Reading I: Isaiah 62:1-5
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
GOSPEL: John 2:1-11
Ordinary Miracles
Everyone loves a party – even Jesus!
The scene: A wedding reception at Cana in Galilee.
In attendance: Jesus, Mary (his mother), and some of his followers, as well as untold numbers of other guests.
The situation: People are having a great time, until they run out of wine. Mary comes to Jesus with the dilemma, asking him to solve the problem.
The Background to Know
Jesus was at a wedding feast and his mother asked him to help with a big problem. Not having enough wine to drink for your guests would be very embarrassing to the host. They would probably be remembered for a very long time – as the host who didn’t provide for his guests.
During most parties the host would serve the better wine and then later, after they had been drinking for a while, the guests wouldn’t notice switching to a lesser quality of wine.
The Message to Get
Today’s gospel is reminding us of three things:
- Jesus is man.
- Jesus is God.
- His best is yet to come!
Jesus was a Man!
Jesus loved to have a good time, just like the rest of us. He loved a good party, like a wedding reception.
Jesus took part in the important moments of people’s lives. It is essential to remember that, as a human, Jesus experienced a lot of the same things we do. In today’s Gospel story, he is at a wedding. During the season of Lent, we’ll read about him experiencing the agony of losing someone he loves. Jesus celebrated the good time but cried out in pain the day Lazarus died because he grieved the death of his friend.
In other words, Jesus struggled and enjoyed the same emotions the rest of us enjoy and struggle with.
Jesus is God!
Jesus took this opportunity to perform a miracle. He changed the ordinary into something extraordinary. He made the water become wine.
But Jesus didn’t simply change the water – he changed the people who were there that day. There is no doubt the people who were witnesses during the miracle would never be the same. They were different people because of him. Similarly, Jesus will change us if we are witnesses to him.
The Best Is Yet To Come
This story of wedding at Cana sets the tone for his ministry, hinting that the miracles will keep coming and will get bigger towards the end. Jesus turned the water into wine, and according to the head waiter it was the “good” wine. Later, Jesus will take some other wine – a normal part of everyday life – and use it to save us.
He turned water into wine, but he turned his suffering and death into new life. Jesus made death mean life. He even turned bread and wine into his body and blood.
Everything that is given to him, he makes better.
In Conclusion
Jesus was a man who, like all of us, enjoyed having a great time. But like all of us, he also suffered pain and sorrow.
Jesus took ordinary things like water, death, bread and wine, and made them into better things like “good” wine, life, and his body and blood.
But perhaps the greatest miracle of taking something ordinary is when Jesus uses us – just ordinary individuals – and changes us, dwells within us, makes us better; he makes us holy!
Just like the people at the wedding in Cana, when we witness such a miracle, we will never be the same again!
Life Applications:
How are you different because of Jesus?
How is God calling you to be different?
What miracle is God trying to work through you?
Check out the REAL Word Podcast for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary (Cycle C):
Original article by Deacon Jim Corder, 2003-2022.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.