Homily of Bishop Niall Coll
In this year of 2025 when we celebrate 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea, let me begin by honouring the importance of the Nicene Creed which Anglicans and Catholics profess in their respective liturgies most Sundays: ‘[We] believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty … [we] believe in the one Lord, Jesus Christ … incarnate by the Holy Spirit … and was made man.’
It was an awareness of our shared faith (expressed in this Creed) and our common baptisms, whatever the other points of disagreement between Anglicans and Roman Catholics, that brought both Bishop Wilkinson and I on a shared pilgrimage to both Rome and Canterbury at this time last year. Jointly, we were the Irish representatives at a meeting of IARCCUM, the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. Bishops, Anglican and Catholic, came in national pairs from some two dozen countries from around the globe. A truly international experience.
IARCCUM, it might be helpful to point out, was established in 2000 from an initiative of the Archbishop of Canterbury of the time, Archbishop George Carey, and the then President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal George Cassidy. It was designed to translate the degree of faith shared between the two traditions into practical effect. In other words, the intention was to map out practical ways in which a growing rapprochement might issue into joint action and shared programmes in different parts of the world.
Much progress has been made on our ecumenical journey together, and much more needs to be done. Bishop Wilkinson’s kind invitation for me to be present with you and preach today, and my eagerness to accept, are indications of our commitment to working together here in Ossory over the years ahead. May they be a spur for the Irish bishops of both traditions to forward the spirit of IARCCUM in our country.
Now a word about today’s gospel. Awareness of the levels of meaning contained in the story of the marriage feast of Cana probably suffers because of its status as the customary Gospel passage read at weddings in both our traditions.
They can be easily passed over because the preacher is understandably anxious to talk about the couple sitting in front of the altar who are about to exchange their marriage vows. It is fortunate then that we have an opportunity now to dwell at a little more length on the story.
To begin, let me say that there is every chance that a typical Irish congregation, rooted as we are in our own culture, will sympathise deeply with the host at the wedding feast who has run out of wine – surely an assured party stopper in both a Middle Eastern Jewish or Irish festive context then and now!
It is probably no coincidence that this story comes on the Sunday following that which celebrated the baptism of the Lord, and, by association, our baptisms. And it is no harm to note again in this ecumenical context that there is already a profound unity shared by baptised Christians by virtue of our baptism. Being united with Christ in baptism, we are thereby united with one another in Him.
Back to Saint John’s Gospel and the miracle at Cana. The transformation of the water into wine – is the very first of the signs or miracles that Jesus worked. It is helpful to recall that at the time of Jesus (as now) lots of vineyards were dotted around this Mediterranean area and wine was the familiar drink of choice. The six jars of water mentioned in the story, each holding 15 to 25 gallons, were intended for the ceremonial washing rituals that were integral to Jewish worship and observance.
In Saint John’s Gospel, the new wine acts as a figure of speech for the new age that has dawned with the coming of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, into the world. His glory is seen in the great abundance of fine wine.
Coming so soon after the celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas, the use of this story today underlines the point that Jesus grew to adulthood and began a public ministry which touched and challenged people and called them to a new way of life.
And that same invitation to faith and a new way of life, to discipleship, is what is made possible for us through baptism and the life of faith.
The unfolding of the story acts as an invitation to reflect on who Jesus is, on His identity and uniqueness, truths so central to the Nicene Creed.
The mother of Jesus at Cana shows that the correct response to the presence of Jesus is trust in His word as she tells the servants: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ And this utterance is directed at us too: we are similarly attracted and compelled by Jesus’ presence and invited to a deeper commitment of faith.
We, Anglicans and Catholics, were initiated into this faith through the waters of baptism and are continually nourished for the life of faith – a life which witnesses to the Lord’s presence and glory – by our sharing in the Eucharist, the messianic bread and wine of the New Covenant.
The story of the miracle at Cana sheds light on the meaning of what we do in our respective churches on Sundays. At the heart of every Eucharistic celebration is the presence in word and sacrament of the Lord whose death and resurrection we, faithful to his command, commemorate.
Each celebration of the Eucharist is a sacred meal, a sacred banquet, where we encounter anew the saving presence of the one who brought forth such great abundance at the marriage of Cana.
The fact that Anglicans and Catholics are not able to receive the Eucharist together yet is a matter of sadness. IARCCUM last year, and our liturgy today, are most moving experiences for me of spiritual communion. May they be a further impetus to continue our ecumenical journey together so that we might one day break bread together around the same altar.
After all, as Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong reminded us in his sermon at the closing Eucharist of IARCCUM in Canterbury Cathedral:
“the twelve apostles and disciples were not called to form camps working for their own missions or competing against each other. They were called to become an assembly, a community, a communion, a synodal koinonia, praying and discerning, teaching and serving for the mission of our Triune God.”
Let me end by praying that our witness and ministry alongside one another as Catholics and Anglicans in Ossory, as we look to the future, will be a foretaste of the reconciling of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ. Amen.
ENDS
- Bishop Niall Coll is Bishop of Ossory. This homily was delivered on Sunday 19 January 2025 at the Eucharist for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany in Saint Canice’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Kilkenny, during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
