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Newsletter – 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C.

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Gospel Reflection

Today’s first reading from Isaiah is one of several references in the Old Testament that use wedding imagery – bride and groom – to describe the relationship between God and the people of Israel. The imagery is never that of an ‘old married couple’ but rather young lovers entering into a new life together full of hope; full of romance; and full of passion. This image of God and the people as bride and groom would not have been lost on the first audiences of today’s gospel passage. Immediately, they would have recognised the significance of Jesus’ first outing in public ministry being at a wedding feast – at the coming together of God and God’s people, Jesus is present! It is a very neat and quite deliberate follow on from the prologue of the Gospel of John where the gospel writer uses the image of ‘the Word made flesh who lives among us’ to describe Jesus. The Word has come into the world and the first public appearance is at an event that symbolises the relationship between God and God’s people.

The interplay between Jesus and his mother is very interesting in this gospel event. In this particular gospel it is one of only two occasions that Mary is mentioned: this event at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and then at the foot of the cross as he is crucified. Mary does not ask Jesus to do anything. She simply states, ‘They have no wine’, but one can almost hear the motherly tone with which it was said. I’m sure Jesus was left in no doubt that he was expected to do something about it. When he tries to avoid the issue, Mary apparently ignores his objections and instructs the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. No fuss; no argument. How do mothers do it?

From the perspective of … The servants

What must the servants have been thinking? First of all, there was insufficient wine for the feast. They probably knew who was going to wear the blame for that ordering mistake! Then they’re told to fill the enormous water jars with water, draw some into a serving vessel and go and present it to the steward of the household – effectively their overseer; their boss! They must have been very nervous about how the steward would respond to what they were taking to him. Yet they, along with Mary and Jesus, were the only witnesses to Jesus’ first miracle! Even the steward was unaware of the miracle.

Different View – Use of alcohol

Sadly, this text is sometimes used by people to show that Jesus legitimises drinking alcohol. If there was anything wrong with drinking, they say, Jesus wouldn’t have made wine out of water! This argument is used to not only justify consumption of alcohol (sometimes to excess) but also to berate and ridicule those who, for religious and other reasons, abstain from alcohol. It is, of course, a feeble attempt to misappropriate scripture and use it completely out of context and for their own purposes. One could not even justify this argument on the grounds of a literal interpretation of scripture!

Gospel Focus – The best wine

The steward comments that the best wine had been kept until the end of the wedding celebration – a clever use of an image for Jesus. Remembering the use of wedding imagery to describe the relationship between the people of Israel and God, the wedding feast is celebration of that relationship, and at the very heart of the celebration and the relationship is Jesus. He is the best wine that is kept until the end – the ‘finishing touch’ to a magnificent celebration, just as he is the ‘finishing touch’ to the relationship between God and God’s people to that point.

Questions for Adolescents

Q. Why do you think Mary brings the wine issue to Jesus’ attention?

Q. Why might Jesus have been reluctant to perform a miracle at this time?

Q. Why does Mary seem to force the issue when Jesus has tried to side-step it?

Q. What might the servants have said to one another after the wedding banquet?

Q. What evidence is in the passage that suggests John’s gospel was written for non-Jewish Christians?

Questions for Adults

Q. How appropriate to you does the image of bride and groom for the people and God seem?

Q. What does this event tell us about the relationship between Jesus and his mother?

Q. What do you think is the significance of Mary’s involvement in this incident?

Q. What does the final sentence of the passage suggest to be the purpose of Jesus’ actions?

Q. Why might this event have been chosen by the gospel writer to appear as Jesus’ first act of ministry?

Learning moments

Use a cartoon strip or story board to illustrate the story. Use thought bubbles to suggest the thoughts and feelings of different participants (e.g. Jesus, Mary, disciples, servants, steward, bride and groom, wedding guests, kitchen staff)

Use a think-pair-share process to identify cultural practices and social structures revealed within the story.

© Greg Sunter
Greg Sunter has worked in Catholic Education (Brisbane) for many years, most recently as a member of the Religious Education team and Mission and Formation team. He has extensive experience of praying with young people and forming others to lead prayer with young people. He is the author of books on adolescent faith, is a regular speaker at youth and evangelisation conferences, and is a retreat and reflection facilitator and presenter. His areas of interest include religious education, theology, scripture, spirituality, Catholic ethos, prayer, and ministry with young people.

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