2nd Sunday Year C
Mary and the Wedding Feast
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we give thanks to God for the gift of our lives as we begin a new week. May His name be praised now and always. Amen. We are fully back into the ordinary time of the year but this Sunday’s Gospel reading completes the epiphany which consists of three major events in the life of Jesus, the visit of the Maggi, the baptism and the first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. This miracle has become the second mystery of light in the additional mysteries proclaimed by Pope John Paul II to the Holy Rosary.
First Reading (Isaiah 62:1-5)
The passage is set in the period following the exile in Babylon. The Babylonians had destroyed the temple and the homes of the people and taken away the able bodied men and women into exile leaving behind the aged, the sick and little children. The years of the exile therefore meant that those at home could not achieve much in the rebuilding of the nation. The return of the exiles was expected to bring about a change but the rebuilding process was slow after years of devastation and exile. God in this passage through the prophet reminds the people of his unwavering love for them. God promises not to be silent and weary until her integrity shines forth and salvation flames like a torch. God’s bond with his people cannot be broken by anything, not even their sin and their rejection of God because God is ever faithful.
That bond is expressed in the language of marriage.”…As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” A company might change its name or logo to project new realities and new hope for the future. The people will be known by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give. No more a forsaken land or people, but the Lord’s delight. The Lord will wed his people. This powerful image is a link to the coming of the Lord to live with his people, and to share in their condition. This imagery is also found in the work of the prophet Hosea who saw his relationship with the prostitute Gomer, as a reflection of the peoples behaviour in their relationship with God. The Gospel of today will present Jesus at a marriage feast bringing joy to a disappointed couple.
Second Reading (1Corinthians 12:4-11)
In this passage, Paul addresses one of the problems of the Church in Corinth which had to do with their boast concerning the various gifts in the community. Their liturgical assembly is often graced with extraordinary phenomena but rather than unite them, it has become a source of division in the community. When there are various charisms in the community, how do we look at them? Paul goes beyond the gifts to the giver. He wanted the people to realise that these gifts are Trinitarian in nature bestowed by the Godhead and for the purpose of uniting the community. These gifts must therefore be used in a way that unites the community because that is the reason why they have been given by the Lord. Have you seen anyone in your community who is boasting of his spiritual gifts? One who boasts of his talents? One who uses his talents or gifts to oppress others or intimidate them? Have you seen someone who has become very proud of his talents and sometimes forget it is a gift from the Lord? That is a sign of ignorance and ingratitude. How are you using your own gifts and talents to unite your community and family?
Gospel (John 2:1-12)
The Gospel of today presents us with a very popular miracle of Jesus performed at a wedding feast in Cana. Absolutely incredible! Here is a miracle that is peculiar to the Gospel of John and presented as his first miracle. Could there have been a better setting for this miracle? Its possible the couple had prepared everything without leaving out anything. Their saving grace however, was the invitation to Mary, to Jesus and his disciples. A marriage is an occasion of great hope and expectation. A new start for the couple but it also comes with the uncertainties of the many trials that may come. Wine is a sign of joy at any feast. The type of wine could also show ‘class’ of the couple or at least of their family. When it is only the cheap sort, you know it might be people of lowly class, but when the best wines in town are served, the guests know what it is. Unfortunately, they ran out of wine and under such a situation, they might as well close the party. We do not know how Mary got to know that they had run out of wine. Could it be that she was in the kitchen helping out with the cooking or better still helping with the serving?
As a concerned mother she knew well enough her son and Lord can remedy the situation and quickly she came to Jesus to inform him of what has gone wrong with the feast, ‘they have ran out of wine’. The response of Jesus here is very interesting but at the same time puzzling, ”Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not yet come.” Note that he did not just call her Mother. The ‘woman’ here reminds us quickly of Adam meeting Eve for the first time, a sort of marriage, you could say, arranged by God. Adam said, ‘at last, this is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh, she shall be called WOMAN’. That first woman was called Eve, the mother of all the living. Mary becomes the new Eve in the fullness of time. Her YES to the angel’s message changed everything, she has become the mother of all the living, of all the redeemed in Christ. ‘My hour has not come yet.’ What hour, except the hour of his suffering and death? By inviting Jesus to work his first miracle, Mary quickens the time of the redemption of the world. Jesus will no longer be able to go about quietly, his miracles and the Good news will bring him to the limelight and bring him into conflict with his adversaries. Just as she brought her son to the temple, now she beckons on him to open his public ministry with a miracle in Cana. At the end of his life on the Cross, Jesus will hand her over to the Church to validate the mission of the Apostles.
The response of Jesus to Mary did not stop her from giving instructions to the servants ‘do whatever he tells you.’ As an obedient child, he will not refuse his mother this request, not even in the public domain. Jesus invites the servants to fill the jars with water. Six is one short of the number of perfection (seven), the jars were meant for ablution but it became jars of special wine because when the steward tasted it, instead of water, it had turned to the best wine ever, and he could not but ask, how that has come about. ‘People generally serve the best wine first and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now.’
Jesus turns a disappointment into a situation of victory and celebration. Everyone who allows Jesus into his/her situation has got nothing to lose but a lot to gain. May the Lord turn your disappointments into occasions of joy and happiness. Amen.
Every Christian wedding is an invitation to the Lord to come and dwell with the couple and to supply the missing link in the marriage. This however requires a constant union with the Lord in the sacrament of his love and a proper preparation for the reception of the sacrament which also requires the willingness on the part of the couple to continue to listen to the Lord and make him a part of their union. May all Christian homes be renewed in their love and family living. Amen.
Right from the first miracle of Jesus, we also have a window to his greatest miracle of all, the Holy Eucharist in which he will turn bread into his flesh and wine into his blood. Surely this is a pointer to the hour of his agony and death.
Miracles do happen and there's no doubt about that. It happens everyday even without our asking. Sensational miracles are however often false and dubious. Many people have been defrauded in the name of miracles.
Just see again how important mothers are to their children. Particularly the Mother in the Gospel of today. If you go to Mary, you can be sure that she is capable of presenting your requests to Jesus in the best way possible. In a way that he cannot refuse. She is the only human person who accompanied Jesus from his conception to the cross. I wish to end this reflection with one of the precious prayers to Mary called the Memorare. I recommend it to you for your daily prayers this week.
Memorare:
Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen. May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
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