Third Sunday after Epiphany, Sunday, January 26th, 2014
Fr. Todd Bragg
St. Margaret Anglican Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
" His mother saith unto the servants, whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." (St. John 2:1ff)
Throughout St. John's Gospel, he writes with two meanings, so to speak: on the one hand, there is a simple surface story, but on the other, there is a deeper meaning underneath the story, where if you dig deeper beneath the surface you will see the deeper meaning. This is especially evident in today's Gospel passage that we heard in regards the miracle of the wedding feast of Cana.
Now, while it is not stated in the passage which we just heard, we know from Jewish law and customs of the time that the wedding of a virgin would take place on a Wednesday. So we know that this wedding took place on a Wednesday. As we are all aware, while the wedding feast was going on, the couple ran out of wine, which would have been considered a horrible thing and would have caused much embarrassment for the couple.
Now, the Blessed Mother, who was made aware of the situation did what she knew would solve the problem: she informed her Son. In verse four, we hear: "Woman, what have I ot do with thee? Mine hour is not come." Now, keep in mind to our modern ears, this response sounds harsh but actually the response is not what it may seem to our modern ears. Firstly, the term "woman" was actually a form of a respectful address for St. Mary. There is not an exact translation in our modern English but the closest equivalent would be "lady," which would be appropriate when you think about it because we address the Blessed Mother as "Our Lady." Next, the term "what have I to do with thee?" really would translate more correctly as "Leave it to me" or "I got this covered." So, the term is really not what it sounds like. Finally, when Our Blessed Saviour makes reference to "Mine hour is not yet come," we have to remember that St. John makes numerous references to the fact that Our Lord makes mention of this throughout this fourth Gospel. In other words, Our Lord is pointing out that "His Hour" is when He is called to die on the Cross and not making reference in this passage to "not being ready to perform miracles.
But despite what sounds like reservations or harsh responses from Our Lord, the Blessed Mother does not miss a beat, she immediately turns to the servants and tells them, "do whatsoever He tells you." Now Our Lady has confidence in her Son because she had spent some thirty years of her life living with Him; conversing with Him; working with Him; watching Him; listening to Him; etc. In short, she knew Him because she spent time with Him on a daily basis. And through this daily interaction with Him, she grew in faith and understanding of her Son. She knew He was able to take care of matters because she knew Him. Period. This is the lesson that we can learn from Our Blessed Mother: spend time daily with Our Blessed Saviour and through this daily interaction, grow in faith and confidence in Him.
"Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us." (Psalm 62:8)
In the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of the two blind men who came to Our Saviour to be healed of their blindness. " . . . the blind men came to Him; and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord." (St. Matthew 9:28) Faith comes through belief. Belief comes through confidence. Confidence comes through watching and experiencing. We have faith in something because we have seen it with our own eyes. If we are not sure, it is because we do not trust. But, like Our Lady, she had trust in her Son because she came to have faith in Him because she knew Him. She had confidence in Him because she had interaction with Him on a daily basis. We must do the same thing: have daily interaction with Our Blessed Saviour . . . come to know Him . . . . have faith in Him . . . have confidence in Him . . . love Him.
Throughout St. John's Gospel, he writes with two meanings, so to speak: on the one hand, there is a simple surface story, but on the other, there is a deeper meaning underneath the story, where if you dig deeper beneath the surface you will see the deeper meaning. This is especially evident in today's Gospel passage that we heard in regards the miracle of the wedding feast of Cana.
Now, while it is not stated in the passage which we just heard, we know from Jewish law and customs of the time that the wedding of a virgin would take place on a Wednesday. So we know that this wedding took place on a Wednesday. As we are all aware, while the wedding feast was going on, the couple ran out of wine, which would have been considered a horrible thing and would have caused much embarrassment for the couple.
Now, the Blessed Mother, who was made aware of the situation did what she knew would solve the problem: she informed her Son. In verse four, we hear: "Woman, what have I ot do with thee? Mine hour is not come." Now, keep in mind to our modern ears, this response sounds harsh but actually the response is not what it may seem to our modern ears. Firstly, the term "woman" was actually a form of a respectful address for St. Mary. There is not an exact translation in our modern English but the closest equivalent would be "lady," which would be appropriate when you think about it because we address the Blessed Mother as "Our Lady." Next, the term "what have I to do with thee?" really would translate more correctly as "Leave it to me" or "I got this covered." So, the term is really not what it sounds like. Finally, when Our Blessed Saviour makes reference to "Mine hour is not yet come," we have to remember that St. John makes numerous references to the fact that Our Lord makes mention of this throughout this fourth Gospel. In other words, Our Lord is pointing out that "His Hour" is when He is called to die on the Cross and not making reference in this passage to "not being ready to perform miracles.
But despite what sounds like reservations or harsh responses from Our Lord, the Blessed Mother does not miss a beat, she immediately turns to the servants and tells them, "do whatsoever He tells you." Now Our Lady has confidence in her Son because she had spent some thirty years of her life living with Him; conversing with Him; working with Him; watching Him; listening to Him; etc. In short, she knew Him because she spent time with Him on a daily basis. And through this daily interaction with Him, she grew in faith and understanding of her Son. She knew He was able to take care of matters because she knew Him. Period. This is the lesson that we can learn from Our Blessed Mother: spend time daily with Our Blessed Saviour and through this daily interaction, grow in faith and confidence in Him.
"Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us." (Psalm 62:8)
In the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of the two blind men who came to Our Saviour to be healed of their blindness. " . . . the blind men came to Him; and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord." (St. Matthew 9:28) Faith comes through belief. Belief comes through confidence. Confidence comes through watching and experiencing. We have faith in something because we have seen it with our own eyes. If we are not sure, it is because we do not trust. But, like Our Lady, she had trust in her Son because she came to have faith in Him because she knew Him. She had confidence in Him because she had interaction with Him on a daily basis. We must do the same thing: have daily interaction with Our Blessed Saviour . . . come to know Him . . . . have faith in Him . . . have confidence in Him . . . love Him.
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