Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Flipped-out Pharisees

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is not only the first miracle in John’s Gospel, it is also John’s first mention of Jesus’ mother. I used to find it odd that Jesus addressed her as “Woman.” I can’t imagine my Dad letting me get away with that. But in that time the word was more respectful; it could even be affectionate. (The last time Jesus speaks to his mother—John 19:26—he also calls her “Woman.” He certainly wasn’t being disrespectful on the cross.) Jesus does help as his mother requested, but he does so in a way that doesn’t draw attention to himself and also is a lesson about God’s love.

You have probably heard how the Jewish people in Jesus’ time performed purification rituals before eating anything. The cleansings were a sign that they wanted to be like God, completely free from sin. Eventually, it came to mean that you could not approach God until you cleansed yourself. Jesus used the miracle to show us a different way of understanding holiness. Jesus could have made the wine in bottles or wineskins to show that it was new. But he used the “six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings” (John 2:6). That meant that once they were full of wine, no one could wash themselves from the jars. I wonder how many Pharisees flipped out when they saw that.

The point is that no one can cleanse themselves. We don’t purify ourselves in order to come to God—we come to God to be purified. God is the only one who can make us holy. God offers this to sinners especially, because sinners who know they need forgiveness are the only ones to receive it. Not because God excludes the rest. Those who don’t think they are sinners or don’t think they can be forgiven won’t ask for it. God never forces mercy on anyone. It is offered to those who ask for it. The amount of wine (six big jars of about twenty-five gallons each) symbolizes the extent of God’s mercy. As there was now more than enough wine for the wedding, God has more than enough mercy for those who need it. Wine is also a symbol of joy in the Old Testament. There is no greater joy than knowing that you have been forgiven by the Lord.

— Tom Schmidt

Reflection provided by diocesan.com. Reprinted with permission.