This is the first of the seven signs performed by Jesus according to the purpose of John the Evangelist

 

This is the first of the seven signs performed by Jesus according to the purpose of John the Evangelist (cf. the healing of the son of the king's officer: Jn 4:43-54; the healing of a paralytic in Bethesda: 5:1-15; the multiplication of the loaves and fishes: 6:1-15; walking on water: 6:16-21; the healing of the man born blind: 9:1-41; and the raising of Lazarus: 11:1-45). At Cana, Jesus is presented as someone close to God, as the true Bridegroom and the one through whom the New Time, the New and Eternal Covenant, the new humanity conceived by God, comes about. Jesus presents himself as the new and true bridegroom of humanity. He is the only one capable of bringing new and unsurpassed wine to everyone. Wine is a symbol of love (Song 1:2) and its abundance is associated with the coming of the Messiah. In the context of Cana, marriage connotes the relationship between God and His people (Hos 2:16-25; Is 1:21-23; 49:14-26, among others), and this had been forgotten by many, so much so that the “Mother of the Lord” will state: “They have no more wine” (Jn 2:3). In other words, they no longer had the joy of the children of God, the delight of true life, the awareness of being authentic gifts of God and, therefore, of belonging to Him by conviction.

2. Certainly many things had become fixed in the lives of those people: they had lost their taste for the Law of God and no longer obeyed the prophetic teachings. Other things had taken hold in their lives, such as vices, the desire for power and domination, profit-making interests, self-attachment, vanity, among other things. In fact, they no longer had wine, because they were intoxicated by prostitution, adultery, corruption, theft, deceit and idolatry. There was no more life in the experience with the first Covenant. The relationship with God was adulterated and the law became obsolete. The religious life of Israel could no longer truly guide that people; they no longer had anything to offer that could offer new life. There were no more references. Nothing and no one, humanly speaking, could save them, freeing them from everything that weighed them down in their social, economic, religious, political and psychological lives. 3. In Cana, the possibility of restoring the life of these people with God is given through the encounter with Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the New and Eternal Covenant. A curious fact is that nothing is said about the bride. She does not even appear in the narrative. It is possible that this absence is intentional, so that the reader understands that the bride is the one who will appear with the adherence to Jesus Christ, through faith and baptism. In this case, the bride will identify with the community of followers, those who will make Jesus the absolute reason for their lives. Certainly, it will be about the Church, the new Zion, the Beloved of the Lord, the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. 4. Another important detail is that the episode of Cana takes place on the “sixth day” of the first symbolic week of the Gospel of John. This means an association with Genesis 1:26ff, because humanity emerged on the sixth day. This reference therefore means the emergence of a new humanity, truly focused on Christ, inserted into Him, made the bride of Jesus, “the New and definitive Husband”. However, the time for this “new wine” will only come at the moment of the cross, because it will be the time of the maximum manifestation of the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the time of mercy par excellence; the time of the total surrender of the Son of God; but also the time of the judgment of humanity, which there realizes its misery, its contempt and, for this very reason, its inhumanity. The cross will be the definitive hour, preparing the new humanity, which will act in the power of the Holy Spirit, WHO will grant the Church a diversity of gifts, ministries and activities (cf. 1 Cor 12:4-6), as well as the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, the gift of healing, the power to perform miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, the gift of speaking in tongues and also the gift of interpretation of tongues. The diversity of gifts given to the most diverse people, each one being responsible for applying the gift received with a view to the common good, that is, of the whole Church (cf. 1 Cor 12:7-11). It is in the same Holy Spirit that the New and Eternal Covenant is given; that the profound intimacy between Christ and his Church occurs; and the reality of the connection between Christ the Head and the Church the Body, forming the new people of God. 5. As for the WOMAN, who, above all, is Mary, who appears related to the hour of Jesus, also symbolizes the servants and Israel; She who hands everything over to Jesus and who casts herself upon Him and trusts Him absolutely; she is found both at the beginning of the seven signs presented by John and at the end, at the foot of the cross, the exact moment of the manifestation of the glory of God. At that moment, Jesus asks her a question that puzzles some scholars: “Woman, what is that to us? My hour has not yet come.” The expression in Greek is: “ti emoi kai soi?” and can offer more than one understanding. It could be a response of agreement with Mary: “What disagreement is there between me and you?”