Fr. Voigt, " What's in a Pot?"
There were six pots at the very entrance of the wedding feast and one by one the guests took some of the water for the purification of their hands and feet. After they did so they entered the marriage feast. Little by little the water was used and the pots became empty. Emptiness is the condition for the divine presence to become active. If a soul is so filled with self there is no room for the Lord to do any work but when that soul humbles itself then it becomes a fit subject for the Divine activity. Let us then expose the meaning of the Marriage Feast from the perspective of the 6 stone pots. Consider their purpose, their conditions, and their eternal significance.
Why focus on a pot of all things? There is a purpose which is more significant than one might at first think. These pots are tied to the purification of the bodies of those who came to celebrate the marriage. Purity is a prime consideration in our lives if we are to achieve the kingdom of God. Hence the pots perform the purpose of recalling our need to cleanse ourselves in the water that will flow from the side of our Lord on Calvary. Remember that sin befouls us and must be removed if we are to enter the heart of our God. So consider that there are six pots in order to remind us of the six ages of the world.
First is the age of man from Adam to Noah in which man became so polluted that God rained down upon all mankind the cleansing waters of the flood. Then the age from Noah to Abraham in which God began forming the family of faith with the Father of Faith in Abraham. Next we move from Abraham to David in which the uniqueness of the true God calls upon David to repent of his sins and to walk in righteousness. From David we move to the Babylonian exile in which God humbled the pride of the chosen people. After the Babylonian exile we approach the greatest of all men proclaiming a baptism of repentance at the river Jordan. John the Baptist concludes the ages of preparation and purification with his cry, "Behold the Lamb of God, He Who takest away the sins of the world."
The final age has begun with our Lord revealing the invitation to the marriage feast of heaven for all those who have cleansed their garments in the Blood of the Lamb. We are in the final days of the quest of God for the souls that desire to come to the marriage feast of the Lamb. Everyone must DESIRE to attain the kingdom of God through the PURIFICATION of their souls. Recall our Lady's last words uttered in Scripture: "They have no more wine." This is the state of our world today. How did we come to such a sorry situation?
Instead of humbling ourselves and realizing the truth that we are merely "contingent" beings and not
necessary. We usurped the position of God Himself and we seek to make
this world our heaven. It is not. In the pots we find the answer for
the pots went through a process which includes the human and flows into the divine. First the pots were used for the purification rite; then they were empty; Our Lady recognized the plight of the married couple and calls upon her
Son to begin the salvation process; Jesus calls for the human to fill up the pots to the brim; then take them to the waiter in charge. From the human comes the fruit of the divine - a brilliant and delicious wine. Now from the emptiness there is a fullness that can only come from God.
Our age is the last age. It will be our responsibility to place the hearts of Jesus and Mary in the central position of our soul. Do this by frequently praying the holy rosary; repeat daily the litany of the Blessed
Mother; wear her scapular and encourage others to turn to her for all
their needs. Writer after writer these days are beating the drums of
societal death. It has to happen.
This society is founded on the principles of man first, God maybe later. Imagine a Creator denied a room in an inn and forced to be born in a cave. It must be that men and women come to their senses and return totally in purity to the love of God. Our response depends on what is in our pot. Is it empty then it is time to fill it with water. Is it filled with the water of the world then it must be brought into the presence of its Savior and blush. With the blush of the water the wine will bring joy to our hearts and we will know that we belong to our Lord and our Lady.
This is the last age of man let us use the time we have left to purify our hearts, our minds and our physical strength for the works of God.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt