The wedding at Cana is listed by the Evangelist as the first sign performed by Jesus. What makes it the first miracle bears a closer scrutiny. The context for this miracle is interesting. Firstly, John speaks of the event from the perspective of the third day. Secondly, the answer Jesus gave to Mary is also related to it. He tells His mother that His hour has not come yet. Hence, right at the start of His public ministry, we catch a glimpse of both the Cross and the Resurrection. The “hour” points to His Passion and the “third day” is echoed each Sunday when we recite the Creed that “On the third day, He rose again”.
The symbolism is there to see. What is about to take place at a wedding highlights a future to come. The past was caught up in the history of Adam and Eve whereas the future is charted by the New Eve who simply indicates to her Son that His hour is about to begin and through this new Adam, creation is getting a fresh start.
Therein is something for us to think about.
Christ is the new beginning. According to today’s Gospel narrative, it started with the water jars meant for ablution. As the couple ran out of wine, the miracle initiated by Our Lady is quite frankly out of this world. Associated with new beginning in Christ is abundance. The six stone jars represent incompleteness and in a manner of speaking, chaos and raw disorder at the start of creation. Christ calms the chaos and completes creation with the blessing of plenty.
The Evangelist’s first sign is an invitation to appreciate life and to savour the bounty of God’s goodness towards us. Christ Himself promised that “I have come so that you may have life to the fullest”. However, this begs the question of what the “fullest of life” could mean.
At the level of human experiences, He multiplied bread and fish to feed the multitude. After their meal, they were left with baskets full. This is what the Lord does when it comes to scarcity. The boy who offered Him the five loaves and two fish learnt that in Christ abundance is the miracle but we have to trust in Him. The more generous we are with God, the greater His benevolence.
An expression of our trust in God’s generosity is to share this abundance with others. Again it is not about material plenty. The great thing about material sharing is that our second collection for the poor is doing rather well. Kudos to the people who have responded really so generously especially towards our food bank. Working in the office, one gets to see how the regulars drive in and start loading up the poor box with basic necessities that POHD needs to fulfiltheir charity run.
More than feeding the poor, abundance calls for a sharing of life. This might be a bit messier because it involves people and feelings. How do we let the abundance of our love flow out to others. Of course, as always, it starts at home, beginning with relationships in the family and it flows out into our relationships with others. How can we interact or socialise, wherever we are, so that people sense that life is worth living? How do we support each other psychologically and even spiritually? Do people who encounter us leave more hopeful? Or they come to us and they feel that life is sucked out of them?
There is more to life than merely earthly abundance, be it material or psychological. What about spiritual abundance in the fullest sense of the word? Through our experiences with others, be it family or friends, Christ actually purifies our earthly delights and He also elevates our sorrows. In Him, there has to be a reconciliation between a life in abundance and the sorrow that we will experience on earth. God’s blessing and sorrow are not mutually exclusive.
Both Laetare and Gaudete Sundays are examples of why we dare to celebrate even though Lent and Advent are both penitential seasons in their nature. Catholics know how to have a good time but Catholics also know how to endure difficulties gracefully. Tribulations are merely reminders that total plenitude can never be found in this world.
We necessarily live within a world where there is going to be sorrow but it is not a sign that God is miserly. In fact, the abundance of God is manifested in the Son. Right at the beginning of the Cana experience, there was already an indication of the Passion to come. Christ who died on the Cross is God’s mightiest benevolence. Just like it is for the couple at Cana, their wedding celebration is truly a sign of trust that come hell or high water, Jesus will never fail us. With Him, the couple enjoyed His abundance. There were about 700 litres of alcohol to imbibe, judging by the 6 times 30-gallon jars. The lesson at the start of the Ordinary Time, is that with Jesus and Mary, there will always be enough. Let us rejoice.
