"Do Whatever He Tells You"

Jan. 19, 2025

The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time breaks all the rules. The Gospel for that day, in all three years of the Liturgical Cycle, is the Wedding Feast of Cana, from the Gospel of John, which is not usually read during Ordinary Time. The significance of this story is that it tells of the first miracle (or sign, as John calls it) that Jesus works in His ministry.
   
We do not know whose wedding Jesus was attending.  Mary, His mother, was there also, so it could have been a relative of the Holy Family getting married. Wedding guests would have travelled some distance to attend and would have made a three- or four-day visit, as it was the only time families could gather. That means the host family would be responsible for hospitality for their guests for a few days.

When the wine ran out, it was a serious situation that would have been a deep embarrassment to the family. The Blessed Mother comes to Jesus with their problem, and He hesitates to do what she asks. Although He has worked some miracles, He has not actively begun His public ministry. But He does what she asks. Here we see Mary’s intercessory role for our lives. She prays for us and for our needs. We turn to her, especially in times of trouble.
   
Mary tells the servants to do whatever He instructs them to do. In addition to her intercessor role, she also tells us to do whatever her Son tells us to do. At His command, they fills the six stone water jars with water, and Jesus changes the water into wine. I see this as Jesus changing the ordinary into the extra-ordinary in our lives.
—Fr. Mike Comer