Today’s Gospel of the wedding Feast of Cana gives us inspiration with regard to Mary’s Motherly intercession, but also has deep meanings behind the event.
It was Jewish custom that wedding celebrations last quite a while. Relatives and friends would greet the newlyweds, even people passing through would join in the celebration. Wine was regarded as an indispensable element in meals and also helped create a festive atmosphere. The women looked after the catering and Our Lady most likely would have helped. The wedding couple was obviously poor because they ran out of wine. Mary realized wine was running out and in order to prevent the couple embarrassment, the Mother of Jesus interceded on their behalf, even without their requesting it of Her. Mary-- knowing Jesus can do something about the crisis of not having any more wine, said to Her Divine Son, “They have no wine.” Jesus replied in a way that seems strange and harsh to us. He said, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?”
Today, if we were to call our mother “woman” she would be offended. Can you imagine if a boy said to his mother, “Hey, woman, what’s for supper?” What does an Irish mother, a German mother and an Italian mother all have in common? If their son would call her “Woman” she most likely would slap him in the face. However, that was not the case in the time of Jesus. The Jewish people during the time of Jesus used the word “Woman” as a title of respect and endearment. It was a formal way of speaking at the time, such as calling her ‘madam” or lady.
Furthermore, when Jesus used the word, “Woman”, it also had theological meanings in reference to the future “woman”, in Genesis, who would crush the head of the serpent. It later be in reference to the book of Revelation, Chapter 12, as the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars”. These references clearly point to the fact, Mary is the new Eve, who would help the Savior in the order of redemption. This is also seen at the foot of the Cross, when Jesus asked Her to take John- as Her son, when said, “Woman, behold thy, Son.”
So, when Jesus said, “How does your concern affect me?”, He was letting Her know, that once He works His first miracle, through Her intercession, their relationship would take on something new. When He works His first miracle of changing water into wine, Our Lord will manifest His divinity and strengthen the faith of the Apostles in Him, and from now on Mary will play an important role in the future and be instrumental in assisting Jesus in the order of redemption, seen most clearly at the foot of the Cross, when we stand in the place of John and so become Her spiritual children. Her role as our spiritual m other will become more evident after the resurrection in helping Jesus bring about the redemption of souls, as She will pray for the Apostles and the early Christians in the early Church and when assumed into heaven She will pray for us, as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Our Lord then says something to Mary that is again curious. He said, “My hour has not yet come.” What is “the hour” in which Jesus is speaking? It is the hour of His death. Our Lord wanted Mary to understand that by working His first miracle, it will lead to His suffering and death on the Cross and then His resurrection and ascension into heaven.
The Virgin Mary is confident Her Son will work His first miracle and so She told the waiters, “Do whatever He tells you.” A commentary on this sentence makes it clear when Mary said these words to the waiters, they would have understood Her to say, “Even if you do not understand now, do what He asks of you.” In another words, “You will question what He tells you”, but go ahead and do it anyway. The Virgin Mary pointed out to the stewards the importance of obeying Her Son. By obedience, Jesus uses the men as instruments in which He will work a miracle. Mary always points to Her Son and wants us to do His will at all times, because by doing so, we allow Him to reign over us and help Him to accomplish His will in our lives.
The jars used for ceremonial washings were used to wash hands before eating and also wash the feet of travelers from wearing sandals from a journey. The stewards must have been perplexed as to why Jesus would want them to fill the jars with water and bring them to the steward. Each jar held about 9 gallons and so 6 jars would have been more than 50 gallons. They probably would have thought, “Why does this man want us to get all this water?”
When the chief steward told the groom, “Everyone serves good wine first, then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” The groom would have tasted it and responded saying it’s not the wine he had brought for the feast. The stewards would have then told the chief steward Jesus had them fill the jars with water and this revealed to all Jesus changed the water into wine. Perhaps, at wedding feasts, they served the good tasting wine first, because after the night had gone on, those who would drink more than their share-- wouldn’t know the difference.
Most likely, there was a large amount of wine left over. Later when Jesus would multiply the loaves, there would be a large amount of bread left over. Both would foreshadow Jesus changing bread into His body and wine into His blood on the altar.
The wedding banquet of the Mass is a reminder to us-- we share in a nuptial relationship with God, especially when we receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. The Mass is the new and everlasting covenant and just as the people of Israel were to be faithful to the covenant as a bride is faithful to her husband, so we are to be faithful to the New Covenant-- we share in the body and blood of Jesus especially at Sunday Mass. So if we were to miss Mass on Sunday, we are not being faithful to the New Covenant.
By being faithful to attending Mass on the weekend, we give our self to Our Lord with the bread and wine at the offertory, and so Jesus faithfully gives Himself to us in Holy Communion. As a husband gives himself to his bride and the bride gives herself to her husband, there is a mutual exchange of persons, a mutual exchange of love in Holy Communion.
Today’s Gospel is a reminder Jesus wants us to rejoice and celebrate occasions of joy with ordinary means of pleasures. He wants us to beseech His Mother’s intercession for our every need, including material needs, but especially our spiritual needs. As a good Mother, She will present our request to Her Son, who will look with great love upon His Mother and answer our prayers. Let us pray for all married couples, may they receive the sacramental grace to be faithful to their matrimonial covenant elevated to a sacrament by the presence of Jesus at the wedding at Cana.
And finally let us pray for all Catholics, may we be faithful to the New and Everlasting Covenant, by regular Sunday Mass attendance knowing the union between our heart and the Heart of Jesus in Holy Communion is the unfathomable and the greatest of all treasures, wrought by the intercession of Our Lady, our Mother and Advocate, the “Woman” of faith and Mother of all us children, whom She intercedes for us before the throne of Her Son, in heaven.