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Homilist Commentaries on the Wedding Feast at Cana

              The sign above the Wedding Church Door at Kafar Kanna (Cana)  
 It reads: There was a wedding at Cana and the mother of Jesus was there.      AD 1880

The Wedding Feast at Cana story is part of Cycle C of the liturgy in the Christian Church.  Every three years, the Cana story is read, and is the likely topic of the homily for that Sunday church service.  The Cana story was read during this January 20th/21st  ,2019 liturgical weekend.  Here is the takeaway from some of the homilies of this recent weekend – as well as a few interpretations of the Cana story from other theological sources.  Resource reference points are listed below.

 Homily – Transfiguration Catholic Church

The Theology –

  • Numbers are symbolic – 7 being perfection; John’s gospel includes only
    seven miracles/signs
  • The word “woman” – not what it means today – was not a derogatory
    term
  • Mary is the new Eve
  • Mary is a woman of faith
  • Water to wine =  abundance ; Jesus
    brings the new kingdom, fullness – abundance

The Message –

  • Transformation
  • Finding the Lord in our joys, in the good and abundant things in our lives
  • How are we in bringing Christ into the world – to our community, to our
    fellow students, to our co-workers?

Homily – St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church

  • A gift of pierogi was received at the rectory, but there was no wine in the house
  • This was the first miracle in John’s gospel – Cana
  • Mary knew what Jesus would do, since she said “Do whatever he tells
    you.”
  • The headwaiter’s comments about excellent wine
  • We must become like a good, aged wine
  • Rich, rich in mercy and compassion
  • Repeats: We must become (transform) like that rich wine, rich in
    goodness.  So that, as people come in
    contact with us, they will experience this good richness – a reflection of
    Jesus, goodness.  A richness full of
    compassion and forgiveness.
  • The richness is the character of Jesus. 
    We come to Sunday mass to become more like Jesus Christ.  What other reason is there to come to mass?  To become more like Jesus is to become more
    kind, less judgmental about people not like ourselves.

Homily – St. Ann Catholic Church at the 8:30am Mass

  • At a wedding reception, a toast expresses our hopes and prayers
  • Marriage includes the ups and downs, personal warmth and aloofness, yet
    still one
  • Wine, then and now, is a celebratory beverage
  • Transformation – as water into wine, so too did Jesus transform creation by
    becoming (taking on the form of) a member of the human race
  •  Isaiah’s message that a people will
    be redeemed,  saved.   St.
    Paul’s metaphor for the faithful as a worthy bride to Jesus, the bridegroom
  • Water and wine remind us of baptism, the initiating act which brings us
    into the church – a faith community
  • “Do whatever he tells you.” – Directed to the bride and groom,
    this directive to obey Jesus’ commands will strengthen and improve their
    marriage
  • Mary, by her command to us to “Do whatever he tells you” shows
    how she cares for us.
  • We get to renew our marriage vows to our heavenly spouse – here at the
    beginning of a new church year, just as this miracle was the first in John’s gospel

 Assumption Basilica – Catholic Church

  • Tells the story with some historical context – to run out of wine was more
    than just a faux pas.  Serious!
  • Mary doesn’t want her friends to suffer, so she intercedes  for them to Jesus
  • Then she tells the servers: “Do whatever he tells you.”  By this, she means that you must totally
    surrender to Jesus. You may not understand, but Just Do It.
  • This first miracle leads to another miracle – Jesus’ followers began to
    believe in him.
  • From Isaiah, in the first reading (Jesus) likens us to his spouse, his
    delight.
  • Imagine somebodywho  knows you perfectly,
    who loves you more than anybody else, who delights in you.  How easy would it be to surrender to that
    person —
  • But we, as humans, have difficulty with surrender.  We require control.  And doesn’t this need create extreme anxiety,
    and anger, when we lose a bit of control?
  • We become our own god – and we become miserable because of it.
  • A novena, written by a contemporary of Padre Pio, for Surrender to
    God.  It’s a short novena – takes a couple
    of minutes to say – but works wonders
  • Closes with “Surrender – Do whatever He tells you to do.”

Homily – Grace Episcopal Church

  • God’s extravagant  love
  • John – with brother James, the “sons of thunder”
  • Imagining Jesus knowing “everybody” at the wedding – since Cana
    is only about four miles from Nazareth
  • Mary – how she felt – knowing for 30 years that her Son is the Messiah –
    and then he arrives at this wedding with his disciples
  • These weddings went on for a week
  • Mary turns to her oldest son and says “You need to fix the
    problem.”
  • The term “Woman” was a term of respect in that time
  • “Do whatever he tells you.”
  • Abundant supply – but much time needed to draw the water to fill the jars.
  • It was a lavish gift – a cult wine
  • His glory was revealed, and his disciples began to believe
  • An abundant love

Homily – St. Ann Catholic Church at the 5:30pm Life Teen Mass

  • Jews coming back to Jerusalem – the city destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar – the
    first reading informs the Israelites that they will no longer be called
    desolate – but God’s spouse.  God rebuilt
    the destroyed temple to twice its size – God’s extravagant generosity – a gift
  • Talks about the wedding party – 600 liters of wine – an overwhelming amount
    – a gift
  • In the second reading – Paul talks of the various gifts that God gives to
    us – gifts
  • God’s gifts to the deacon – he recounts them.  No daughters, but three daughters-in-law, and
    four granddaughters

