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Jesus And The Disciples At A Wedding At Cana (John 2:1-12)

 Weddings in this time and place were big social events. Distant family, neighbors, and friends were all expected to come. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph may well have been related somehow to the couple.

Also in this time, the wedding celebration lasted about a week. This culture was even more an "honor-shame" culture than our own. It would have been a huge social embarrassment for the family to run out of food or wine. So Mary steps in. It's awfully hard for any decent son to say no to his mother, especially when she recognizes the problem, and knows Jesus can help.

Why does Jesus answer the way he does? Isn't he speaking harshly to his own mother? No; Jesus does know, however, that when he does this miracle, attention and opposition will be drawn to him. Jesus is concerned that everything will begin to happen sooner than it ought to. In the end, I suppose Jesus understood from the Father that he could do this, without disrupting the Father's plan.

Also, there is a spiritual mystery in Jesus addressing his mother as, "woman". In the same way that Adam had a partner in Eve, Jesus has a partner in his mother Mary. St. Paul will tell us later that Jesus is the new Adam (see Romans 5). Like the new Adam, the new Eve succeeds where the old Eve failed.

One other bit of background explains why Jesus answers the way he does. In the Old Testament, wine was a symbol of God's generosity and favor. Jesus is saying that it's not quite time to celebrate yet. It will be, but not yet. Even so, Jesus does the miracle.

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