The Power of Surrender

Dear Friend,

Pondering this week’s gospel text from John - the story of the wedding feast of Cana - I went back to the moment last Saturday when I tested positive for COVID. It hit me in the gut that my life had hit a major interruption. Yes, my symptoms were very mild, and unlike many others in the same situation, I had a strong support network, though their lives too would be disrupted - all very frustrating and guilt-inducing. 

Another interruption: six years ago, the OFM friars, of which I am one, began discussions about how and when we might launch a new national province, drawing on the best of our six provinces, to revitalize and restructure our lives. We needed help; our usual way of doing things had run its course. A wise brother directed us to the wedding feast at Cana for guidance.

No story in the Gospels offers a more expansive vision of the future than this one. And it’s a vision of new and abundant life offered at a time of crisis - crisis in the wedding story itself, but also most certainly in the lives of those hearing it, John’s own community facing rejection and misunderstanding. How had they gotten themselves into this fine mess?

The story doesn’t dwell on how the crisis came about, as much as it points to a new opportunity and the power of surrender. Paul writes about the Spirit (second reading) and Isaiah proclaims Israel’s new identity (first reading). The source of Spirit and identity are radically relocated from the temple of Jerusalem to the new temple of Christ’s own body - that’s us. A new year begins. How willing am I to allow the old death-dealing patterns of my life and culture to fall away? Has Jesus come at an unexpected hour?

Gratefully,

 Fr. Dan ofm