Second Sunday after Epiphany
We’re all familiar with the story of the wedding feast of Cana and the miracle Our Blessed Lord performed on this occasion. Indeed, it is without doubt the best known miracles of Our Lord, and it was also the first. The event is replete with very rich symbolism that does not appear on the surface of things. When we look at it superficially we see Our Lord, at the behest of His Mother, condescending to save the day for a newly wed couple. But there is much more, and most of it revolves around wine’s symbolism.
Everyone knows the difference between wine and water. And whether or not you like wine in general, you are forced to admit that wine is a more noble beverage than water, in the sense that it has qualities that are absent from water. Two aspects in particular draw our attention: namely, that wine has a taste, usually sweet, but in any event, strong, that water does not, and it gives strength and nourishment which water does not. While water is a vital element without which we could not live, it remains less noble than wine.
For our purposes today, we can safely say that while insipid water symbolises the creature that cannot satisfy the human heart, wine symbolises the sweetness and strength of Divine Love. If there are no thrills in your life, it is because there is no love in your life. Unfortunately, most people spend their lives drinking water, and by this, I mean they desperately seek satisfaction from creatures that cannot offer it.
Anyone who attempts to find fulfilment in creaturely comforts will be disappointed, for in comparison to divine consolation, they are like drinking water, while tasting divine comforts is like drinking wine, and the best of wines. Furthermore, as is well known, wine can lead to intoxication. While this is a bad thing for the body and for the soul, spiritual intoxication is a most excellent thing. As St Ambrose tells us in a hymn that we sing at Lauds on Monday, we must seek the ‘drunkenness of the Spirit’, that is to say, we should aspire to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we become oblivious to earthly things just like the man who has had too much wine to drink no longer knows what’s going on around him.
What does this mean for us? That the pleasures and satisfactions of the world, while they may afford us short-lived thrills, always end in sadness and disappointment, just like the man who thinks that with just one more glass or even one more bottle, he will be happy. Unfortunately, God is not in the bottle, and so what actually happens is that he becomes so immersed in the flesh that he loses contact with reality, he loses reason, which is his most noble faculty, and the next day he will have to deal with the consequences.
The drunkenness of the Spirit, on the other hand, does not come from abusing creatures, but rather by abstaining from them and by spending more time with God. We can say that there is a direct proportion between the time we spend with God and the spiritual joy we receive, just as there is also a proportion between the hope we put in creatures and the depression we will have to deal with afterwards. The bottom line is this: only a fool would accept becoming a drunkard, but only a wise man gets drunk on the Spirit.
In today’s epistle, St Paul gives us a number of counsels that become possible for one who lives in the Spirit, and when they are practised, serve to increase the spiritual delight. If you are called to serve, he says, then do so in a true spirit of service, not because you have to but because you want to, because Christ Himself was the servant of all. If you teach, then devote yourself wholeheartedly to teaching, putting all your energy into learning what you are called to hand on to others. If you contribute to help others, do so with generosity, not stingily. If you are called to lead others, then do so with good zeal, not counting your efforts for those entrusted to your care. If you have the opportunity to show mercy to someone in need, do so with cheerfulness, remembering that sometimes the most beautiful gift we can give is a smile. Love one another, he continues, but make sure that love is genuine, and you will know that it is, if you have hatred for all that is evil, if you seek to outdo others in showing respect and honour, if you are not given over to slothfulness, but are fervent in the Holy Spirit, serving others in the Lord. Put your hope in eternal life, for that will give you much joy. When tribulations come your way, be patient, don’t grumble, be ever more and more constant in prayer. If anyone comes across your path who is in need, make haste to show them compassion and give them the help they need. If anyone persecutes and curses you, don’t curse back, but rather call down God’s blessing upon them. If anyone rejoices, show enough love for them to rejoice with them. On the other hand, if they are weeping, learn how to weep with them and bear their burdens. Do not be haughty, but rather seek what is humble, and in this way you will know how to live in harmony with all.
That amazing list of recommendations from the apostle may seem beyond our strength, and it is if we rely on ourselves and keep drinking water. But if only we can stop drinking water and drink the best wine, not just a sip every now and then, but long draughts of strong spiritual wine that will invigorate our souls and fill us with the love that alone makes possible the apostle’s program for each of us, then amazing things start to happen. It will even happen that we will take delight in our sufferings for Christ. This morning at Matins, we heard St Paul tell us: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.(2 Cor 1:3-11).
That extraordinary capacity Paul had to rejoice in his sufferings was made possible because he drank the wine of prayer and self-denial deeply. We know where to go if we want to imitate Him. Indeed, when we need wine, then we know where to go: Our Lord has all the wine in the world, and Our Lady has the key to His Heart. So make sure, in whatever you do and wherever you go, that you invite Jesus and Mary to be always with you. Often in our lives, we feel like we need a drink. Ask Our Lady to get Jesus onto it. Of ourselves, we have only water, but He wants to give us not just a bit of wine, but He wants to fill our jars to the brim. Let’s just make sure they are empty of all worldliness and above all, of ourselves.