Fr. Alan's homily for Sunday January 14th 2007
Saint John sums up that story by saying that it was the first of the signs given by Jesus. He let his glory be seen and his disciples believed.
Saint John's Gospel is a book of signs: Cana in chapter 2, the healing of a cripple in chapter 5, the multiplication of loaves in chapter 6, the healing of a man born blind in chapter 9 and in chapter 11, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In these signs, Christ reveals who he is: the Son of God, the Word made Flesh, God himself among us. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we saw his glory, the glory of the only Begotten of the Father.
The sign he gives, then, is first of all the sign of his divine nature as God, the Son of God. But there is more. Remember that John begins his Gospel with the echo of the Creation story in the Book of Genesis where it says: In the beginning God created. John says: In the beginning was the Word.
So this miracle is an act of new creation, nature itself is changed as the water is transformed into wine. In the Book of Revelation Christ says Behold, I make all things new. This miracle points to what God has promised, a new heaven and a new earth in Jesus Christ.
It is also a reminder of the way by which that act of new creation is brought about. For the one who changes water into wine changes wine into the sacrifice of his Blood and bread into the sacrifice of his Body and brings that into our midst with the command Do this as the memorial of me. When we eat this bread and drink this cup it is his death we are announcing and his sacrifice we are offering for the redemption of the world.
Saint Paul asks us to show who we are by the sign we give. God has created each one of us with special gifts. Paul reminds us that these gifts come from the Holy Spirit and that we should be identifying them and accepting them gratefully into the life of the Church.
There is one example of how Catholics have traditionally done this, and that is by entering local politics and standing for local office in the conviction that we can and must make a difference to the world God has given us and that the Church must be represented in society. That is one way in which we can give a clear sign of who it is we serve, the Christ whose glory is that of Sonship of the Father, divine adoption; something he invites us all to share.
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