20190120
GOD
RESTORES ALL BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS IN HIMSELF
20 JANUARY,
2019, Sunday, 2nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 62:1-5 ©
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The bridegroom rejoices in his bride
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About Zion I will not be silent,
about Jerusalem I will not grow weary,
until her integrity shines out like the
dawn
and her salvation flames like a torch.
The nations then will see your integrity,
all the kings your glory,
and you will be called by a new name,
one which the mouth of the Lord will
confer.
You are to be a crown of splendour in the
hand of the Lord,
a princely diadem in the hand of your God;
no longer are you to be named ‘Forsaken’,
nor your land ‘Abandoned’,
but you shall be called ‘My Delight’
and your land ‘The Wedded’;
for the Lord takes delight in you
and your land will have its wedding.
Like a young man marrying a virgin,
so will the one who built you wed you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices in his
bride,
so will your God rejoice in you.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-10 ©
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Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the
earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his
name.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his
glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his
name.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
Worship the Lord in his temple.
O earth, tremble before him.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
He will judge the peoples in
fairness.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ©
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The Spirit distributes gifts to
different people just as he chooses
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There is a variety of gifts but always the
same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same
Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the
same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit
is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the gift of
preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the gift of
preaching instruction given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of
faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing, through this
one Spirit; one, the power of miracles; another, prophecy; another the gift of
recognising spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to
interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who
distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1S3:9,Jn6:68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.2Th2:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 2:1-11 ©
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'My hour has not come yet' - 'Do
whatever he tells you'
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There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been
invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was
all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said
‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the
servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing
there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could
hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with
water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them ‘and
take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it
had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the
servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom
and said, ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper
sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine
till now.’
This
was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He
let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.
GOD RESTORES ALL
BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS IN HIMSELF
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 62:1-5; 1 COR 12:4-11; JOHN 2:1-11 ]
Many things are necessary for life in this
world. We need food, accommodation and work to give us fulfillment.
But even if we have all these things, without love, life has no meaning.
Yet, the sad reality is that this
history of ours is a history of broken relationships. We have all
experienced betrayal, estrangement and disappointments in relationships.
As the gospel says, “They have no more wine!” Wine is a symbol of joy,
celebration and of the spirit. When we are no longer excited in our
relationships, when such relationships become a mere obligation, there is no
longer any joy or reason to celebrate. When that happens, life loses its
meaning. When there is no longer any joy, it means too the absence of God
and the Holy Spirit.
The Good News is that
God is going to restore all our broken relationships. How is this restoration of all
relationships to be brought about? The key is to restore our
relationship with God.
Human love must be founded on God’s prior
love for us, without which we will not have the capacity or the knowledge to
love. If we find our life meaningless and lacking direction, it is because we
are not in union with God and therefore not in union with our fellowmen.
For this reason, God came to give us the unconditional love we need,
and to teach us the proper way to love.
So how does God reveal
to us His love? That
the first miracle of Jesus took place at a wedding is not just an accidental
event. Rather, Jesus chose this nuptial event to express the
heart of God, which is love, since every wedding is a celebration of
love.
The wedding at Cana was not just any
wedding between two human beings but in actual fact it was the wedding
envisaged by God with humanity. Even though the people did not recognize
who Jesus was, He was the bridegroom of the New People of God. When Jesus
told Mary that His hour had not yet come, it was to remind Mary that the full
revelation of His divinity and the accomplishment of redemption could only take
place at the end of His life, at His passion and death on the cross. For only
at this death, will the world be transformed by God’s love.
The changing of water into wine symbolizes
that purification will no longer be through the water in the jars but
by the blood of Christ, which will be the purifier that washes away
the sin of the world. The new wine that Jesus is giving us is His Spirit
at His resurrection. This Spirit is the same love of God in Jesus that is
now poured out for us all. This love that is poured into our hearts will
empower us to love like Him in every way.
What must we do if we
want to find happiness and fulfillment in life, especially in our relationships? If
we invite Jesus into our lives, He will transform and change us into people of
joy and love.
We must come to Jesus
our bridegroom if we want to see changes in our lives. This miracle of the changing of water
into wine clearly brings out the message that if man were to change hatred to
love, death to life, darkness to light, then he must embrace Jesus as the Agent
of change in our lives. He can change us into people of love and
joy, regardless whatever situation we are in. We might be broken;
disillusioned or feeling useless, but just as Jesus changed plain water into
wine, He too can change our lifeless life into one of joy and love. Only
His love can fill the emptiness in our lives.
Unfortunately, many of us are like the
people in the wedding who did not recognize Jesus as the bridegroom of the
Church. Many, although married in Church, did not really marry Christ in
their hearts. The wedding was more a ritual than a real participation in the
sacrifice of Christ, which is the offering of oneself as a living sacrifice to
each other and to God in Christ. This is equally true in other forms of
human relationships. Many do not bring Christ into their
relationships. As a result, such relationships turn sour because love
is lacking.
What we need to do is to give Him whatever
we have. Just as Jesus used the water that was available to change into
wine, we must be ready to give our entire being to the Lord, all
our past, all our brokenness and sinfulness to Him. We must put at His
disposal all our resources, money, wealth, talents and time, allowing Him to dictate
how these should be used. Only then can He transform us. Christ who
loves us will not work without our cooperation. This is the message of
the miracle of the wine. When we ‘do whatever He tells you”, not only
will the abundance of wine begin to flow in our lives, as with Jesus’ miracle
at the Wedding in Cana, but it will be the best wine as well.
Let us make Mary’s life
ours in our love for God and for others. Let our love be one of total trust in God so
that we can trust our fellow brothers and sisters. Without faith, we
cannot deepen our love for God or for our neighbours. With trust, we will
experience the goodness and the love of God and that will help us to open
ourselves to others. We must take the courage to trust our spouse and our
loved ones. We too, must live up to the trust that others have given to
us. Only then can we build authentic and trusting relationships.
Love too must be
creative and free.
It is not enough to love God or love someone, but we must be free in love,
allowing the person to respond to us according to his or her capacity.
Otherwise, we will be disappointed by their failures and shortcomings. We
must love them because we want to love them and not because we want them to
love us. Unless we love in freedom, we will manipulate others and make
use of them for our own needs. Like Mary, let us allow the Lord to work
in us according to His will
Let us choose to be like Mary and Jesus,
to be the ones who will bring the wine of joy, love and unity to
whoever we meet today. We are called to be missionary like Jesus, who
is revealed today as the Messiah, the Saviour of the World. Let us make
the effort to bring the Spirit of Christ to the world. Let us, even in
trials and sufferings, be seen to be people of hope and joy. Yes, let us
proclaim His wonderful love and marvellous deeds for us as the responsorial
psalm invites us.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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