FILL THE JARS WITH WATER

HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

There was a wedding feast at Cana in Galilee (cf. the Gospel: John 2:1-11). And at this occasion, Mary the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus, her only son and his disciples were also invited. They all could feel the joy in the air. And one could imagine the different guests exchanging pleasantries and sharing memorable stories as they took sips from their glass wines and raised them up for a fill-up. One could also vision the waiters and waitresses walking around and doing their service. Of course, wines have been intrinsic part of such ceremonies even up till our age. For a Jewish feast, wine was so important that the Jewish rabbis had a saying that without wine, there is no joy. Suddenly, the waiters and waitresses started to withdraw from the people, as many guests who needed wine started to look over their shoulders in search of wine but could not get. The stewards were hiding as their relevance was diminishing. The face of the host became covered with wrinkles of anxiety as he was gazing around with an eye of hopelessness. There was now some sort of confusion, despair, anger, and distraction in the arena.

In the face of all these, there was a special guest, Mary who took the bull by the horn. She knew someone who could salvage the situation, and that was her son. Surely, she had expected her powerful son to do something, but seeing that the son claimed unconcerned about the situation, she stood up and went to him. And we could feel the surprise and the anxiety in the voice of this woman as she spoke to her son concerning the situation: they have no wine. Jesus barely replied her as she ran immediately to tell the stewards to do whatever her son tells them. Here, we see the relevance of the Blessed Mary in our prayers to God. Then came those transformative words of Jesus to the stewards: Fill the jars with water. When this was done and as one of them drew some of the supposed water out, lo! the water had become wine, an excellent wine. The rest of the story would mean the restoration of serenity, peace and joy for everyone who was present at the feast. It is in this sense that we can hear God speak to us as in the First Reading (Isaiah 62:1-5) that He cannot be silent over our plights until our integrity is restored. The Gospel becomes the confirmation of the promise of God to us. The question we are left to ask ourselves is: Are these transformative words of Jesus to those stewards still relevant to us today? Of course, Yes.

1. We are like earthenware jars, and inside these jars are treasures (cf. 2. Cor. 4:7). And sometimes, the wine in us can get finished. These wines are like what makes us useful and important. The value of the jar lies in what it contains. The jar is a container, and this container has to contain the appropriate liquid for the ceremony of life. And this jar is permitted not to be empty, and indeed cannot be empty. However, the jars which we are are sometimes filled up with materials that it should not contain. We fill the jars with materials that cannot lead to a miraculous transformation from water to wine. The content of the container determines the transformation. Whatever the jar contains would determine that into which it can be transformed. The command fill the jar with water was specific as regards the content of the jar. If the stewards filled the jars with sand, do you think there would have been any wine? Therefore, fill yourself with contents that can lead you to your expected miracle. If you desire knowledge, study and pray; if you desire success, be hard working and pray, if you desire holiness, practice virtues and pray. The content is very determinant whenever God wills to act. Therefore, learn to fill the jar with water.

2. Water has numerous significances. That water in the jar helped to save the day. It became salvific. The choice of water as an untainted liquid is relevant. It required only an untainted liquid, a liquid that knows no colour and is available to all to initiate the transformation, just as it requires an untainted liquid to regenerate us in baptism. Remember, that water in the jar always served the purpose of cleansing. The Jews had the tradition of ritual cleansing of the hands even up till the elbow before meals and in-between courses. Seeing the purpose the water served, and desiring the water to go beyond the external, Jesus gave the command to fill them to the brim for a higher purpose. We need just to make some effort and be purposeful in life and watch God doing his wonders in our lives. The reward of hard work is more work, just as the accompanying reward of effort is grace. This water is like the spirit spoken about in the Second Reading (1 Cor. 12:4-11) which has been given to us for a good purpose. It assists us to work hard. It is that initial grace of God in us which is filling, and which is abundant. The jars were filled with water to the brim, the highest point of what they could contain, but beyond this, the water of external cleansing and in this sense, of grace became transformed into the wine of internal filling and of abundance. Therefore, strive to attract the the grace of God to get the jars filled up with water.

