Celebrating at Home: The True Bridegroom
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Weddings are usually wonderful occasions. Family and friends come together to witness to and celebrate a couples’ love and commitment. It is interesting that, in John’s Gospel, Jesus begins his ministry in the warm and homely setting of a village wedding in the same region in which Jesus had grown up.
Disaster strikes when the wine runs out. Mary sees what has happened and mentions it to Jesus but he seems reluctant to do anything about it: ‘My hour,’ he says, ‘has not come yet.’ Even though his time had not yet come, Jesus acts with kindness and compassion, saving the couple from acute embarrassment and ensuring that the wedding celebration can continue with plenty of ‘the best wine’.
At the end of this Gospel passage, John tells us that Jesus’ action in turning the water into wine was the first of the signs he gave. In John’s Gospel there will be six more. All of them to do with healing, saving, restoring, feeding and giving life to human beings.