Christmas Weekday, January 7th

(Optional Memorial for Saint Raymond of Penafort, Priest)
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Raymond of Penafort
 
Biographical information about St. Raymond of Penafort

“Wedding Feast at Cana”
by Rutilio Manetti, c. 1620

Readings for January 7, Christmas Weekday [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 1 John 5:14-21
 
Beloved:
We have this confidence in God,
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
We know that no one begotten by God sins;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
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Commentary on 1 Jn 5:14-21
 
The concluding passage of St. John’s first letter begins by expressing the faith Christians have in prayers being heard. It moves immediately into the response of the community to those who have sinned, but not deadly sins. Given the main purpose of this letter, this probably refers to apostasy as a result of false teachers. In summarizing the themes St. John has dealt with in the letter, a contrast is drawn between the members of the community of faith (those “begotten by God”) and the secular world belonging to the Evil One. Those who are faithful to Jesus find eternal life in him. It ends rather awkwardly with one last exhortation to be on guard against idols, almost an afterthought.
 
CCC: 1 Jn 5:14 2778, 2827; 1 Jn 5:16-17 1854; 1 Jn 5:18-19 2852; 1 Jn 5:19 409; 1 Jn 5:20 217
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 149:1-2, 3-4, 5 and 6a and 9b
 
R. (see 4 a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 149:1-2, 3-4, 5 and 6a and 9b
 
Psalm 149 is a communal song of praise, rejoicing in God’s kingship and inviting the faithful to celebrate his saving works. We rejoice because God brings victory to the lowly and hope to the oppressed. The psalmist calls to the faithful to give praise in the assembly of the people – to give witness to their faith publicly – communally, as God’s chosen ones.
 
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Gospel: John 2:1-11
 
There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.      ,
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her,
"Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servers,
"Do whatever he tells you."
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,
"Fill the jars with water."
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter."
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
(although the servers who had drawn the water knew),
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
"Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.
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Commentary on Jn 2:1-11
 
St. John gives us the story of Jesus' first revelatory action following his baptism by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan. He and his disciples are invited to a wedding and the wine runs out. Jesus’ mother lets her son know that the time has come for his revelation, even though Jesus does not think so.
 
Ironically the stone water jars were there for the ceremonial cleansing, the very Hebrew custom John the Baptist used in his call to repentance. The Hebrew custom was symbolic (as was St. John's invitation to be baptized in the Jordan); the Lord would later make baptism efficacious as sins were forgiven. We also note the Hebrew numerology applied to this scene. The number six represents one less than the perfect number seven. It was not yet Jesus’ time. The water became wine, not his blood which was yet to be poured out for the salvation of mankind.
 
The final statement in this story: “his disciples began to believe in him,” is the only time in the Gospel of St. John where there was any doubt about the Lord’s true identity on their part.
 
CCC: Jn 2:1-12 2618; Jn 2:1-11 1613; Jn 2:1 495; Jn 2:11 486, 1335
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Reflection:
 
Today we celebrate the great wedding feast of the Church. We have heard in St. John’s Gospel the story of the Wedding at Cana, one of what have been called the “Wow” miracles of the Lord because it is so spectacular. Jesus, along with his disciples, had gone to Cana, to a wedding. While he was there, the host ran out of wine. It would be very embarrassing for the couple to have this happen so Jesus’ mother brings it to the Lord’s attention.
 
We see the Lord struggle with this. He tells his mother, “My hour has not yet come.” But she tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” She knows, somehow, that something remarkable is about to take place. The Lord then told the servants to bring six large stone jars, already filled with water (ironically these jars were to be used in a Hebrew rite, adapted by St. John the Baptist, to demonstrate repentance), and miraculously that water was transformed into wine.
 
It is sometimes difficult for us to look past the miracle to see all that this event can show us about Jesus’ mission and what we, as Church, inherit from it. We see the image of Jesus stepping out of time.
 
-He at once is the wine; his blood poured out for us.
-He is the groom who takes the church as his bride.
-He stands with our Priest as once more water and wine become his own Precious Blood; our salvation.
 
-And we have a part too. We stand as the servants who hear Mary say; “Do whatever he tells you.”
-We stand as the servants who know where that “best” wine came from and how it came to be in those stone jars.
-We know there were only six and not seven because it was not yet his time. (That time came later on a hill outside of Jerusalem.)
 
Is this just an ordinary sequence of events in the life of Jesus? What a wondrous gift he has given. And all he asks in return is our acceptance of that gift, accepting our role as the children of that marriage of the Lord and his Church.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Wedding Feast at Cana” by Rutilio Manetti, c. 1620.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.