Jesus transforms us.

In today’s gospel, our blessed Mother, Mary, has a dilemma. She can allow the bridegroom to suffer great embarrassment when the wine runs out or she can talk to Jesus and do something about it. At first, it appears that Jesus doesn’t want to get involved. But then He transforms the water into wine and the reception is saved.

We are often faced with dilemmas. What do we say to a friend who confides she is pregnant and doesn’t want to be? How do we respond when we see someone being treated unfairly because of race or gender? What do we do when we hear of someone who doesn’t have enough to eat or a place to live? Our first inclination may be to not get involved, to just “let nature take its course”. But as Christians, that is not the right choice.

Each of us has been endowed with unique gifts from God. It is our duty to use these gifts to serve others and to benefit the community in which we live. But it can be difficult to do this on our own. Like our blessed Mother, Mary, in today’s gospel, we need to go to Jesus and ask Him to do a transformation. He can help us put aside our hesitancy to get involved and our fear of advocating for those who may need our support. If we only ask, Jesus can transform us from bystanders to active participants in doing the will of God.