The Holy Martyr Sabbas Stratelates (“the General”) (364-78)
Read
Acts 3:19-26; John 2:1-11
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Why do we read about the wedding at Cana today? Of course, between Easter and Pentecost the gospel readings are from John. But why do we read about the wedding at Cana? After all, if we were reading John in order, shouldn’t today’s passage from chapter 2 have been read sometime last week? The answer appears to be that the second Monday after Easter (i.e., today) used to be a feast of the Virgin Mary at a Marian shrine in Constantinople. In other words, this passage was chosen because of Mary’s special role at the wedding where water was turned into wine.
Often, Catholics and Orthodox are accused of ‘worshipping’ Mary, of giving her more credit than is proper in our devotions. After all, we are saved by Christ, not by Mary; shouldn’t we turn all our attention to Him? Isn’t it blasphemous to associate Mary, a creature, with her creator and saviour? But when we look at this gospel, we see that Mary isn’t drawing attention to herself – in fact, she does the opposite! When the wine at the wedding runs out, what does Mary do? She turns to her son and asks Him to help. And when He gives a somewhat cryptic answer, she directs the servants to “do whatever He tells you.” When we pray to Mary, whether in the Liturgy or on our own, she tells us the same thing…to ask God to show us His will for our life, and to give us the courage to be obedient to Him. True devotion to Mary means having 100% faith in Christ, and obeying Him even when it seems as foolish as serving someone water in the hopes that they will taste wine. By her prayers, when we live this way, the miracles will only be the beginning.