January 20 // 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Christmas Season has ended, and we, the Church, are back in Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time means numbered time, and this Sunday we will hear the well-known but extraordinary story of the Wedding at Cana.

The Gospel of John focuses on Jesus’ divinity as well as on his humanity, and the miracle at Cana points to that divinity as well as to the fullness of God’s reign.

In the Book of the Prophet Amos, God speaks of the restoration of the House of King David and says “the mountains shall drip with the juice of grapes, and the hills shall run with it,” (Amos 9:13). And in the Book of the Prophet Joel, God says, “On that day, the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills flow with milk, all the streams of Judah will flow with water.” (Joel 4:18).

When Jesus turned such large amounts of water into wine at the wedding feast, his disciples probably thought of these prophecies and began to understand that Jesus was bringing them to fruition.

The water and wine in this story also point forward to Jesus’ death when a “soldier thrust his lance into [Jesus’] side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” (John 19:34). This water and blood became our salvation.

There are signs of God’s generosity and compassion in many places. Have we recognized them? And do we, as followers of Jesus, bring that generosity and compassion to our fellow human beings?