REFLECTION:

Let us go back to the wedding feast at Cana, the event that marked Jesus’ first public miracle in the Gospel of John. During the celebration, Mary notices something that others may not have seen or thought important: the wine has run out. In the culture of the time, this would have been a moment of embarrassment for the hosts.

So Mary turns to her son and simply tells him, “They have no wine.”Jesus replies to her, “Woman, my hour has not yet come.”

Even at the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus speaks about his “hour.” In John’s Gospel, this “hour” refers to the moment when his mission will be fully revealed—the moment of his suffering, death, and glory on the Cross. At Cana, that moment had not yet arrived. Yet Jesus still performs the miracle, turning water into wine, offering a glimpse of the greater work that was still to come.

Now, as we arrive at today’s Gospel on this Tuesday of Holy Week (John 13:21–33, 36–38), we see that the moment Jesus once spoke about is now beginning. During the Last Supper, after Judas leaves to betray him, Jesus says: “Now is the Son of Man glorified.”

The hour that once “had not yet come” has now arrived.

But notice how this hour begins—not with applause, not with victory, but with betrayal. Judas walks into the night. Peter will soon deny Jesus. The disciples will scatter. And yet, Jesus calls this moment the beginning of his glory.

In the Gospel of John, glory is revealed not through power but through love that gives itself completely.

This also helps us see a deeper connection between Cana and Holy Week. At Cana, Jesus provides wine for a wedding feast, a sign of joy and celebration. But that sign quietly points forward to what will happen during this very week. On the Cross, Jesus will give something greater than wine—he will pour out his own life for the salvation of the world.

The first miracle at Cana begins to reveal who Jesus is. But Holy Week reveals it fully.

As we continue our journey through these sacred days, the Gospel invites us to recognize something important: God’s greatest work often unfolds in moments that look like weakness, suffering, or loss. What looked like the darkest hour for Jesus became the moment when God’s love was most clearly revealed.

And so during this Tuesday of Holy Week, we are invited to reflect on our own lives. There are moments when things do not go as we planned—moments of difficulty, disappointment, or sacrifice. Yet in Christ, even those moments can become part of something greater.

Because when love is given freely and completely, even the darkest hour can become a moment of glory.