Sunday Readings
“Mary, having cooperated in our redemption with so much glory to God and so much love for us, Our Lord ordained that no one shall obtain salvation except through her intercession.”– St. Alphonsus Ligouri
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
Today we are privileged to be in God’s presence to reflect on His Transforming Words of Life. These words inspire our faith and urge us to live positively.
The readings of today call us to reflect on the first miracle of Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana in Galilee., This was the manifestation of His Divinity, and His Mother’s intercession for those in need. This first miracle happened within the context of a wedding feast. Throughout the Bible marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His chosen people. God is the Faithful Groom and humanity is His beloved bride. Let us allow God to transform our families to experience His Divine Presence and miracles.
From the feast of the Epiphany through Baptism to this second Sunday in ordinary time, there have been celebrations of God’s manifestation of Himself to humanity( theophany). At the Epiphany, He revealed Himself to the Gentiles. At His Baptism we saw His Trinitarian Nature as the Son of God. Today His Divinity and Omnipotence as God. Is revealed. “God has sufficiently disclosed Himself to man, to draw us closer to Himself. To be ignorant of who God in our world today is simply a product of one’s choice.”
In the first reading, Isaiah uses the metaphor of spousal love to describe God’s Love for Israel. God’s Fidelity to His people is compared to a husband’s fidelity to his wife. Isaiah predicts God’s salvation of Jerusalem after the return of the Babylonian exiles and visualizes their salvation as a wedding between God and Jerusalem. Jesus’ provision of abundant wine for the wedding feast in Cana signifies that the day foreseen by Isaiah has arrived.
In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us that the new wine that Jesus pours out is the gift of the Holy Spirit given to His bride. God gives to each person a gift to be collectively used for building up His Church and our society not for self-seeking nor aggrandizement.
The Gospel of today is one of those beautiful passages that virtually everyone, including those who don’t go to church or Christians who don’t open their Bible from year to year, know very well. It is a favorite passage for those who justify their drunkenness. Be that as it may, John in the Gospel describes the first of the seven “signs’ by which Jesus showed forth His Divinity. When the wine “ran short,” Jesus’ Mother told Him about it. At first, Jesus seemed to refuse to do anything about it. Yet, momentarily, He told the servants to fill six large stone jars with water and take some of the miraculous water-made-wine to the headwaiter. When they did so, the headwaiter expressed his surprise that such a superb wine had been reserved for last.
This Gospel passage has great lessons for our Christian life and practice. Jesus was invited to a wedding feast along with His Mother. He honored the invitation for the purpose of identifying with those He came to save. His Presence at the wedding feast made it a sacred reality. Marriage is not simply a casual social gathering. There is a Divine element in marriage. In changing water into wine, God transforms the ordinary union of a man and woman into a marriage with a spiritual reality and a source of Grace. God is a third party in every wedding feast. But we need to invite Him by our spiritual disposition, not by mere external preparations. Having a wedding in the church does not guarantee God’s Presence in your marriage. You must prepare and intend Him to be in that union with you. When people go through marriage for some utilitarian reasons or exclude some of the essential properties of marriage they simply exclude Jesus and Mary. Consequently, it becomes a mere social event. No Sacrament takes place.
We need to invite Jesus and Mary into our lives, our families, and in every endeavor of life. The couple invited Jesus and His mother, not just Jesus. You can imagine what would have happened if Mary was not at the feast ? Who would have made that request in favor of the bride and the groom when they ran out of wine if Mary had not been there ? Who even knew that Jesus was the Messiah in that feast if not His Mother who knows Him better than anyone else ? She has absolute confidence that Jesus can do the impossible and that He loves us enough to do something so concretely miraculous. Her faith draws her to Jesus.
We heard how Jesus responded to His Mother’s request, “Woman, how does your concern affect me ? ” Even though,it was not yet time, He heeded to His Mother’s request. My dearest, our Mother Mary is our powerful intercessor before God. She intercedes for us in moments of great difficulty. Jesus still listens to His Mother. He can never turn down her request. Those who honor Mary through the Rosary, our powerful weapon of prayer and various Marian devotions have greater chances of receiving miracles than those who don’t. It was St. Alphonsus Liguori who once said, “If you need the fruit go to the tree.” Jesus is the fruit of Mary’s womb, so whoever goes to Jesus through Mary must surely find Him. It was not recorded whether Mary was approached when there was no wine, but it is obvious that she is a woman who is very observant and sensitive to the needs of those around her. Mary knows our needs and will always intercede for her children. Let us invite Jesus and Mary into our lives and into all our endeavors. When we work and walk with Jesus and Mary we are in the best company.
Let us follow Mary’s instruction, “Do whatever He tells you.” This is the only command given by Mary which is recorded in the New Testament and it is a prerequisite for miracles in our families. The Bible tells us how to do the Will of God and effect salvific changes in our daily lives. You can’t look to Mary for guidance without seeing her Son. She wants nothing more than to point us back to Jesus and His Will.
Just as Jesus filled the empty water jars with wine, let us fill the empty hearts around us with love. Through the Miracle of Cana, Jesus challenges us also to enrich the empty lives of those around us with the new wine of love, mercy, compassion and care.
Let us learn to appreciate the miracles of God’s Providence in our lives. God, often as an uninvited guest in our families, works daily miracles in our lives by protecting us from physical and moral dangers, providing for our needs, inspiring us, and strengthening us with His Holy Spirit. Let us also appreciate the Miracle of the Real Presence of the Lord on the altar where God transforms our offering of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of His Son.
May God transform our worst into the best. May God step in to save us from embarrassing situations and dangers threatening our lives. May we find security under the shield of God’s protection. May our Mother Mary intercede for us and our family. May we grow in faith through the many small miracles that God works daily in our lives. Amen.
