Joke: A Man and His Wife are arguing about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife says, “You should do it because you get up first, and then we don’t have to wait as long to get our coffee.” Husband says, “You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.” Wife replies, “No, you should it and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should make the coffee.” Husband answers, “I cannot believe that; show me.” So she fetched the Bible, opened the New Testament, and showed him that at the top of several pages, it indeed says: “HEBREWS.”

In today’s Gospel, Saint John describes Jesus’ first public miracle. The only Gospel reports this miracle in all four Gospels. If we recall from the Scriptures John, the author of this Gospel, is not only the beloved disciple of Jesus as the Catholic tradition believes, but he is also close to Mary as well. At the foot of the Cross, Jesus gives her mother Mary for him to take care of. Make no mistake why John retells the story of the wedding at Cana with the scene where both Mary and Jesus were present. This wedding does not only reveal the divine nature of Jesus, but it also reveals the important role of Mary since John has a special relationship with her. What is the role of Mary who is recognized as a concerning woman and a woman of faith, especially in marriage vocation?

In today’s Gospel, Saint John portrays a scene in which Jesus, Mary, and his disciples are invited to a wedding celebration. The word “invited” is in the passive voice which means the subject receives the action of the verb recalling when I studied English as my second language. Mary, Jesus, and his disciples were invited to the wedding. So, they were at the wedding celebration from an invitation. We would imagine that there must be a lot of weddings taking place in Cana, but why did John mention that Mary, Jesus, and his disciples were invited to this particular wedding? At Jesus’ baptism we just celebrated last Sunday, John the Baptist was popular at the time because of his preaching and his lifestyle which drew a lot of people to him. He pointed out that Jesus was far more important than him. In the presence of Jesus, John the Baptist said, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but one is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Jesus became popular at this time which was why he, his mother, and his disciples were all invited to the wedding celebration.

Just as a wedding celebration cannot be celebrated without wine, marriage life will run out of taste without the presence of Mother Mary. How embarrassing it was when the wedding party ran out of wine. Mary saw their need even before the wedding party recognized it and said to Jesus, her son, “They have no wine.” This short prayer teaches us two things: Mary is a woman of concern, and she is a woman of faith. As a woman of concern, she addresses directly what is her concern and nothing else. As a woman of faith, she believes totally in her son and tells the wedding party to do what he asks them to do. Mary’s intercession for the wedding party is very simple, direct, and with total faith in her son.

Have you ever prayed for someone or interceded for someone in prayer? How do you pray? Lord, help my son, for example. He is an alcoholic. He needs to stop drinking and help his family more, etc. Another prayer: Lord, help my husband. I’m worried about him. I feel that he’s unfaithful to me. Bring him back to love me and my kids, etc. Don’t we come to God in our prayers by addressing our concerns, but then we go into explanation after explanation to make sure that God understands what we are saying? What did Jesus reply to Mary when she addressed her direct concern to him, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?” Why did Jesus address Mary, his mother, a woman? How difficult it is for human beings to comprehend God’s love and his faithfulness to his people. How does your concern affect me? I am God. I know what I am doing. It’s just that “My hour has not yet come.” What if Mary didn’t come to ask Jesus when the wedding party ran out of wine, had they come to Jesus for help? In responding to Mary that way, Jesus wanted to see that the wedding party or the host would come and ask him for help when the wine ran empty. As a concerned woman and a woman of faith in her son, Mary quickly told the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Whatever, a very strong faith in her Son.

Why did John retell this wedding at Cana where the Lord Jesus, his mother, and his disciples were all present? It is to say that the sacrament of matrimony, one of seven sacraments instituted by Christ the Lord and entrusted to the Church, is very important that all our marriage couples should keep in mind to invite the Lord Jesus and Mary, into their married lives. When you live in marriage vocation, there are times that you cannot stop arguing with each other; there are times that you cannot stand each other; there are times that you might be unfaithful to one another; there are times that you might use drugs or alcohol to ease the anxiety and stress that you put on one another; there are times that you are either conscious or unconscious of placing stress from work on one another. In these and many other struggling times, remember to come to Jesus, address your concerns directly, and have total faith in him. To have total faith in him does not mean doing anything just have faith in him. No. To have total faith in him means to do what you can do and allow him to take care of the rest.

Why is that matrimony a sacrament instituted by the Lord Jesus? Matrimony, isn’t that just about eating together in the same house; sleeping together in the same bed; sharing the same house; sharing the same bills; sharing the same laugh, sadness, struggle, etc.? But why is that a sacrament that the Lord himself blessed the couple, not the priest that we often confuse with when we say this so and so priest married us? We, priests, don’t marry you couples, but you two marry each other. We are there to witness your marriage. In the matrimony sacrament, the two are invited to live for each other and to become one flesh, but how can the two become one if they cannot sacrifice their own needs and desires for each other? Problems in becoming one flesh in marriage vocation are numerous and often difficult to escape, but this is why John invited those who live in marriage life to invite Mary and Jesus to come into their lives. Just as Mary sees the need and the concern of the wedding party to intercede for them, do you remember to invite Mary and Jesus to come into your marriage life so that Mary’s presence will help you with your needs? What if at the wedding of Cana, Mary wasn’t present; would Jesus notice and still change that water into wine for the wedding party? Or what if in your marriage life, Mary was absent; would Jesus notice your needs and concerns? We might say that Jesus is a loving God, he knows everything. True. However, at the wedding, Mary was quick on her feet to intercede for the wedding party, and Jesus was not. Jesus even responded to Mary when she told him that they ran out of wine, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” It didn’t mean that Jesus didn’t care, but he might want to know how much faith they had in him. Mary interfered and interceded for the wedding party, it’s just because they invited her to the wedding. Should you invite Mary into your marriage lives? Or who should you seek for help in your marriage life? What would be the reason that Mary noticed that the wedding party ran out of wine and was quick on her feet to intercede for them? Would it mean that the wedding party has a special relationship with Mary that she would know immediately when they are in need? Would it mean that she is sensitive to our issues of life? Why did the Lord Jesus entrust the Church to her care? Let’s invite her to come into our lives by developing a life of prayer and a special devotion to her. For those who are searching for a marriage vocation, keep your eyes wide open before the wedding and half shut after the wedding. For those who are living in marriage vocation, learn to forgive each other by shutting one eye, and one ear, and less complain to your spouse. The decision is always yours.