Second Sunday of the Year, January 16, 2022
Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians
12:4-11; John 2:1-11
Today is the second Sunday of the Ordinary Time. The liturgy of the day invites us to have a concern for others. Our concern helps Jesus to do wonders in others’ lives. This is a season of “epiphanies,” in which the Liturgy shows us God’s revelation of Jesus as the Messiah to the shepherds, the Magi, King Herod, John the Baptist, and those gathered around John at the Jordan. This week we are at a wedding where Jesus reveals Divine power by turning water into wine.
Francis Thomson in his poem “The
Hound of Heaven” very beautifully expressed the fear of a soul challenged to
yield to God. He writes that he fled from God. “Down the nights and down the
days; and the labyrinthine ways of my own mind…” and at one point he writes,
“For though I knew God’s love Who followed / Yet I was sore distressed, / Lest
having Him, I must have nothing besides.” –- We often have an unexpressed and
hidden fear that God’s presence in our lives may become a hindrance or an
embarrassment. We have a fear that, having God, we may have to give up many
good things in life. Does God make the world grey with His breath? No! Not at
all. Jesus is never an inconvenience. He is never an embarrassment in our
lives. His presence is always a blessing.
The Gospel presents to us the
first miracle performed by Jesus at a wedding.
A wedding is a time of abundance and celebration. From the food and wine
that are served to the music and dancing that follow, weddings overflow with
the goodness of life. At a deeper level,
weddings speak about love, compassion, and unity. Wedding feast Cana is a sign of God’s love and
compassion. Here Jesus takes care of the family who is about to be pushed into
a state of embarrassment. At the same time, he accepts the word of Mary to do a
good act and present the family things in abundance.
The action of Jesus turning water
into wine is the first of the seven signs that Jesus performed and recorded in
the Gospel of John. On the surface,
signs appear to be miracles but John presents them with a particular purpose. These miracles have a strong symbolic
significance that tells us about Jesus and also his messianic work. Each
miracle reveals the messianic sign of Jesus the Messiah who is the full
revelation of God to us. He is a word
that has become flesh for the sake of humanity. John never speaks of these
signs as Jesus' 'miracles'. He prefers to call them 'signs', pointing to God's
power and love at work in Jesus. The sign is generally a thing that points to
or interprets a new idea or vision. In the wedding feast of Cana, the sign is
that Jesus turns the water in six large stone jars used for Jewish purification
rites, into very good wine. Here we have
Jesus who saves the people from embarrassment and at the same time listens to
Mary and performs the miracle for a humble poor family.
The miracle of today is to reveal
a God in Jesus who is so generous that he sometimes cares for us by his
outgoing love. His generosity is overwhelming and is sometimes it is difficult
for us to comprehend. And all this happens in the context of a wedding banquet.
In the New Testament Church, the Christian community is the Bride of Christ. In
the Letter to the Ephesians, this "marriage" is linked to human
marriage, of which it is a model. Jesus’ followers are called upon to experience
his generosity and the Gospel of John tells us that they began to believe
through the sign he performed in front of them.
We see here the power and majesty of Jesus. The kind act of Jesus tells
us that he is involved with our entire life and not spiritual life alone. It
also tells us that it becomes easier when we approach him through Mary our
Mother.
Happy Sunday
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