In most cultures, a wedding is a big deal—and sometimes a source of anxiety. Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Like other priests, I've participated in wedding planning and have listened to brides and grooms—and their anxious parents—worry about making sure the celebration at church and the reception afterward express the joy and importance of the occasion. And I suspect many of them will no doubt identify with today's Gospel story, the wedding feast of Cana.

We all know the story about how the wine was running out, and how Jesus' mother took the problem to him. The miracle of the water become wine—and good wine at that—is a charming story, to be sure. But there's a deeper dimension.

The Gospel according to John is a story of revelation: In its opening words the Gospel tells us about the Word made Flesh. God has come among us in the person of Jesus Christ. The stories and sayings of Jesus which follow are written to allow us to encounter Jesus as the One come from God. Jesus is revealing his glory to those who would accept him.

And it's appropriate that the beginning of Jesus' signs, as John describes this event at Cana, happens in the very human setting of a wedding, a celebration of human life, joy, and the goodness of God's creation. To find God present, we need only to look for the signs of divinity which are present all around us.

I’m Father Greg Friedman with the "Sunday Soundbite," for St. Anthony Messenger Press, on the Web at FranciscanRadio.org