Father Koch: Mary’s directive still rings true: “Do whatever he tells you”
January 17, 2025 at 8:00 a.m.
Shown is an image of the Wedding Feast of Cana in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, West Trenton. Monitor file photoGospel reflection for Jan. 19, 2025 – Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
The Wedding Feast of Cana is often referred to as Jesus’s first miracle. As the wine ran out, and concerned for the reputation of the hosts, the Mother of Jesus ignored his objection that his “hour had not yet come” and she told the waiters to do whatever he tells them. So it is with us. After prayerful discernment and aided by the Mother of Jesus, we are all called to do whatever it is that he tells us. It may not be easy, and it might even sound as crazy as filling jars with water when we need wine, yet, we see that Jesus can do the most with the very least. That is all we have to offer.
We do not know how or why this problem came to Mary. Perhaps as she went to refresh her own drink she realized that they were low on wine or maybe she heard from the host that they were running out of wine, but whatever the case was, Mary knew that she had a solution for them. Given that this was only day three of a seven day feast, the lack of wine would prove to be a serious embarrassment for the groom and his family.
Coming to Jesus, who along with some of his earliest disciples, was a guest at the wedding, the Mother of Jesus makes the simple observation to him, “they have no wine.” His objection to her subliminal suggestion is quick and sharp: “Woman, what does your concern have to do with me?”
Although Jesus had already attracted followers he had yet to embark on what we call his public ministry. In John’s Gospel this draws attention to the seven great signs, a mixture of miracles and teaching moments, that draw focus to who he is and the mission he leads in preparation for the fulfillment of all things through the Paschal Mystery.
We transition in this event of his ministry from the period of the Jewish covenant to the new covenant which will be realized through those Paschal events. There are six empty stone jars which were used for the Jewish ceremonial purification rites. The old way having been completed now gives way to the new dispensation of salvation.
The Mother of Jesus utters that famous line: “Do whatever he tells you” as she walks away from Jesus and instructs the stewards standing by. He tells them to fill those jars to the brim with water which they do. This in itself would have been a laborious task. Each jar would have held somewhere between 25 and 40 gallons of water, requiring more than one trip to the well and several men to transport the jars back and forth.
Jesus, then, has the chief wine steward taste the water, which was by then transformed into wine. The wine steward remarks that it is unusual to serve the better wine after the lesser one.
John notes that this is the first of the signs that Jesus performs, this being the one that then sets the stage for and in a sense defines the others. There is something new here -- a new mode of teaching; a new path to salvation; a new way to encounter the Father, this way being through the Son.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, replacing the old and spent wine with a new wine.
John’s Gospel presumes from the very beginning that the reader knows that Jesus is the messiah and the incarnate Son of God. In the Synoptic Gospels this is a present reality, but the revelation as such unfolds through the course of the Gospel. Each of them presents the moment of the Transfiguration when Jesus is shown as the Son of the Father and, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, stands as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
There the Father announces “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”
John does not include this moment of the life of Jesus as, in a real sense, the entire Gospel is shrouded in the Transfiguration. The Mother of Jesus makes the announcement: “Do whatever he tells you.”
This direction is given, not just to the waiters at the wedding, but to each of us as disciples. Mary, in this moment and in all of the apparitions through the course of time, points us to Jesus.
It is Jesus who is the source of our hope and salvation. Mary, as the first of the disciples, and the Mother of the Church, always points us to her Son, even as she intercedes for us.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Shown is an image of the Wedding Feast of Cana in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, West Trenton. Monitor file photoGospel reflection for Jan. 19, 2025 – Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
The Wedding Feast of Cana is often referred to as Jesus’s first miracle. As the wine ran out, and concerned for the reputation of the hosts, the Mother of Jesus ignored his objection that his “hour had not yet come” and she told the waiters to do whatever he tells them. So it is with us. After prayerful discernment and aided by the Mother of Jesus, we are all called to do whatever it is that he tells us. It may not be easy, and it might even sound as crazy as filling jars with water when we need wine, yet, we see that Jesus can do the most with the very least. That is all we have to offer.
We do not know how or why this problem came to Mary. Perhaps as she went to refresh her own drink she realized that they were low on wine or maybe she heard from the host that they were running out of wine, but whatever the case was, Mary knew that she had a solution for them. Given that this was only day three of a seven day feast, the lack of wine would prove to be a serious embarrassment for the groom and his family.
Coming to Jesus, who along with some of his earliest disciples, was a guest at the wedding, the Mother of Jesus makes the simple observation to him, “they have no wine.” His objection to her subliminal suggestion is quick and sharp: “Woman, what does your concern have to do with me?”
Although Jesus had already attracted followers he had yet to embark on what we call his public ministry. In John’s Gospel this draws attention to the seven great signs, a mixture of miracles and teaching moments, that draw focus to who he is and the mission he leads in preparation for the fulfillment of all things through the Paschal Mystery.
We transition in this event of his ministry from the period of the Jewish covenant to the new covenant which will be realized through those Paschal events. There are six empty stone jars which were used for the Jewish ceremonial purification rites. The old way having been completed now gives way to the new dispensation of salvation.
The Mother of Jesus utters that famous line: “Do whatever he tells you” as she walks away from Jesus and instructs the stewards standing by. He tells them to fill those jars to the brim with water which they do. This in itself would have been a laborious task. Each jar would have held somewhere between 25 and 40 gallons of water, requiring more than one trip to the well and several men to transport the jars back and forth.
Jesus, then, has the chief wine steward taste the water, which was by then transformed into wine. The wine steward remarks that it is unusual to serve the better wine after the lesser one.
John notes that this is the first of the signs that Jesus performs, this being the one that then sets the stage for and in a sense defines the others. There is something new here -- a new mode of teaching; a new path to salvation; a new way to encounter the Father, this way being through the Son.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, replacing the old and spent wine with a new wine.
John’s Gospel presumes from the very beginning that the reader knows that Jesus is the messiah and the incarnate Son of God. In the Synoptic Gospels this is a present reality, but the revelation as such unfolds through the course of the Gospel. Each of them presents the moment of the Transfiguration when Jesus is shown as the Son of the Father and, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, stands as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
There the Father announces “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”
John does not include this moment of the life of Jesus as, in a real sense, the entire Gospel is shrouded in the Transfiguration. The Mother of Jesus makes the announcement: “Do whatever he tells you.”
This direction is given, not just to the waiters at the wedding, but to each of us as disciples. Mary, in this moment and in all of the apparitions through the course of time, points us to Jesus.
It is Jesus who is the source of our hope and salvation. Mary, as the first of the disciples, and the Mother of the Church, always points us to her Son, even as she intercedes for us.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.