The prophet Elisha bore witness to the heavens being opened and his predecessor Elijah being drawn up to heaven in a chariot of fire. This event marked the anointing of Elisha, as he received a double portion of the spirit that was upon Elijah. Elisha began his time as the chief prophet with his first miracle, a miracle of changing water. The water of the city was unpleasant for the people, even to the point of causing death and miscarriage to mothers. The situation was bad.

Then, the men heeded the word of Elisha, Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it. The prophet threw the salt into a spring and proclaimed the promise of the Lord to the people, Thus says the Lord, I have healed the water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it. And from that day forward with water was healed and changed forever.

Many bore witness to the heavens being opened when our Lord was baptized. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him. The Father declared his good pleasure with Him, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased. His ministry is anointed from eternity. St. John records Christ's first miracle as a miracle of changing water into wine, so a hymn says,

And at Cana wedding guest
In Thy God-head manifest;
Manifest in power divine,
Changing water into wine;

And also another,

And oh, what miracle divine,
When water reddened into wine!
He spoke the word, and forth it flowed
In streams that nature never bestowed.

But first, what a misfortune for the new couple at the wedding feast! They had run out of wine. And don't assume that this is the last time that the new couple ran out of wine. By wine I mean to say joy and happiness, as the Psalmist says, wine that maketh glad the heart of man. This happiness could be found in the married life. Yet, what happens when the joy, the happiness, the gladness, yes the wine run out? Certainly the joy, love, and happy bliss of marriage would run out for the couple in this story and it does for many couples as well.

Dearly Beloved, be assured that your love does not make your marriage, but marriage makes your love. What Christ has instituted in marriage is built upon Himself. While one might believe that annoying habits, hurtful words, and overbearing in-laws are detrimental to marriage, the damage which is far more devastating is failure to attend public worship. When Jesus is removed, the foundation of marriage is removed. When a couple neglects to receive Christ's Body and Blood, the marriage is starved and empty.

The sorrow and sadness of running out of wine does not stop with the couple, but continues to all in attendance. Perhaps the guests began to murmur and grumble. In desperation, Mary told Jesus, who responded with some severity: Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. But while his hour had not yet come, He could afford help to the bride and groom in abundant wine, which had never been seen before by the eyes of men, forth the wine flowed in streams that nature ne'er bestowed.

So says the Prophet Amos: Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. The hour of sweet and abundant wine had been fulfilled. But the hour of salvation had not yet been completed. That hour would come on a Friday evening from a cross, when an abundance of blood would flow down a mountain named Golgotha.

This Blood did not cease to flow down the Hill of Calvary, nor could it be contained within the Holy Land. The Holy Church spread to the far corners of the earth and the Blood of Jesus come to you. By His Love and forgiveness you are given life. Life that is not your own, but life that comes from Him. The Lord has not only entrusted you with your life, but the lives of others to care for, to nurture, and to foster. These lives are the lives of the unborn, the youngest children, and the oldest adults. Christ assigns these lives to you so that you may be a little Christ to them.

The Lord is a living Savior and therefore He lives through his Christians, through His little Christs. Because the Redeemer lives in you through His Word and His Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of the Lord is reflected in you. Service, contributing, giving aid, merciful acts are ways in which the Lord shows Himself through you. Diligence, faithfulness, simplicity, and cheerfulness are the virtues of the Lord by which He makes Himself know in you to your neighbor. Love, kindness, fervor, patience, constancy in prayer, generosity, unity, and humility are the Savior's mark which he puts on you. He is the Living Lord who lives in you.

In the Christian lifespan, heavenly joy and divine grief continue. Sometimes we receive the most wine and floods of gladness. Sometimes we receive water and tears of sadness. And yet the same Lord gives us both. Finally, one day, the Lord Christ will bring His bride home into eternal life. Then will the bride say, Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to cloth herself with fine linen, bright and pure. In that day, all the water of tribulation and anxiety will cease and there shall be no more pain and suffering. Instead, you will drink from the rich plenty of God's wine in His house of Heaven.

And Christ saves the good wine for the very last. During the work week of your life, you are given six days of water. You are given six days of work and labor, six days of chores and school and homework. But for 1 day, this Sabbath day you receive wine. On this day you receive rest. 6 days you receive water, 1 day your receive wine. On this one day you put aside the work you do, that God may work in you.

You are strengthened that you may again face 6 days of toil and work, only to receive once again a Sabbath rest. And this one day is merely a foretaste of the feast to come. In the second coming of Christ, the 6 days of labor of this life will be ended and the Eternal Sabbath will have begun and the Lord shall in your glorious future turn all water of tribulation into joyful wine.

This is the Second Sunday after Epiphany and it used to be called Home Sunday in the Church Year, and for good reason. The Lord works in your homes through His institution of marriage and by His sacrament of Baptism placed upon each of you. Therefore, make your Sunday Home the House of the Lord, so that you may enter with Him into eternal mansions. Amen.

The Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

✠BJF✠