Both Old and New

It's an old story and yet it seems to have gained a new twist.
It's the story we hear this weekend.
Water into wine . . . the Wedding at Cana in Galilee.
You know the story very well . . . or do you?
"They have no wine!"
That observation at a wedding back then and even at a wedding today is a declaration of social disaster. Back then weddings lasted for days and the bride and groom were expected to keep their guests well stocked and well satisfied. To run out of wine was a serious matter. 
Even today wedding guests expect a certain degree of hospitality in food, drink and entertainment.
"They have no wine!"
Disaster!
This morning I was reading the daily reflection that I receive via email - Word on Fire by Bishop Robert Barron. In the middle of his reflection on this Gospel Bishop Barron drops this observation: Wine, in the Scriptures, is a symbol of the exuberance and intoxication of the divine life. When God is in us, we are lifted up, rendered joyful, transfigured. 
Or said in another way - Wine, in the Scriptures, is a sign of God with us and, therefore, we being able to embrace the fulness of life and its joys.
"They have no wine!"
That declaration is made by Mary, our Mother, the Mother of all.
Woman (and that, remember, is what Jesus calls her in this story) speaks on behalf of all humankind. Her declaration is a statement of the need each and every one of us has for the Presence of God in our lives. Without that Presence our lives are empty. There is nothing to celebrate no matter how successful those lives may seem in other quarters.
A Mother speaks on behalf of all of us.
She declares our need for what only her Son can give to us.
And then she sets out advice for us: "Do whatever He tells you."
And when we do!
Wine!
An abundance of wine!
The best of wine!
God only gives the best! And plenty of it!
This is not just the story of a wedding at Can in Galilee long, long ago.
It is a story of today and a story that unfolds anytime someone listens to that Woman, that Mother.
"Do whatever He tells you!"


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