It began with a wedding in which Jesus and His newly gathered disciples—Peter and Andrew, James and John—had been invited. So too was Mary, His mother. Here, embarrassment was met with compassion. The bride and groom had run out of wine and it was the mother of Jesus who made the pivotal intercession on their behalf.
There are basically two perspectives on intervention. The Catholic view takes a position that the response of Jesus to His mother did not come from a space of disrespect. In fact, the exchange between them may even conceal the loving intimacy between mother and Son. Imagine if the conversation between them ran like this: “Mother, is it wise what you ask of me and do you think that this is my moment?”. Here is a filial Son asking His mother for the confirmation He needed to commence His public ministry.
This is a woman who gave no second thoughts at the Annunciation. Her endorsement cannot be more explicit than “Do whatever He tells you”. If Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ship, then Mary’s instruction to the stewards is the go-ahead that kick-started the work of salvation that Jesus had come to bring. Cana underscores Mary’s important role in the inauguration of the mission of Jesus and the Second Reading can help us understand how she does it.
St Paul in the letter to the Corinthians spoke of the many charisms bestowed upon the baptised. These charisms have to be understood in terms of the effects of baptism. Through this sacrament we are incorporated into the Body of Christ. Like an organic entity, we are linked one to another as brothers and sisters in Christ. It is in the context of being members of the Body of Christ, that is, of the Church, that these charisms make sense. They are given by the Spirit to help us in building up the Church and also to further the Kingdom of God. Charisms are never given for themselves. It ties in neatly with our status as servants and stewards. Through the charisms given, we serve and of the gifts received, we are stewards.
Since we do not own the charisms in an absolute sense, meaning that we do not acquire them as if they were private possessions, we have a responsibility to discern their use. “Do whatever He tells you” leads us to ask relevant questions about how our gifts are to be applied and utilised. The saints have discovered that everything we have and possess is to be used “Ad maiorem Dei gloriam”, that is, “for the greater glory of God”. Secondly, charisms are given always for the good of the Body of Christ. This means that no gift is ever a waste unless we keep it for ourselves and do nothing about it. No matter where our station in life may be, a gift can do a lot more than we sometimes realise. It is a sad reflexion of our era that we have come to mistake efficacy with grandiosity. The bigger the better is what we assume, which is perhaps more symptomatic of our status-conscious society. For example, action movies need more destruction to make it more satisfying to watch. It is almost as if big-budgeted movie will guarantee box-office success. In that sense, we often feel that we can only be effective if we were outstandingly capable.
However, consider the one whose Gift established the Church: Our Lady. She was a nobody by any standard and yet through her sublime humility, she launched the salvific mission of her Son. How did she do it? She put her entire self at His disposal. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be done unto me according to Thy word”. Her example is therefore an invitation to each one of us to take stock of whatever blessings we have, no matter how small we may feel them to be. A messenger in a war is as important as a general in command of divisions in the armed forces. It is precisely this that the Church is described as the Body of Christ, in which every part, meaning every baptised, plays a role in its well-being. The sole criterion for the “effectiveness” of one’s role in this Body of Christ is to dispose oneself wholly to God, just like Mary did.
If we have no sense of the living and organic Communion of Saints, it will be difficult to appreciate that every baptised is important to the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Much of what is required to build up God’s Kingdom is complicated by our default philosophy which holds that there might not be enough. We do not believe sufficiently in God’s providence. The Kingdom’s progress is stymied by selfishness on our part—thinking that what we have belongs to us absolutely and that sharing might impoverish us personally.
In a way, our Lady’s instruction to the steward “Do whatever He tells you” is really an invitation to each one of us to trust that the Lord who has called us will be the same Lord who provides what we need to fulfil His will. Hence, if Cana symbolised the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, it also highlights the implication of our own baptism. Once we are baptised, know that Mary will be there. She is integral to the living out of our baptismal promises. St Louis de Montfort used to say: “To Jesus through Mary”. For ears sensitised by Protestant unease, this expression sounds like Marian idolatry. But once we step away from the Protestant prejudice, we might recognise how true this is. It is not an exaltation of Mary. It is more a reflexion of her complete interior disposition to do God’s will. Therefore, this woman who recognises the voice of her Saviour, is also at the heart of the mission of the Church and to each baptised, she gives the instruction: “Do whatever He tells you”. He will change whatever that is in the jar which we have filled to the brim way beyond our expectation, if we trust in and dispose ourselves fully to Him.
