-to-time.  Not only can he restore the hope and joy that we once knew, and the love that has gone out of our lives; but he asks us necessarily, to help with his miracles for others.

Think about the help you need from Jesus.  Pray to Mary for her intercession.  It worked at Cana.  It will work for you.

May God bless you always.