“They have no wine.”
The wedding at Cana is the third event of the Epiphany following the adoration of the Magi, and the Baptism of the Lord. “The star has led the soul to faith; the sanctified Waters of the Jordan have conferred purity upon her; the Marriage-Feast unites her to her God…the Bridegroom revealing himself to the Spouse…after having enlightened and purified her, he invites her to the heavenly feast, where she is to receive the Wine of his divine love.”[i]
What does the wine symbolize? “Wine is the symbol of Charity or Love, and Charity had failed on the earth; for the Gentiles had never tasted its sweetness…The True Vine is our Jesus, and he calls himself by that name. He alone could give that Wine which gladdeneth the heart of man (Psalm 104:15); he alone could give us that Chalice which inebriateth, (Psalm 23:5), and of which the Royal Psalmist prophesied.”[ii]
CHANT - COMMUNION • Holy Thursday
Psalm 23 is read in a Eucharistic sense. Jesus in the Eucharist is our Good Shepherd, our Host, and our King. We are His sheep: we are His guests. “You have set a table before me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Only goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.”[iii]
Another translation for Psalm 23:5 says, “My chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly it is” This is why we pray in the Anima Christi prayer “Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from Christ's side, wash me…”[iv] To inebriate is to intoxicate or to exhilarate. It is the Blood of Christ that intoxicates us with the love of God. At the wedding at Cana, Our Lord performs His first miracle of changing water into wine. At the Last Supper, Our Lord performs one of His last miracles, while on earth, changing wine into blood. He wishes to give us the greatest charity (wine) living out the words He spoke, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”[v] The wine of charity is therefore changed into the blood of Sacrifice. This charity gushes forth from His Sacred Heart to the whole world. It is in the Sacrifice of the Christ, that not only is the charity of wine, turned into the sacrifice of blood, but Jesus Christ who was present at the Wedding Feast is not presented to the world on the Cross, drawing all to Himself and to the Wedding Feast of Heaven. It was at first that He was invited to a feast, now it is He, our Host, that invites us to the feast.
ACTIVTY – Read Psalm 22 and 23
What does Psalm 22 remind us of in the Life of Christ? What does Psalm 23 reminds of in the Life of Christ, especially in regard to the Sacraments? It is by no mistake that Psalm 23, we speaks of Christ as the Good Shepherd and the Host is preceded by Psalm 22 which Jesus prays on the Cross, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” God can never be with sin. Jesus took on all of humanities sin, and thus felt the pain of humanity separated from God the Father. Without Psalm 22 (the Cross), there would not be the “green pastures”, “safe waters”, “right path”, or table set before us in which our “cup overflows”. Thankfully we know that Jesus by submitting to His Father’s will, conquers sin and death thus enabling us to have no fear as Psalm 23 says.
MUSIC – Your Love – Nicki Minaj
We speak a lot of “love”, but is the message of love sung in this song the love that causes our “cup to overflow” or is it a false love that leaves us empty? Nicki Minaj sings of “your love”; what is it that is backing the “love”? When we sing, “you love” in regards to the love of Christ, we have plenty that is backing the “love”. Although the love that Nicki Minaj sings about is shallow, it still leans toward true love, commitment, and fulfillment. At the end of the song she speaks of a certificate that changes her name, this of course is a reference to marriage in which a true lasting love is found. Marriage itself between man and woman is not an end in and of itself, for man and woman is only a sign of the deepest love, that of Christ and His Bride, the Church.
Mystically and miraculously Psalm 22 and 23 are united in the Mass. For it is at the holy sacrifice of the Mass that we are at the heavenly wedding feast. Jesus, our good shepherd leads us by the “safe waters” of baptism, but then as our host, He turns that water into wine as our “cup overflows”. He moves us from the safety of baptism, into the intoxicating intimacy of the holy Eucharist. We sing in the offertory antiphon at today’s mass, “You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst.”
Jesus asks the apostles Saints James and John, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?”[vi]At each Mass, we are “called to the supper of the Lamb”[vii] and invited to drink the cup that Jesus drank as we receive His body and drink His blood. At mass the priest prays, “he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying: take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. do this in memory of me.”[viii]
ACTIVITY – Read Isaiah 5 and Psalm 80
Jesus teaches that there is “no great love” in the Last Supper discourse, the same discourse where He says, “I am the true vine” and “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”[ix] Jesus is the true vine that restores the house of Israel. The old vine spoke of in Isaiah 5 broth forth wide grapes, and was overgrown with thorns and briers, but this vine will be restored. Through Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of Psalm 80 is realized. “Turn again, Lord of hosts; look down from heaven and see; attend to this vine…Lord of hosts, restore us; let you face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” It is in the context of the Psalm that Saint Zachariah can sing, “In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”[x] Jesus is the vine, the Church is the vineyard. The vine had become bad and therefore the wine had run out.
This is why Mary can say to Jesus, “They have no wine.” Humanity had no wine, because they had no vine. Jesus is the new vine that gives us the “new wine” This new wine, like the wine at the wedding at Cana is superior to the old and this is why the server says, “you have kept the good wine until now”. The good wine was kept back until “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”[xi] It makes sense that “the vine” would be born of a woman, and “the wine” would be requested by the same woman.
This new wine cannot be put in old wineskins, for Jesus says, “no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is our into fresh wineskins.”[xii] If the “new wine”, which is the charity of Jesus, is to be poured into us there must be a change in the vessel. This is why the feast of the baptism of the Lord precedes the Wedding at Cana. We need the repentance and cleansing of baptism, to prepare the way for the charity of new wine which will be poured into us. At baptism we are “filled to the brim” with water, a water that will be changed into the wine of Christ’s love. Ezekiel prophesies this when he says, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statues, careful to observe my decrees.”[xiii] This spirit cannot be placed within us without charity, for in the greatest act of charity, the Crucifixion, Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.”[xiv] It is because Christ commends His spirit, that the spirit is placed within us, for this is how the branches remain one with the vine. Each night at Compline (Night Prayer) the Church remembers with fond appreciation this great love in the responsory, “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth. I commend my spirit. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”
[i] Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.; The Liturgical Year; Christmas – Book II
[ii] Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.; The Liturgical Year; Christmas – Book II
[iii] Psalm 23:5-6
[iv] Anima Christi Prayer
[v] John 15:13
[vi] Matthew 20:22
[vii] The Order of the Mass; Communion Rite
[viii] The Order of the Mass; Eucharistic Prayer
[ix] John 15
[x] Luke 1:78-79
[xi] Galatians 4:4
[xii] Mark 2:22
[xiii] Ezekiel 36:25-27
[xiv] Luke 23:46