19 January 2025
Lectionary Readings: Is 62:1-5; Ps 96; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-12
The texts of the liturgy for this Sunday invite us to think about God who reveals himself to the people of Israel with the purpose of revealing himself to all humanity. The salvation of humanity passes through God’s choice of the particular for the universal: the Temple (the place of his dwelling place, Shekhinah), Jerusalem, the Land of Israel and the people of Israel; unique, particular and preferred realities of God and all these elements converge towards the universal, for all humanity, as the Prophet Isaiah states: “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory” (62:2). This relationship is established by an eternal covenant and its fullness means the inclusion of all humanity in this covenant. At the end of today’s text from Isaiah, we see this relationship between God and the people of Israel, exemplified by marriage (husband and wife) which represents, in the Biblical tradition, the most intimate relationship between people: “For as a young man married a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiced over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee (62: 5).
This text from Isaiah sheds light on our text about the wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-12). The Gospel presents the beginning of Jesus’ ministerial life through this account of the wedding at Cana. It represents a new beginning for humanity. Its symbolism is very rich and allows for countless explanations and interpretations. However, we cannot leave aside the aspect of marriage and the covenant present in the account that definitively seals the relationship. The account speaks of the wedding at Cana: “there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there” (Jn 2:1). The text teaches us that Mary was there, that is, Mary was part of what was about to happen. Jesus comes to be part of it (incarnation) and his presence makes the new happen. The new wine, the six jars. The six jars (And there were set there six waterpots of stone vs 6) can represent creation (six days) and the good wine the new life (new creation) that is happening to humanity that Jesus inaugurates.
Through Jesus, God’s Covenant with Israel is opened to all humanity, and as Isaiah prophesied: all nations will recognize and worship the One and Only God who revealed himself to Israel, of which Jesus is a part. So, this Sunday, we are invited to reflect on God as the Creator of all things, who, out of love for his creatures, makes a covenant with the people of Israel and reveals himself to them through his Word, who are called to be light to the world: “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth” (Is 49:6). Jesus, a Jewish man, God with us, inaugurates this new time, a new wine, a new creation, inserting all humanity into God’s promises to Israel
This week’s Sunday Liturgy Commentary was prepared by
Elio Passeto, NDS, Israel, Director
[Copyright © 2025]
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