2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2022

My Dear People, 

The Magi visit the child Jesus, the Baptism of Jesus when the Holy Spirit comes to him in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father is heard saying “This is my beloved son” . . . and today we read about the miracle in Cana in Galilee. All three situations are considered epiphanies. They are considered as such because in each situation Jesus was revealed as the Messiah. In The Magi visiting Jesus revealed that Jesus was the Newborn King of the Jews. The baptism of Jesus was unique because the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father was heard. That was indeed a revelation that Jesus was the MessiahIn the miracle of Cana, it was the first sign of Jesus. This means only the Messiah could perform a sign such as this. In the Gospel of John, he does not refer to the miracles as such, but as signs, meaning only the Messiah could perform such a sign. 

The narration begins that on the third day in the wedding celebration of Cana they ran out of wine. A wedding as well as other events lasted seven days (there are incidences in the Old Testament of events lasting seven days). Seven was a perfect number, and it was to represent God, and that God works in a perfect way. For example, the story of creation took place in six days; however, the seventh day God rested— that was part of creation. This was to emphasize the importance of resting on the seventh day of the week (Sabbath) and to set it aside for the Lord. 

“Third day” is a number phrase which represents God, because of the three persons of the trinity. This may not be specifically mentioned; however, it is important to note. Maybe John was making a connection or maybe not. For example, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. This time, Jesus performs the miracle of turning the water into wine on the third day.  

When Mary tells Jesus that they have no wine, Jesus’ reply was quite unusual from a son to a mother. “Woman, how does your concern involve me? My time has not yet come.” There are two unusual elements in this statement: why did Jesus call his mother “woman”, and what was his hour or his time to come? First of all, the word woman—Jesus was referring to his mother as the woman in Genesis 3:15, the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. Mary was the woman and Jesus was her offspring. Together they were going to defeat the devil, Mary by living the will of God her whole life, and Jesus by dying on the cross. Jesus dying on the cross was his “hour” that Jesus was talking about. Why does he mention this at this time in his ministry? Jesus figured out that the moment he would perform the first miracle, the devil would discover that he was the Messiah. As a consequence, he would be under full attack and would motivate forces that would accelerate the “hour”-- that is the time of his dying on the cross. When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Matt.4:3) This means that the devil did not know then that Jesus was the Messiah (the Son of God). For that reason, Jesus’ life had remained hidden for thirty years. It was kept hidden from the devil that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus did not want to accelerate the time that he would die on the cross. He knew this was coming.  Jesus said, “When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself”. The only way he would be lifted up would be on the cross. 

Mary shows that she accepts her new relationship to Jesus as his disciple who has a special role as a companion in his work. Recognizing this shift in their relationship is the key to understanding the full dimension of the narrative. Jesus’ mother tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” These words assign Mary a twofold role. First, she is the model disciple, subordinate to her Son, Her words echo Israel’s response to God’s offer of the covenant: “Everything the Lord has said, we will do” (Exod. 19:8). Mary instructs servants to listen to her Son as the people of Israel listened to the Lord at Sinai. Second, by first bringing the host’s needs to Jesus and encouraging the servants to be docile and obedient to him, Mary is an intermediary between her Son and the members of the household. (As St. Thomas Aquinas writes, Mary “assumed the role of mediatrix in two ways. . . First, she intercedes with her Son. In the second place, she instructs the servants.” The mother of Jesus presents the needs of the people to Jesus, and she encourages the people in the ways of discipleship, instructing them to obey Jesus. 

The relationship between Jesus and Mary is important. Whenever we honor Mary or ask anything of Mary, she directs us to Jesus. She does not reserve anything for herself, as Mary directed the servants to Jesus, so Mary directs us to Jesus. Mary is indeed a great mediatrix. 

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente  

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