Readings for Jan. 18-19, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission
Those of us of a certain age will remember the commentator Paul Harvey and his tagline, “and that’s the rest of the story.” It’s a shame Paul Havey was not at the wedding feast of Cana because there definitely is “a rest of the story.”
Mary and Jesus are at the wedding feast. Mary notices that the wine is running short. Realizing this will cause grave embarrassment for the bride and groom and, being a good Jewish mother, always eager to help, Mary goes to Jesus.
At that point, perhaps knowing Jesus even better that he knew himself, she mentioned the predicament to him.
His response to Mary leaves most of us raising our eyebrows. It is a cheeky response for a son to call his mother “woman.”
Scripture scholars have assured us that Jesus’ words were ones of honor to Mary. But I like to imagine that, at this point, Paul Harvey would enter in and tell us that the rest of the story was Mary’s reaction. Perhaps Mary gave Jesus a proverbial “time out.” (I bet she gave him the ‘mom look.’)
During that time out, Mary had to have patiently said something to Jesus, to help him realize that this was indeed his time; this was the moment his Father had been preparing him for. Her faith and trust in Jesus likely encouraged him toward his first miracle of turning water into wine or she would not have boldly walked off to the stewards, saying, “Do whatever he tells you.”
I find the details writers chose to include in the Scriptures interesting.
We are told that the jars Jesus asked to have filled were the ones people used for their purification rituals. So, these were the jars that held wash water. Couldn’t Jesus have instructed the steward to take the now empty wine pitchers, fill them with water and bring them to him? Is not a clean vessel intended for drink a more suitable vessel for a fine wine than a wash water jar?
This is where the story sends a beautiful message of hope and redemption to each of us.
Jesus, in choosing the jars, demonstrated a new kind of purification, not just physical, but spiritual. The wine jar of our lives can become almost depleted at times. Our jars carry a fair amount of chips, maybe even a crack. While we’d like our lives to be Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon ($500 a bottle), on most days, the best we can produce is Boone’s Farm.
Listen to our Blessed Mother saying, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus changes the ordinary into the extraordinary through his presence. Our old ways can be washed away, and we can be filled with new life.
Just as the jars at Cana were filled to the brim with the best wine, our lives can overflow with the blessing and joy that gives new purpose and usefulness, allowing Jesus to work through us.
Jesus turned water into wine, and he can turn your life into something divine!
Zahorik is director for spiritual engagement at St. Mary Parish, Omro, and St. Mary Parish, Winneconne.
The readings for Sunday, Jan. 19, can be found at Second Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.