Sunday 19 January 2025

Today is Sunday the 19th of January, beginning the 2nd week of Ordinary Time. The Porter's Gate sing 'Water to Wine'. Consider now the hawks that fly Above the hills, beneath the sky Whose wisdom rings from overhead The earth below is daily bread Consider now the miracle Of rain that falls into the soil And swells the grape upon the vine It's always been water to wine Imagine every buried seed Enshrouded in the furrows deep That breaks itself apart to rise And lift the ground up to the skies Imagine heaven reaching down A gift poured out from heavy clouds Restoring all our withered vines It's always been water to wine Water to wine Water to wine Water to wine Remember Christ the living bread The seed grown high and harvested Who gathers us into the feast Gleaning every fallen seed Remember earth will bloom again And Christ will be our living spring The fountain welling up inside It's always been water to wine Water to wine Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John. John 2:1-11 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. The first of Jesus’ miracles takes place in a setting we may all have experienced. The celebration of a wedding, the coming together of families and friends. A place for the Lord? Not just the religious experience but the joy and frivolity of the celebration? How does this experience speak to you? There is invitation in this passage. Mary, sensitive to the needs of the gathering, invites Jesus to intercede. Do you feel this need in the world around you? Do you invite the intercession of the Lord into even the simple needs of the day? Do you take time to acknowledge the Lord’s generosity when you experience it? As you listen to the passage again, be aware of any words or images that inspire you. We may find that such images as those in today’s passage in Scripture are too wonderful, too miraculous. Can you imagine that the Lord would do as much for you? Gather up your thoughts and feelings and bring them to God in prayer. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.