 EWTN Mass

  • “Do whatever He tells you.” 
    The last quote of Mary in the Christian Bible.
  • And the Blessed Virgin Mary will tell you the same thing – “Do
    whatever He tells you.”
  • She is the first and perfect disciple. 
    Her concern is that His will be done.
  • Running out of wine – a very embarrassing moment.  The celebration of a wedding was more than
    one day – several days, or a whole week.
  • The taste of Jesus’ wine was much better. 
    Only Jesus can change a bad situation into a good one. 
  • Jesus performed this miracle to cause the disciples to believe in Him.
  • Whatever we are running out of – money, love for our spouse, health, other
    concerns – go to Mary and she will intercede with her Son and you will be
    informed – “Do whatever God tells us in this life.”
  • And what are we called to do? Keep the commandments, our daily duties in
    our state of life, live out our faith. 
  • St. Paul’s first Corinthian letter – Use the gifts that you were given.  All come from the Holy Spirit – all gifts come
    from the Spirit.
  • If our wine of energy is almost totally depleted, or if  we have run out of joy, or hope, or
    peace.  Whatever it is, we must go to
    Mary.
  • Quote from Mother Angelica – “If we don’t ask for the ridiculous,
    Jesus can’t respond with the miraculous.”
  • Jesus responded to His mother’s request. Do whatever He tells us.

An interpretation provided in the USA National Catholic Register:

Jesus doesn’t rebuke
Mary.  The words we have in the gospel,
given 21st century sensibilities, imply a mistaken brusqueness or
rudeness.  Mary, as a representation of
the Church, asks Jesus to “go public” with his message of salvation
by giving the public a sign.  Jesus,
almost playfully, attempts to deflect this challenge. 

In Mary’s response, now as a
more specific importunate supplicant, she in effect announces Jesus as
Messiah.  The metaphor has the bridegroom
– Jesus – and his bride – the Church, as represented by the best example of
“church” – Mother Mary .

An interpretation from the Orthodox Church in America:

Mary is the new
“Eve.” Eve led Adam and so humankind to original sin.  Mary as the new Eve leads Jesus to announce,
by his water to wine sign, that he is redeeming humankind.

Mary begins her role as foremost
intercessor to Jesus with her request of her son at Cana.  And, with Jesus non-committal response,
Mary’s faith moves her to instruct the servers to do as he instructs.  The transformation of water to wine signifies
Jesus’ transformation of the Old Covenant (water) into the New Covenant
(wine.)  This transformation takes place
on the “third day”,  foreshadowing
Jesus’ redemption of humankind by his resurrection.  The Orthodox lesson also derives from the
Cana wedding story the importance of the sanctity of marriage in society.

A pastoral interpretation from the Sun Prairie Wisconsin United Methodist Church:  

A western tradition asks the
question how  the water was
changed to wine.  The Jewish faith,  an eastern tradition, asks why
Jesus changed the water to wine.  The why
is Jesus’ signal that God is among us.

The notion of unexpected
good luck, extreme abundance, is called Cana Grace by the homilist. This
kind of grace, as abundant as the amount of wine in the story, is sometimes
needed when we are in fear, or anxiety, or spiritually depleted.  Receiving Cana Grace can give us
opportunities to give Cana Grace to others in need.  Finally, Jesus needs followers who will
follow the recommendation to “Do whatever He tells you.” 

The message most often recognized by these sources – Do whatever He tells you. – places Jesus, Mary, and the faithful together in the bond of trust.

        Gospel of John Chapter 2 etched onto a wall by the Wedding Church

Sources

– This leads to Miracles, Faith and an End to Anxiety: A Homily –  Assumption Catholic Basilica, Baltimore, MD,  January 20, 2019.   frjamesboric.podbean.com/e/this-leads-to-miracles-faith-and-an-end-to-anxiety/

– 10 am Mass Homily  –  Grace Episcopal Church, St. Helena, CA.
January 20, 2019, www.grace-episcopal.org/content.cfm?page_content=downloads_include.cfm&download_id=678
.

 – 12:45pm Mass  Homily  –  St. Michael the Archangel  Catholic Church, Woodstock, GA,            January 20, 2019.

– Mass Homily – Transfiguration Catholic Church, Marietta, GA,
January 20, 2019. soundcloud.com/transfiguration-catholic/fr-fred-01-20-2019

– 8:30am Mass Homily – Catholic Church of St. Ann, Marietta, GA,  January 20, 2019.                               st-ann.org/watch-live

– 6:00pm Life Teen Mass Homily – Catholic Church of St. Ann, Marietta, GA, January 20, 2019.          st-ann.org/watch-live

– Mass Homily – Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).  January 20, 2019. 

– The Significance of the Wedding at Cana – Mark Shea, National
Catholic Register, September 9, 2012. www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/the-significance-of-the-wedding-at-cana

– It Happened in Cana of Galilee – Fr. Steven Kostoff, Orthodox
Church in America, August 6, 2013. oca.org/reflections/fr.-steven-kostoff/it-happened-in-cana-of-galilee

– Hope in Cana – Rev. Jenny Arneson, Sun Prairie United Methodist
Church, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Mrch 19, 2017.  sunprairieumc.org/sermons/5170/

Cover of the novel At cana
©2025 Tim Wojcik