Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 01-20-19, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

God Won’t Ask

Pastor’s Column

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time

January 20, 2019

This insightful piece was shared with me by a parishioner many years ago and I wanted to pass it on to you with a few updates of my own. Sometimes a different perspective on the teachings of Jesus can make us think a little bit about what our real priorities in life ought to be and if we are overemphasizing only passing things.

GOD WON’T ASK what kind of car that you drove –
He will ask how many times you used your car for the good of others though.

GOD WON’T ASK what the square footage of your house was or its value or view –
He will ask how many people felt welcomed when they entered your home though.

GOD WON’T ASK what your salary was or what position or acclaim you had on earth –
He will ask you if you compromised your character to obtain it though.

GOD WON’T ASK how many times you worked out at the gym –
He will ask how many workouts you permitted him to exercise on your soul though.

GOD WON’T ASK about the clothes in your closet or how healthy you ate –
He will ask how many people you helped clothe or the hungry you fed though.

GOD WON’T ASK what your job title was –
He will ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability though.

GOD WON’T ASK in what neighborhood you lived –
He will ask you how you treated your neighbor though.

GOD WON’T ASK about the color of your skin –
He will ask about the content of your character though.

GOD WON’T ASK how many friends you had –
He will ask how many people to whom you tried to be a friend to though.

Father Gary

In the Wedding: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Wedding at Cana,

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1672

Readings:
Isaiah 62:1–5
Psalm 96:1–3, 7–10
1 Corinthians 12:4–11
John 2:1–12

Think of these first weeks after Christmas as a season of “epiphanies.” The liturgy is showing us who Jesus is and what He has revealed about our relationship with God.
Last week and the week before, the imagery was royal and filial—Jesus is the newborn king of the Jews who makes us co-heirs of Israel’s promise, beloved children of God. Last week in the liturgy we went to a baptism.
This week we’re at a wedding.

We’re being shown another dimension of our relationship with God. If we’re sons and daughters of God, it’s because we’ve married into the family.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible begins and ends with a wedding—Adam and Eve’s in the garden and the marriage supper of the Lamb (compare Genesis 2:23–24 and Revelation 19:9; 21:9; 22:17)?

Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the covenant relationship God desires with His chosen people. He is the groom, humanity His beloved and soughtafter bride. We see this reflected beautifully in today’s First Reading.

When Israel breaks the covenant, she is compared to an unfaithful spouse (see Jeremiah 2:20–36; 3:1–13). But God promises to take her back, to “espouse” her to Him forever in an everlasting covenant (see Hosea 2:18–22).
That’s why in today’s Gospel Jesus performs His first public “sign” at a wedding feast.

Jesus is the divine bridegroom (see John 3:29), calling us to His royal wedding feast (see Matthew 22:1–14). By His New Covenant, He will become “one flesh” with all humanity in the Church (see Ephesians 5:21–33). By our baptism, each of us has been betrothed to Christ as a bride to a husband (see 2 Corinthians 11:2).

The new wine that Jesus pours out at today’s feast is the gift of the Holy Spirit given to His bride and body, as today’s Epistle says. This is the “salvation” announced to the “families of nations” in today’s Psalm.

“They have no wine”

John 2: 1-11

The Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/012019.cfm

Wedding celebrations are among the most festive and joyful. Across cultural lines, we begin with the commitment of the bride and groom, hopefully in a context of religious faith, only to be followed by a grand party that may last anywhere from a few hours and on into the night. I think it clear from the Gospel today that we find ourselves in the midst of a lengthy celebration.

In spite of the confusion caused by the non-Christian definition of marriage which prevails today, for us who follow we hold to what we have always known. Marriage is not just about love and emotions, not just about a “friend for life” between two partners but it is a holy covenant of loyalty and faithfulness for life which reflects Christ and his Church as God has intended it be.

Were these relatives of Jesus at the wedding party? Likely they were perhaps on Mary’s side of the family. And of course the potential for embarrassment on the part of the groom and bride that the wine has run out was very real. In the time of Jesus, these celebrations went on for several days. Imagine the awkward position the couple would have been in if they ran out of wine. Guests would have simply drifted away and commented on the unprepared couple and families. Certainly, a major humiliation.

So, imagine the scene. Surrounded by music and joyful laughter, some of which was undoubtedly brought on by the wine (were the disciples of Jesus among the mildly intoxicated?) a problem is identified and the mother of Jesus, Mary, says to him: “They have no more wine.” It seems Jesus, and some of his disciples, whom the passage indicates were there, were simply enjoying themselves when Mary approached. Mary’s presented problem to her Son, however, is significant.

