Beloved in Christ,
"This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory" (Jn 2:11). The first part of the gospel of John is called the Book of Signs. In John's narrative, he refers to miracles as signs. There are seven signs in all that Jesus performed. What are the significance of these signs? What do those signs point to? What is the importance of the sign at Cana in Galilee? What does this first sign by Jesus in John's gospel say about him?
Signs is the English translation of the Greek "Semeion," which implies that Jesus' miracles or signs point to something beyond the act. Jesus indeed brought about a change of water to wine, a miracle! However, Jesus' sign goes beyond the miraculous act to indicate something about Jesus' identity. Jesus is the new wine that brings joy, gladness, and abundance. The more profound meaning and significance of turning water into wine is connected with the prophecies and events in the Old Testament. The motif of wedding and banquet points to the identity of Jesus and our need to trust in Him. The wedding sign is indicative of God's covenantal union with his people. We see the allusion to marriage between God and his people in our first reading from Isaiah 62. St. Paul would later write on this espousal of God to his people in the new covenant as it implies the union of Christ to his body, the Church (Eph 6). The marriage of Jesus, the groom to his bride, the Church, is the reconciliation of God to his people, restoring the proper relationship between God and his people.
The image of the wedding extends to the banquet held to celebrate the nuptial act. The Jewish wedding banquet is lavish, with an abundant supply of wine and food that lasts seven days. The celebration was crashing because they ran out of wine, as Mary announced to her son. Jesus is the one who restores joy and gladness. He asked that the six stone water jars that can hold thirty gallons be filled and served to the guest. On tasting the drink, the head waiter announced with excitement that the groom had just served the best wine at the end of the banquet instead of at the beginning. Here, we see the sign pointing to us placing our trust in Jesus, the perfect one, he who can restore our joy and grant us life in abundance (Jn 10:10). Jesus reveals himself through the sign at Cana as the messiah who comes to restore us to living union with the Father, to complete in the New Covenant what is incomplete in the Old Covenant. Through this sign, he shows his glory and identity as the world's redeemer and calls us to believe in him and trust in his power to transform our lives. Can we trust Jesus and believe in his words as Mary, his mother, tells us: "Do whatever he tells you"? We should.
Next Sunday is designated as Sunday of the Word of God, an opportunity for the body of Christ to devote herself to celebrating, studying, and disseminating the Word of God. To celebrate this day solemnly, I encourage each of us to come to mass next Sunday with our bible; we will use it literally and metaphorically.
Have a Happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day!
In Christ, I trust.
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
"This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory" (Jn 2:11). The first part of the gospel of John is called the Book of Signs. In John's narrative, he refers to miracles as signs. There are seven signs in all that Jesus performed. What are the significance of these signs? What do those signs point to? What is the importance of the sign at Cana in Galilee? What does this first sign by Jesus in John's gospel say about him?
Signs is the English translation of the Greek "Semeion," which implies that Jesus' miracles or signs point to something beyond the act. Jesus indeed brought about a change of water to wine, a miracle! However, Jesus' sign goes beyond the miraculous act to indicate something about Jesus' identity. Jesus is the new wine that brings joy, gladness, and abundance. The more profound meaning and significance of turning water into wine is connected with the prophecies and events in the Old Testament. The motif of wedding and banquet points to the identity of Jesus and our need to trust in Him. The wedding sign is indicative of God's covenantal union with his people. We see the allusion to marriage between God and his people in our first reading from Isaiah 62. St. Paul would later write on this espousal of God to his people in the new covenant as it implies the union of Christ to his body, the Church (Eph 6). The marriage of Jesus, the groom to his bride, the Church, is the reconciliation of God to his people, restoring the proper relationship between God and his people.
The image of the wedding extends to the banquet held to celebrate the nuptial act. The Jewish wedding banquet is lavish, with an abundant supply of wine and food that lasts seven days. The celebration was crashing because they ran out of wine, as Mary announced to her son. Jesus is the one who restores joy and gladness. He asked that the six stone water jars that can hold thirty gallons be filled and served to the guest. On tasting the drink, the head waiter announced with excitement that the groom had just served the best wine at the end of the banquet instead of at the beginning. Here, we see the sign pointing to us placing our trust in Jesus, the perfect one, he who can restore our joy and grant us life in abundance (Jn 10:10). Jesus reveals himself through the sign at Cana as the messiah who comes to restore us to living union with the Father, to complete in the New Covenant what is incomplete in the Old Covenant. Through this sign, he shows his glory and identity as the world's redeemer and calls us to believe in him and trust in his power to transform our lives. Can we trust Jesus and believe in his words as Mary, his mother, tells us: "Do whatever he tells you"? We should.
Next Sunday is designated as Sunday of the Word of God, an opportunity for the body of Christ to devote herself to celebrating, studying, and disseminating the Word of God. To celebrate this day solemnly, I encourage each of us to come to mass next Sunday with our bible; we will use it literally and metaphorically.
Have a Happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day!
In Christ, I trust.
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
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