Recently, a secular academic friend sent me his newly published book. In it, he wrote, "tightly knit communities would typically reject strangers even if they shared a common faith in the nature of ultimate reality—as expressed by Buddha or Confucius or Jesus or Muhammad or Moses or Socrates or some other spiritual leader." This statement made me reflect on who Jesus is. Is He simply a spiritual leader like others or just the prophet?
In today's Gospel reading, we hear the second miracle in Cana after the first miracle, in which He changed water into wine. The story is about the telling of true faith at Cana, first through the experience of the mother of Jesus at a wedding in Cana and again at Cana through the healing of the son of the Royal Official. So Jesus’ journey from Cana and back to Cana is now completed; it began with a response of faith from His mother, Mary, a Jewish woman, and ended with the confession of faith from a Gentile man and a father. This story contains the message from John, the author of the Gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God, who offers unique access to God. Belief in Jesus is an acceptance of what is made known by God, who now can be seen in the lives of Jesus, who walks with us on earth. So Jesus is not merely a spiritual leader or a prophet, but He is the one sent by the Father to bring His work to perfection.