Week 15 of the Church year
കോത്തിനെ ഞായർ
The fast is about to begin, and the Church reads about a wedding where the wine ran out. Jesus’ first sign turns six jars of water into the best wine of the feast.
At a wedding in Cana, the wine runs out. Mary tells Jesus, then tells the servants to do whatever he says. He has them fill six stone jars with water, which becomes excellent wine. It is his first sign.
Great Lent begins tomorrow. Every Sunday of the fast reads one of Jesus’ miracles, and the first is the first sign he ever did.
Lent begins with a feast, not a funeral. The fast is a road towards joy.
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
Nicodemus comes by night: you must be born of water and the Spirit.
The shrewd manager; no one can serve two masters.
God gives the ten commandments from Mount Sinai.
Return to me with all your heart; tear your hearts, not your garments.
The fast God chooses: loose the bonds of injustice and share your bread with the hungry.
The church at Antioch, where believers were first called Christians.
Set your minds on things above; clothe yourselves with compassion and love.
At a wedding in Cana, Jesus turns water into wine: his first sign. This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenesGod gives the ten commandments, Joel calls the people to tear their hearts and not their clothes, and Isaiah describes the fast God wants. Colossians says to put on compassion, kindness and patience.
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
On the third day there is a wedding in Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother is there, and Jesus and his disciples are invited.
“On the third day”: John’s first sign and the resurrection share the same marker of time.
The wine runs out. Mary tells Jesus. He answers: woman, what is that to me? My hour has not yet come.
Running out of wine would have shamed the family for years. Mary notices a problem nobody else has spoken of.
His mother says to the servants: whatever he says to you, do it.
These are Mary’s last recorded words in John’s Gospel. They are good advice for every Christian.
Six stone water jars stand there for Jewish washing rituals, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus has them filled to the brim with water, then drawn out and taken to the steward of the feast.
That is around 500 to 700 litres. The servants did all the work, and they are the only ones who know what happened.
The steward tastes it and tells the bridegroom: everyone serves the good wine first, but you have kept the best until now. This is the first of Jesus’ signs; he reveals his glory and his disciples believe.
The jars for ritual washing are filled with the wine of a feast. Something old is not thrown away but filled with something new.
The verse to keep
“അവന്റെ അമ്മ ശുശ്രൂഷക്കാരോടു: അവൻ നിങ്ങളോടു എന്തെങ്കിലും കല്പിച്ചാൽ അതു ചെയ്വിൻ എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു.”His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
Maryമറിയം
The mother of Jesus, who notices the wine has run out.
“Hebrew Miriam; the meaning is uncertain”
The stewardവിരുന്നുവാഴി
The master of the feast, who tastes the wine and praises the bridegroom.
“—”
The servantsശുശ്രൂഷക്കാർ
They fill the jars and carry the water, and they know where the wine came from.
“—”
ഒരു കല്യാണവീട്ടിൽ തുടങ്ങുന്ന നോമ്പ്
It might seem odd that the Church begins Great Lent with a wedding. Tomorrow we start fifty days of fasting, and today we read about Jesus making more than five hundred litres of wine for a party. The choice is deliberate. The fast is not the point. It is a road, and at the end of it is a feast.
At Cana, the people who know what Jesus did are the servants. They did the plain work of carrying water and filling heavy jars, without understanding why. Mary’s instruction was simple: do whatever he tells you. They did, and they saw the sign before anyone else.
Lent can be like that. We give up food, pray more, give alms, without always feeling anything change. Mary’s words are a good rule for the next fifty days. Do what he tells you, even when it feels like carrying water. The best wine is kept for later.
കുടുംബമായി സംസാരിക്കാം
What will each of us take on or give up for Great Lent, and why?
Two minutes after the audio. Everyone gets a turn, and nobody is interrupted.Agree as a family on one Lenten practice you will keep together, such as an evening prayer at a fixed time.
Lord Jesus, at Cana you turned water into wine. As we begin this fast, teach us to do whatever you tell us, and keep the best for the end. Amen.
The whole year
Every Sunday of the Church year, season by season: readings, the Gospel and a question for the family.
Sunday 1 of 7 in Great Lent