How beautifully human and ordinary is this common situation. Maybe more guests showed up than expected or some of them got carried away. Why would Mary make such a remark to Jesus? Obviously, she felt he could do something about it but was a miracle in Mary’s mind? We don’t really know other than she felt her son would be able to address the problem and on a deeper sense felt it was time for him.

Jesus’ response to Mary’s statement has always been a point of debate: “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” Scripture scholars have literally translated this line as: “What to me and to you, woman?” We might say Jesus is asking his mother – “How does this involve the both of us?”

Mary’s order to the servers is a simple, “Do whatever he tells you.” And, in fact, those are the last words we hear from Mary in the Gospels. Yet, they are deeply significant in light of Jesus’ divine nature. She leaves it up to him to carry this concern forward and from that point he does take charge of the situation. The water he ordered placed in the jars (180 gallons) all becomes the finest vintage of wine. Let the party continue!

We would love to see the look of surprise on Jesus’ face as Mary addressed the concern of the bridal couple. The headwaiter was responsible to see that things went well. He was in effect a Master of Ceremonies; likely a family member whose very reputation was on the line.

It’s clear, however, that Jesus was influenced by his mother’s observation. John may be showing us the influence of Mary as the public ministry of Jesus began: “All right, son, now it’s time to get on with this. Here’s your first chance.” Hmm, how delightfully Jewish! With traditional respect for mother’s in the culture, Jesus could not refuse his mother’s request.

Yet, if this was simply a snap shot of Jesus attending a wedding and his miraculous solution to the embarrassing problem, it really wouldn’t hold much significance for us other than to say, “Well, he was very Jewish.” No, it is much more on a deeper spiritual level.

Jesus addresses his mother as “woman.” Was he being a bit sarcastic or symbolically John tells us that Mary is representative of new life, new beginning; she is the new “Eve.” As Eve, the mother of all the living, invited Adam to participate in her disobedience, here Mary invites Jesus to now open up the world to his person; to the transformation of life for those who “Do whatever he tells you.” Was that not the reason for which the chosen people were punished time and again – they did not do what God had told them. In the same way, sin separates us from God because we do not do what he tells us; we choose to walk our own way rather than in the life God brings to us.

It was time and with this first of Jesus’ miracles, signs as John calls them, our Lord comes on the scene – all because they did whatever he told them. So too with Jesus himself – he followed the concern of his own mother and carried through her wishes. Her role in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry was both cultural and symbolic. This “sign” open a window for us: see who Jesus is and what he will do for those who hear and offer themselves as faithful disciples. Our water is transformed by the richness of God’s grace for those who do what he tells us.

Jesus will come and with his presence only the finest will be made. The Prophet Isaiah writes this Sunday (Is 62: 1-5): “No more shall people call you ‘Forsaken” or your land ‘Desolate,’ but you shall be called ‘My Delight,’ and your land ‘Espoused. . .’ God, in a biblical sense, has joined in union, in marriage with all humanity through his Son, Jesus. In Christ divinity and humanity are joined in a solid and forever union. See the shadows of marriage in its beauty and deeper spiritual meaning?

God will marry his people to himself as a groom marries a bride. These nuptial images imply an intimacy of the deepest love and faithfulness. When Christ steps in, things change. And so, Jesus begins his earthly ministry around a wedding feast at which wine was given and in which a new and forever covenant is established as he shed his blood and rose from the dead. However, this was not the only time Jesus changed wine.

The Gospel should remind us that the earthly ministry of Jesus will end as it began - with a feast, a supper of sorts at which wine will be given again as his very life offered for all. A wedding feast to begin and a Last Supper to end. Both involve relationships, covenant, wine, feasting, celebration, and a gift. Bread is changed into Him who offers the transformation of grace. Wine is changed into a living cup of his presence, and we are invited to that wedding banquet each time we attend Mass.

In the giving of his life for us, Jesus makes himself present around a table which will become a cross which will become a tomb which will become for all time a sign of hope, glory and life for all who would come to believe. The feast of the Eucharist is our constant invitation to wed ourselves in an intimate union between we who are water and Christ who is wine.

Almighty ever-living God,
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

(Collect: Roman Missal)

January 20, 2019 – “Do Whatever He Tells You”

20 Jan 2019

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Father Robert DeCesare, LC
John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” (And) Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that before you left this earth you gave me the Eucharist for my food and Mary for my mother. I believe in your Real Presence and choose to receive you reverently and often. I trust that Mary will be there for me and accompany me in whatever I need. I love you, Lord, for giving me a mother who is so concerned about me that she is willing to do whatever is necessary to help me in my mission and vocation.

Petition: Help me, Lord, to foster a tender and personal devotion to your Mother.

