In our gospel today, we hear of perhaps the most pivotal moment in our Lord’s early ministry. The wedding at Cana was far more than our Lord performing a miracle when turning water into wine for those gathered at the wedding. It goes even beyond being one more reason for His disciples to believe in Him. It is the moment, initiated by our Blessed Mother, when our Lord begins his public ministry and sets in motion the events that will lead him to His crucifixion.
When our Blessed Mother tells our Lord that they have no wine, and He replies to her that His time has not yet come, a choice is made on both of their parts. Mary knows what she is asking, but also knows the importance of beginning the steps that will ultimately lead to Calvary. Our Lord though He initially rebukes her, also knows the repercussions of His eventual acceptance when our Blessed Mother shows absolute faith in Him and simply tells the servants to do whatever He commands. Our salvation could not have come about without these things taking place.
Each one of us must also make a choice when it comes to acceptance of God’s plan for our lives. We must decide if we will make the leap of faith that will either take us to embracing our Lords will for each one of us, or else to refuse this and go with our own plans and designs. This choice is something that does not happen just once in our lives. It is very often a process that we must endure and struggle with when it comes to some of the tougher decisions that we will face in our lives. Our Lords way is not the easy path, and there will be times when we will question, but the choice is whether we can move past our questioning and simply trust the way that Mary did when she told the servants to simply do whatever He commanded.
Each of us brings something to God’s plan, and the way we function within the body of Christ. As Saint Paul describes in our second reading, there are many gifts that the Holy Spirit can impart, and also that we are born with through God’s grace. The reaching of our fullest potential comes when we simply trust and place these gifts willingly at God’s disposal through our cooperation and acceptance of His plan and the participation that this brings. We each come with our contributions, and the Spirit then can impart other graces that will allow us to reach even greater potentials. This is God’s gift to each of us, and also to others when we participate fully in the body of Christ in this way.
The Deacons Bench 