They Have No Wine

“They have no wine” (John 2: 1-12)

Our pilgrimage brought us this time to Kafr Kanna, the modern town associated with the New Testament village of Cana. There we had the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the Franciscan Wedding Church. After the Mass, we were led to the lower level of the church where we saw a huge jar, which was found during archeological research in 1997. Our pilgrimage guide warned us that the jar we saw was not exactly one of the six jars Jesus used to turn the water into wine, but that it was one of the jars used by the Jews in ceremonial cleansing. 

One of the highlights of this visit to Cana was remembering the crucial role that Mary played in the first miracle of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. She realized that there was no more wine and asked her son to help the newly wedded to continue their celebration. Jesus’ answer to Mary’s petition sometimes leaves us perplexed: “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus calls her mom ‘woman’ and that does not look like a good answer from a son to a mother in the Western hemisphere. Our pilgrimage guide helped us understand this episode by explaining to us the cultural context of the time. Men in the Middle East would not call publicly a woman by her name because it would be considered as disrespectful.

Cana was a special place where we prayed for our families, especially for our parents, who have been supportive of the decision we have made to answer the Lord’s call to the priesthood. In the same town where Jesus attended a wedding in the company of his mother and disciples, we prayed for all the couples who have been married for years and have loved each other with fidelity and patience. From here we also prayed for all men and women who want to join their lives in the sacrament of matrimony. May we help each other live the vocation to which the Lord has called us, as priests, religious, married couples, and single people.