“They Have No Wine”: A good mother is always on the watch to make sure that all is well, and Mary is no exception. Before anyone can react, she recognizes that the newlyweds are out of wine. They are talking among themselves, and they are in a panic. She can’t do anything about it but she knows someone who can, so she acts. She believes in the power of her son. Since he is the Son of God, he can solve the problem. Mary does not let the fact that she is a guest keep her from working. She acts on faith. She does not wait for someone to tell her to do something. She intervenes. We need to believe like Mary and be willing to take that bold step into the unknown, confident in a God we do not see.

“My Hour Has Not Yet Come”: Christ knows his mission. He is called to go to the cross and suffer for our sins. Yet he has not begun his public life. To perform a miracle now would be to anticipate his hour – to accelerate his mission to suffer for our sins. The time for him to accept the cross has not yet come. But Mary knows that something must be done. If she does not intercede, it could be a “disaster.” At the time of Our Lord, wedding feasts lasted for a week. What would become of the wedding feast if there was no more wine? Mary knows this. She hears the newlyweds’ cries and worries, and she brings them to her son, knowing that he can do something. She is certain that he will calm the fears of the newlyweds and remedy the situation. Do we have a deep conviction that Mary watches over us and constantly intercedes with Our Lord for our sake?

A Son Will Never Say No to His Mother: “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore, the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. This, however, is so understood that it neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator” (Lumen Gentium, 62). Mary understood her mission and vocation. She intercedes for us constantly, is willing to help us, and wants to bring our petitions to her Son so that he can help us with whatever we need of him. Do I have a filial relationship with Mary, my Mother, and do I turn to her confidently with my concerns and needs?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I trust that you will give me the grace to imitate Mary. You are willing and ready to help me. You want the best for me, and you desire very much to assist me. Help me to learn from Mary’s example of acting in faith so that I, too, may be a person of faith like her. Help me to turn to her often so that she can bring me closer to you.

Resolution: I will make a special visit our Blessed Mother asking for greater faith and confiding myself and loved ones to her tender care.

https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/daily-meditation/

https://catholicexchange.com/scripture-speakshis-first-miraculous-sign

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: “We who are water - Christ who is wine”

Scripture Speaks:His First Miraculous Sign

Gayle Somers

At the start of His public ministry, Jesus attended a wedding in Cana. Why was this the perfect setting for Him to work His first miraculous sign?

Gospel (Read Jn 2:1-11)
St. John tells us that after Jesus called and assembled His disciples, “there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.” It is interesting, isn’t it, that right at the start of St. John’s description of Jesus’ public ministry, His mother gets first mention in this story. “Jesus and His disciples were also invited to the wedding,” but “the mother of Jesus” is the one on whom the action pivots. St. John never refers to her as “Mary” in his Gospel. We know from Scripture and tradition that Mary and John lived as mother and son from the time of the Crucifixion. We might expect his description of her to be in more familiar terms. Because St. John’s Gospel is considered to be profoundly interpretive in its report of the details of Jesus’ life, we can legitimately wonder if his reference to Mary as “the mother of Jesus” has a deeper meaning than simply their biological relationship.

Indeed, it does. Recall that the prologue of this Gospel evokes the Creation: “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1). St. John wants us to be thinking about the early chapters of Genesis, both the glory we see there and the shadow cast by sin. The only hope for redemption after the Fall will be the fulfillment of a promise made by God. In speaking to the Serpent, He says: “I will put enmity [a battle] between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed” (Gn 3:15). In many subtle ways throughout his Gospel, St. John lets us know that “the woman” and “her seed” have finally appeared. Their battle against the Serpent has now been enjoined. Thus it is that in describing Mary in this story as “the mother of Jesus,” St. John makes more vivid her connection to God’s promise in Genesis.

In this episode at Cana, it is Mary who is alert to the details of the wedding celebration—perhaps it was the wedding of a near relative. Running out of wine was awkward and embarrassing for the bridegroom, but why would Mary think the problem should be referred to Jesus? He was, after all, an itinerant rabbi, not a wine steward! We have so many questions about this scene, don’t we? The mystery is intensified when we see that Jesus wasn’t thinking about this wedding as the occasion of His first public “sign.” Even when Mary comes to Him, there seems to be some resistance from Jesus: “Woman, how does your concern affect Me?” This is an English translation of a Hebrew idiom. We are helped to understand it with a quote from the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible—New Testament:

[This Hebrew idiom] typically presupposes some perceived tension between two parties having contrary perspectives (Judg 11:12; 1 Kings 17:18; Mk 5:7), though not always (2 Chron 35:21). When the idiom is used in response to a person’s request … the speaker sometimes capitulates to the expressed will of the other (2 Kings 3:13) and sometimes not (2 Sam 16:10). Here… Jesus complies with Mary’s request, and Mary herself appears perfectly confident that Jesus will respond favorably to her petition. In effect, Jesus would not have initiated the miracle at Cana, but neither would Jesus refuse His Mother’s prompting. (ICSB-NT, pg 164)

