"They have no wine" - A Reflection on Cana and Haiti

“They have no wine.”
The story of the wedding feast at Cana is a rich passage that is filled with symbolism, as is so much of the gospel of John. A lot is happening here at different levels. What is being revealed first and foremost is Jesus as the one who brings salvation. The glory of the Messiah is beginning to be manifested in the words and deeds of Jesus. The abundance of wine that results from Jesus’ powerful word signifies the abundance of salvation that is found in him for anyone who will listen to his word and heed his word in their lives. The story also speaks of the hour of Jesus that will come; that hour will eventually be consummated on the cross, where Jesus’ mother will also be present. A great deal of scholarly ink has been spilled uncovering the symbolic meaning of this first of the great signs of Jesus.

At this time in our world, however, it might be good for us just to focus on a single line in this gospel story, a very simple sentence. This line contains the words of Mary to Jesus: “They have no wine.” Mary is perceptive enough to recognize the need that is there and to name that need. Running out of wine would have been a source of deep embarrassment for the bride and groom and their families, at this festive event in Galilee that would have lasted for many hours. But the place where Jesus came from and began his public ministry was a place filled with many needs. Cana was a small village not far from the tiny, insignificant village of Nazareth, where Jesus was raised. These were out-of-the-way places that were home to peasant farmers and craftsmen struggling to make ends meet. Their lives were precarious, as they tried to eke out a living under the oppressive Roman government in a society that did not have a lot of respect for these country peasants. Mary’s simple observation, “They have no wine,” reflects the needs of the people of her day who were not the rich and powerful. In the midst of this, Mary names the need and she takes the initiative to find a solution. And she persists even after the mystifying answer of her Son, “Woman, how does this concern affect me?” Even in the face of this sharp retort, Mary continues to trust in the power of the word of Jesus; she says to the waiters, “Do whatever he tells you.”

“They have no wine.” For the past week, we have been shocked by the devastation wrought by the earthquake in Haiti. So many of the people there, desperately poor to begin with, are now struggling for survival. A priest of my own Passionist community, Rick Frechette, runs a hospital for children, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. You may have seen Rick interviewed on CBS or Good Morning America last week. He was ordained about six years before I was, and eventually ended up running an orphanage and a clinic in Haiti. He received a scholarship to return to the U.S. to earn his medical degree. He then returned to Haiti and now works as a priest and physician with the poorest of the poor. He built a new hospital for children just a couple of years ago, which was damaged by the earthquake. Rick is quite an amazing person. He sent us an email last week in which he described the situation he was facing. After recounting the deaths in the earthquake of some of his associates, Rick said this: “We spent the rest of the time managing the countless people with serious and severe wounds, coming to our hospital. We are doing our best for them, under trees and in the parking lot with ever diminishing supplies. We will work through the night and beyond. No stores are open, no banks are open. Diesel is running out. It will be out in two days if we don’t find a solution, which will mean no power at all. The hospital is without water since there is some broken line between the well and the water tower.”

The people of Haiti have no wine. That was true long before the earthquake but now, of course, the seriousness of their plight has been exacerbated. It is people like Rick and many other men and women throughout the world who are sensitive to the needs of the poor who, like Mary in the gospel, continue to name the need and to be courageous in taking the initiative to find solutions. These are people of deep faith who, in the face of frustration and disappointment, refuse to lose hope. They continue to trust in the power of Christ’s word, even when it seems that the world has silenced the word of Christ and rendered it ineffective.

There are times in the lives of each of us when we feel that we are running on empty. We are depleted or disappointed or discouraged, or all of the above. At these moments you and I are invited by the gospel to come to Christ and to name the need; to say, “Lord, I have no wine.” Sometimes when we do it may feel as if our prayer is greeted with silence, or even with a stinging retort from the Lord, “How does your concern affect me?” Yet we must name the need and persist in our trust in the power of Christ’s word in our lives. We must believe that, as one commentator on this Cana story puts it, “Mary’s strong impulse to call for relief corresponds to God’s own dearest desire” (Elizabeth Johnson, Truly Our Sister). By turning to Jesus with trust in his word Mary becomes attuned to the deepest desires of God that his people find life. Our own prayers may well not receive an immediate answer like the six stone water jars of water turned to wine in the gospel. Like Rick and the people of Haiti, we may well have to struggle along from day to day, hour to hour. But we are invited to trust that our own prayer, “I have no wine” is indeed heard and that it taps into the desires of God’s heart for life. We are invited to trust in the power of the word of Christ to offer that life.

This gospel also challenges you and me to emulate Mary in her sensitivity to the needs around her, her courage to name the need and to take initiative to find a solution. Who are the people in our lives who have no wine? Who are those who have been depleted by life, whose hearts have been emptied of hope? Who are the people in our city and nation, and across the world who have little to hope for in this life? None of us can solve all of the problems of the people we love and certainly of many people in desperate need in our world. I suspect that, for all of us, watching the news about the situation in Haiti serves as a continual reminder of our inability to fix our wounded world. We feel so limited in what we can do. But, like Mary, we are called to be sensitive to the needs of others, to have the courage to name the need even when it is unpopular, and to take initiative to find solutions when and where we can.

When we celebrate the Eucharist God fills us with an abundance that transcends what we can see and taste and feel. As a Eucharistic people, let us pray that God will bring nourishment and healing to the people of Haiti through the hands and hearts of people. And may we pray for the grace to be sensitive to the needs of others and courageous enough to name the needs in our world. Let us pledge to take initiative to meet those needs when we can, and to trust that the deepest desire of God’s heart is to give us life.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp

Click here to see Fr. Rick's updates.

To support Fr. Rick, you can send your donation to:

Haiti Hospital Fund
The Passionists
80 David Street
South River, NJ 08882

Catholic Relief Services (CRS):
To assist in the relief efforts in Haiti, you can also give a donation to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which is doing extensive rescue and humanitarian aid work in that country following the devastating January 12th earthquake.