{"id":46,"date":"2009-09-01T19:22:41","date_gmt":"2009-09-02T01:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/?p=46"},"modified":"2010-08-04T12:18:53","modified_gmt":"2010-08-04T18:18:53","slug":"from-cana-to-senegal-from-baptism-to-eucharist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/meditations\/from-cana-to-senegal-from-baptism-to-eucharist\/","title":{"rendered":"From Cana to Senegal & from Baptism to Eucharist"},"content":{"rendered":"

RE: John 2:1-11<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1596-97
1596-97 Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wine is representative of the work of human hands because the grapes must be cultivated, harvested, crushed and contained.\u00a0 So when the wine runs out it is representative of the insufficiency of man\u2019s work to provide the elements that facilitate joy and celebration.\u00a0 Since the wedding is a union of man and woman, who are in the likeness of God, it represents the coming together of Heaven and Earth.\u00a0 The question then arises, how will the celebration go on when the wine runs out, or how will the union of man and God be celebrated if man\u2019s work is insufficient?\u00a0 Christ Himself must make up for our insufficiencies.\u00a0 Since no man\u2019s work is sufficient on its own merit to bring him to God, God must make up the difference.\u00a0 How does Jesus bridge the gap?\u00a0 Jesus first instructs the workers to fill jars with water.\u00a0 And here is where every Christian journey begins, with instruction and the purifying waters of baptism. Take notice in John 2:6<\/span> that the stone water jars that are used for this miracle are intended to be used for purifying (ceremonial washing: NAB).\u00a0 The baptismal waters are just a beginning because the water must be turned to wine before the head waiter approves.\u00a0 In a sense the head waiter is like God the Father who at His son\u2019s baptism declares, \u201cThis is my Son in whom I am well pleased.\u201d\u00a0 Similarly, the head waiter approves of the wine in an extraordinary way.\u00a0 The wine that Christ makes is more than sufficient in both quantity and quality and the head waiter testifies that it is better than the first wine, which was already good.\u00a0 This refers to the first or Old Covenant which is good not because of man\u2019s effort but because of God\u2019s goodness.\u00a0 Now the New Covenant that the Father makes is greater than the first covenant because the sacrifice will not be the blood of creatures but of His own Son.\u00a0 In the context of a wedding celebration this covenant shows God\u2019s plan to save the celebration of life, which is the union of man to God.\u00a0 This plan involves the obedience of man, our receptiveness to His instruction and our effort in carrying out that instruction no matter how insufficient our work is.\u00a0 We see this kind of obedience in the actions of the waiters whom Mary tells to do as Jesus says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Institution
Institution of the Holy Eucharist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this plan, Jesus leads us from one sacrament to another; from\u00a0repentance through Baptism to communion through the Holy Eucharist.\u00a0 For now, at the beginning of Jesus\u2019 ministry He makes the water into wine yet when His ministry culminates in the Senegal and on the Cross\u00a0He will make the wine into His blood.\u00a0 It is through water that we come to His Body and Blood; it is through Baptism that we come to the Holy Eucharist.
\n\u00a9 Tim Bartel 2009<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>John 2:1-11<\/span>
View in: NAB<\/a> Vulg<\/a> Greek<\/a><\/span><\/div>
1<\/span>And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there.<\/div>
2<\/span>And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage.<\/div>
3<\/span>And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine.<\/div>
4<\/span>And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come.<\/div>
5<\/span>His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye.<\/div>
6<\/span>Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece.<\/div>
7<\/span>Jesus saith to them: Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.<\/div>
8<\/span>And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it.<\/div>
9<\/span>And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water; the chief steward calleth the bridegroom,<\/div>
10<\/span>And saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine until now.<\/div>
11<\/span>This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee; and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>John 2:6<\/span>
View in: NAB<\/a> Vulg<\/a> Greek<\/a><\/span><\/div>
6<\/span>Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>

Jesus first instructs the workers to fill jars with water. And here is where every Christian journey begins, with instruction and the waters of baptism. The baptismal waters are just a beginning because the water must be turned to wine before the head waiter approves. In a sense the head waiter is like God the Father who at His son\u2019s baptism declares, \u201cThis is my Son in whom I am well pleased.\u201d Similarly, the head waiter approves of the wine in an extraordinary way[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[25,29,24,27,28,26],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meditations","tag-cana","tag-luminous","tag-mary","tag-mysteries","tag-rosary","tag-wedding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":722,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicbookwriter.com\/goldenarrow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}