The little boy of a Christian father with a forever gloomy face saw a horse. He shouted, “Daddy, he must be a Christian. He too has a long face.” Today’s Gospel is I suspect an all-time favorite of everybody and his sister. No less an august personage than Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoevski was enchanted by it. In The Brothers Karamazof, he wrote, “Cana, the first miracle, the compassionate one when Jesus joined not in human sorrow but in human happiness.” It is only John the Evangelist who tells us of this miracle. Very possibly the teen-ager John was among the guests present. And of course he wrote of it as an old man. We must assume that the Cana incident was something which he could never forget. No doubt he dwelled upon it often. I am certain he wrote of it because he felt the miracle has much to teach us. How correct he was! The tale tells us a good deal about Mary.
As we know, it was she who informed her Son that the wine had run out. How did she know? One author answers. She was working in the kitchen with the bride’s parents and helping them to cook the food for the buffet. There she saw her brother-in-law’s alarm. There is an old tradition that the bride’s mother was in fact Mary’s sister. So, we must immediately conclude that Mary was very much a warm Jewish woman. She was most anxious to help her sister and her niece keep the costs down by volunteering her own labor. This picture of Mary may well be a fresh one for many of us. That is especially true of those of us who think only of Mary as a woman in permapress blue and white. But the latter is the picture of a plastic person who is constantly looking ever so devoutly into the heavens with hands folded. She apparently has nothing else to do. Thus, the clever John is deliberately drawing for us a flesh and blood Mary. Your prayers to her will come easier I dare say if you keep this tableau before you. Furthermore, the miracle reveals that whenever Mary found herself in a pinch or a bind, she instinctively turned to her Son. Having lived with him for thirty years, she knew that He would deliver. What do you think she is telling us? And will you and I take her advice? Even when her Son apparently turned down her request, Mary did not throw in the towel. Quite the contrary! She turned to the bartenders and instructed them to stand ready. Her faith and trust in the Christ remained firm and solid. She knew He was such a soft touch that He surely would do something. He would not see the bride and groom humiliated in front of their guests.
Is not John instructing each of us that our faith in the Teacher must be similar to that of His own mother? Could it be that we take no for an answer too often and too soon? Notice too where this miracle takes place. It is situated in the home of working class people in an inconsequential, even run-down town in Galilee. This is a word-picture of Christ the populist. He is willing to squeeze Himself into our kitchens, slip off His old sandals, and take a seat at our scarred tables. God is obviously more than willing to involve Himself in the humdrum of our everyday lives. The same God, who keeps the cosmos alive in the palm of His hand, is likewise willing to concern Himself with my very mundane problems. If I do not bring Him my nickel and dime requests, it is I who am foolish. It is I who have misread the intent of today’s Gospel of John. Notice too the occasion. It is of course a wedding. It is a time for laughter, music, and very obviously wine. John draws for us a Jesus who Himself enjoys a good time. A party was obviously not something which was beneath Him. It was something He sought. He was clearly no party pooper. A Christian who walks about with a long face should meditate long and loud on this Cana tale. He or she has much to learn and, more importantly, to change. The sooner the better! Remember the remark of the boy who began our reflection. Anytime that we genuinely welcome the Teacher into our lives, a miracle takes place. What was colorless becomes a rainbow of colors. What was prosaic becomes poetical.