So, why was Mary, so absorbed in the details of the wedding, moved to expect a miracle from Jesus to solve this problem? We don’t know for sure, but we have to wonder if, as she participated in the wedding festivities with her Son in attendance, she recalled that His work, being God’s Son, too, was to be the flesh-and-blood presence of the Bridegroom to God’s people. During the long history of the Jews, God expressed His covenant relationship with them as a “marriage” (more on this in our First Reading). In Genesis, the marriage of Adam and Eve was fractured by sin. Sadly, God’s covenant with His people was also greatly marred by sin. The Jews spurned their loving “Husband.” However, the prophets foretold a restoration of the marriage. Mary knew that Jesus was born to mend this shattered covenant; He was the Bridegroom Who would purify the Bride.

Mary, as the new Eve, prompted her Son to fulfill His vocation in this richly meaningful wedding setting. In this, she undid what Eve had done in the Garden, when she prompted her bridegroom to sin. This was Mary’s first public act of advocacy on behalf of God’s people, a work she continues to do for all her children in the Church. Jesus performs the miracle, transforming the water into the “best” wine. To make this possible, the servants had to listen to Mary’s directive: “Do whatever He tells you.”

These are Mary’s last words in the Gospel. They continue to ring out over the centuries to all of us who discover that our lives have no wine—that we are living on the water of sin, meaninglessness, and fear. The Bridegroom has come to transform all this. We simply need to do whatever He tells us.

Possible response: Blessed Mother, I thank you for your loving advocacy for us in the details of our lives that matter so much to us.

First Reading (Read Isa 62:1-5)
This is one of the Old Testament prophecies in which God explicitly promises to be the Bridegroom of His people: “For the Lord delights in you and makes your land His spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.” All her life, Mary had heard these prophecies. Is it any wonder that at the wedding at Cana, she was full of expectation of what her Son could do for His people?

Possible response: Heavenly Father, help me remember today that You rejoice over us, Your people in the Church.

Psalm (Read Ps 96:1-3, 7-10)
In the Gospel, St. John tells us that when Jesus turned the water into wine, He “revealed His glory, and His disciples began to believe in Him.” The psalmist today gives us words to use as we ponder and praise not only this historical event but also the fact that in our new lives in Christ, the glory of the Lord continues to be revealed—the water of our lives is transformed into the wine of grace and peace, of joy inexpressible. In thanksgiving for this miracle, we should be ready to do what our responsorial says: “Proclaim His marvelous deeds to all the nations.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read I Cor. 12:4-11)
If we ask, in a practical way, what it means for the water of our lives to be turned into wine, this passage from St. Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians gets us started on an answer. He writes about how, as a result of our baptism and faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit pours into us wonderful gifts that make present on earth God’s own divine life. The gifts differ, of course, but “one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as He wishes.” This life of God in us was what was lost in the Garden. The Bridegroom, beginning at the wedding in Cana, came to restore it.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, thank You for sharing Your life with Your people, the Church. Help us be faithful stewards of the gifts You have lavished on us.

https://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
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All Issues > Volume 35, Issue 1

<< Sunday, January 20, 2019 >> 2nd Sunday Ordinary Time

Isaiah 62:1-5
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
View Readings Psalm 96:1-3, 7-10
John 2:1-11
Similar Reflections

ON EMPTY?

“The wine ran out, and Jesus’ mother told Him, ‘They have no more wine.’ “ —John 2:3

In John’s Gospel, Jesus began His public ministry at a wedding feast where they had “no more wine.” Likewise, many people begin to let Jesus work in their lives when they realize they are out of wine, love, strength, energy, ideas, or hope. In the weakness of our emptiness, God’s power in us can reach perfection (2 Cor 12:9).

It is literally true that without Jesus we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). Of ourselves, we are always on “empty” in the important things in life. Life is an impossible situation. This gradually or at least eventually becomes obvious. We are doomed to despair. Who can save us? (see Rm 7:24)

Jesus alone is our Savior. “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). So the most important thing in life is to give our lives and our emptiness totally to Jesus. We must take Mary’s advice and do whatever Jesus tells us (Jn 2:5). Jesus is our only Hope.

Hope in His lordship over our lives. Hope through our obedience to Him. He will take us from our emptiness to the fullness of the wedding feast of heaven (see Rv 19:7). Thank You, Jesus!

Prayer: Father, I rejoice that “absolute fullness” resides in Jesus (Col 1:19).
Promise: “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” —Is 62:1
Praise: Reading and pondering the daily Mass readings have helped George remain constant in his Catholic faith. He makes it a practice to share his insights on the daily Scriptures with several people each day. Praise You, risen Jesus, the Living Word. Alleluia!

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