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Homily story of the week

17 Jan 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

A Facebook post making the rounds consists of a row of wine bottles in a store with a sign above them that says, “Water.” The comment below the photo reads: “Jesus was here.” Changing water into wine is the first “sign” mentioned in John’s gospel and a favorite miracle of many Christians. But the keyword in that miracle is not “wine” but “change.” Alfred Nobel is someone who embraced the miracle of change. When Nobel’s brother died, a newspaper mistakenly ran a long obituary on Alfred, the inventor of dynamite. The newspaper described him as a person “who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before.” Dismayed that he would be remembered as a “merchant of death,” Nobel quickly went to work to establish the Nobel Peace Prize and other Nobel prizes that recognize achievements in science, medicine, economics, and literature that benefit humanity. Nobel changed his legacy from a man of war to a man of peace. Jesus invites you to transform in radical ways as well. Take your watered-down faith and turn it into a million-dollar bottle of Château Latour by simply following Jesus’ lead. Exploring the Word for Sunday, January 17, 2016

Authors Father Larry Janowski O.F.M.

Change nobel prize miracle at cana
Homily stories

17 Jan 2010 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Weddings are supposed to be joyful and happy for the bride and groom, their families, and all in attendance. But in our culture weddings have moved into the world of consumer excess and competition. Couples become blindsided by all of the details. Some try to deal with it by hiring a professional wedding coordinator who, if they’re not careful, will often add to the stress of the day by creating even more options and choices for the couple. File folders spill over into boxes of contracts, catalogs, menus, and so much more. The wise bride and groom are able to step away from details a bit and rejoice in what is taking place, making it a true sacrament and so find the presence of God with them in their love for each other. There are a few miracles in the story of the wedding at Cana. The first miracle was Mary’s sensitivity to the embarrassment of the family of the groom running out of wine. The second was Jesus’ changing the water into wine. The third was that the unaware bridegroom appears late in the story and the bride not at all. They were oblivious to the problem that had arisen or perhaps they had resigned themselves to the fact that there was nothing they could do about it. No matter what, the problem is solved. There is a lesson here, not only for prospective brides and grooms but all of us. Worrying solves no problems. Jesus solves lots of them, even when we are not aware of that. That should give us all considerable confidence.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

miracle at cana Mary Wedding consumer sacrament

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Homily themes

17 Jan 2010 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Scripture and liturgy stand on a threshold today. The church begins a stretch of ordinary time. We begin proclaiming from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians; before we’re done we’ll hear most of chapters 12, 13, and 15. Moreover, Jesus, in Galilee, begins his ministry. He performs a sign in Cana, a manifestation or epiphany of his glory that shows how believing in him is a transforming experience. As water can become wine, so the hearts of his hearers can change. And it’s no small miracle. Six jars holding 20 to 30 gallons of water—that’s 120 to 180 gallons—become wine. Such abundance evokes the promises of God for the last days. “Yes, days are coming,” wrote the prophet Amos, “when . . . the juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains” (9:13). “The grain, the wine, and the oil,” said Jeremiah, “. . . they themselves shall be like watered gardens, never again shall they languish” (31:12). Around this glory believers in Christ, with their diverse gifts, gather to worship and follow him. He becomes our new bridegroom, the host and master of the feast. Homily points Some young folks are finding it harder to leave home. The world may not seem particularly safe, from their point of view. In Isaiah’s time, the world was not a better bet than it is now. The prophet urged people to trust in God more than in the present hour. Jesus, according to John, was once poised between his human destiny and his divine one. His mother assisted in his choosing. Have we launched our life in the Spirit, or are we still waiting for conditions to be right?

Wedding miracle at cana trust in god

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Homily stories

16 Jan 2022 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Drawing a lesson from humanity’s treatment of Jesus, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote: “This race is never grateful: from the first, One fills their cup at supper with pure wine, Which back they give at cross-time on a sponge, In bitter vinegar.” The contrast in settings between Jesus’ first miracle at Cana and his last breaths on the cross could not be more stark. Yet, even in the celebratory setting of the wedding, there is a foreshadowing of what is to come, when Jesus remarks to his mother, “My hour has not yet come.” He then proceeds to turn water into fine wine. On the cross, after speaking one last time to his mother, John’s gospel mentions the “hour” again. Jesus is given a sponge soaked in “common wine,”—Browning’s “vinegar”—and he releases his spirit with the words, “It is finished.” His “hour” among us, the earthly mission that Jesus began with the miracle at Cana, is finished at Calvary. We know that Jesus suffered death with us, but today we are reminded that he first celebrated life with us. Let us raise a glass with the Jewish wedding toast, “L’Chaim! To life!”

Authors Daniel Grippo

Elizabeth Barrett Browning miracle at cana

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Homily stories

16 Jan 2022 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Their company’s presentation to the new client wasn’t ready. Another day—even four or five more hours—and they could have had it in the right shape. But her partner said, “No, we’ve got to go. We can’t be late, and we can’t postpone again. This is it. Let’s go.” She was not happy, but she reluctantly agreed. The presentation went well. But she knew it could have been 10 times better. Her partner agreed they weren’t as prepared as he would have liked. They waited to hear from the client. They soon got word that the client would go for the idea. They were also accidentally sent an internal email from the client: “Wow, this is so much more than we hoped, and right on time.” The one partner looked at the other. She was grateful for his wisdom. Wise counsel is what Jesus received from Mary at the feast at Cana. He, too, wasn’t ready to go, but Mary saw that it was time. Heed the advice of loved ones who urge you forward. They are often in a better position to see where your talents lie and when is the acceptable time to put them to good use. But don’t let a gentle push become a shove. Remember, all Mary said was, “They have no wine.” She let Jesus do the rest.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

wise counsel miracle at cana

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Quotes

16 Jan 2022 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

In the parlance of John’s gospel, his hour was the time of the crucifixion. In that hour Jesus would take his own bride and his glory would be fully revealed. For now, out in Cana, the disciples and Jesus’ mother saw and tasted a new, fine wine that would revive a failing feast. Glorious though it was, however, it was only the beginning. —Frederick Niedner When Christ changed the water into wine by his power, the crowd rejoiced . . . . Today, it is at the banquet of the church that we are all seated, for the wine is changed into the blood of Christ, and we drink it with blessed joy, glorifying the great bridegroom. —Romanus, fifth-century musician

miracle at cana

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