3. Jesus changed water into an excellent wine. Wine is the symbol of God’s love and forgiveness. Even in Greek legends, wine is seen as symbol of love. For them, it was Dionysus who having desired what he could give human beings to make them peaceful, decided the gift of wine; that human beings may love and be happy with one another. In the wedding at Cana, we have imagined the consequences of the lack of wine and how it could have affected people’s mood. The excellent wine brought back more joy. But when these jars were still filled with water, there was still some doubts and despair in people that many guests would have held very fisted to their remaining glasses of wine, and not being ready to share with others for the reason of insufficiency. With the abundance of wine, people loosened up. That wine became the wine of hope (as against despair), of faith (as against doubt) and of love (as against selfishness). No person would want this type of wine to run out. Therefore, continue to be a part of this love feast where the wine has replaced the water. If the Old Covenant is symbolized by the water of ablution and ritual cleansing, the New Covenant in Jesus is symbolized by the wine of Eucharistic banquet. And it turned to wine.

4. In the future, Jesus would turn this wine into his own blood that we may have not only hope, faith and love but also life in its fullness. From water to wine, and from wine to blood can signify the mission of Jesus towards the passion, shortly before which he offered us his blood to act in the memory of him. The Eucharist then refreshes in our minds this banquet in Cana in such a way that it is a living memory of the wedding between heaven and earth. The miracle at Cana is then a pointer to the wine of love and the blood of sacrifice which surely led to salvation and the fullness of life. Therefore, the Holy Mass is today for us this banquet of love, sacrifice and thanksgiving. If only we can see Jesus who makes the jars that we are very useful to have water (disposition to do good) filled into us to the brim, transforms the water (virtues) inside us as jars into wines of love, and turns the wines in us into his blood of sacrifice, then we shall never fail to make the fullest meaning out of the Holy Mass that we celebrate and attend daily. It all starts from our disposition to be good for the sake of others; yes, from being useful as jars with water.

5. Lastly and in relation to life, what do you do when you find out that you have no wine? Do you go to Jesus, or do you stay confused and despaired? Think about what happens in life. When people meet each other and fall in love. There is this banquet of joy, full of hopes and dreams with a lot of lovely fantasies. Some times, this love leads to marriage. May be one day into the marriage, a reality bursts in upon them and they are horrified and almost embarrassed at the weakness they discover in one another, and the thought of continuing to share love becomes burdensome. At this point can we not say that the wine has run out? Such questions arise: how did I come to fall in love with such a person? How come I married him/her? In other words, the marriage becomes boring and there is the feeling of anger and anxiety in them. The little thing that is now left is that little water in the jar. Many times and pitiably too, some persons at this point tend to give up; they go for a divorce. This same experience occurs in careers, friendships, academic life and even in vocations as the priesthood and religious life. The feeling of disillusionment can set in. Many depressing questions come to mind when our wines run out.

However, all we need do in dire situations as these is to first of all accept that the first wine has run out, and then make due with the little water remaining and then strive to attract the grace of God to fill us up to the brim. By the way, do you not think that it is necessary that the first wine should run out to give in to the excellent new wine? With that sincere and practical desire to get filled up with grace, we must discover Jesus somewhere telling some stewards to fill the jars to the brim, as he turns them into excellent wine. Remember, the jars at Cana were six in number and that signifies incompleteness and imperfection. We are incomplete and imperfect. We need Jesus to fill us to the brim. With this, we become sweet again, because that wine will be the sweetest. Divorce is not the answer. Disillusionment is not the solution. Prayer, patience, resilience and total abandonment to the will of God are the key virtues that could be helpful. There is no need to despair or give up. We must hold on, for by doing so, we regain in an excellent way the strength of our initial love. Jesus is ever ready to fill the jars with water, and of course to turn the water into the most sweet wine. And I wish you a splendid week ahead. God bless you.