20230107 MANIFESTING THE GLORY OF GOD
07 January, 2023, Saturday
First reading | 1 John 5:14-21 © |
If we ask for anything, he will hear us
We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything,
and it is in accordance with his will,
he will hear us;
and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us,
we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him.
If anybody sees his brother commit a sin
that is not a deadly sin,
he has only to pray, and God will give life to the sinner
– not those who commit a deadly sin;
for there is a sin that is death,
and I will not say that you must pray about that.
Every kind of wrong-doing is sin,
but not all sin is deadly.
We know that anyone who has been begotten by God
does not sin,
because the begotten Son of God protects him,
and the Evil One does not touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
but the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One.
We know, too, that the Son of God has come,
and has given us the power
to know the true God.
We are in the true God,
as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ.
This is the true God,
this is eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against false gods.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 149:1-6,9 © |
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 2:1-11 © |
'My hour has not come yet' - 'Do whatever he tells you'
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.
MANIFESTING THE GLORY OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JN 5:14-21; JOHN 2:1-11]
This evening we will celebrate the Feast of Epiphany when Jesus is revealed as the Saviour not just of the Jews but of the Gentiles as well, symbolized in the Magi who came from the East. Orthodox Catholics generally celebrate Christmas on the Feast of Epiphany because both feasts celebrate Christ who comes to manifest to us the love of God. The baby Jesus reveals to us the love of God who comes to us as a child in a stable. He comes to be with the poor, the uneducated and uncouth shepherds instead of being born in a palace or in the midst of the wealthy and the powerful. This is why He is Good News to humanity, especially the poor who seek to find God and experience His mercy.
The gospel which is taken from the Wedding of Cana is the first sign given by our Lord in His ministry. St John noted, “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.” In today’s gospel, we have Mary who shows us what attentive love is all about. She was at a wedding with our Lord. Most people who attend weddings are more absorbed in revelry and drinking than on the needs of others. Mary however was observant of the predicament of the newly wedded couple as wine was running out and they would have to face a great embarrassment for not having enough wine for the guests. However, Mary saved the day when she intervened on the couple’s behalf and asked our Lord to do something to help the couple.
Even though it was still not the time for Him to reveal His glory, our Lord acceded to her intercession. Mary left everything to the Lord, believing that He would know what was the best way to help the couple. Beyond all imagination, our Lord instructed the servants to fill with water “six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons.” They then drew out the water and “the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from, 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.'”
What can we learn from today’s lesson? Firstly, we are called to reveal the glory of God through us. How can we do this if not by making His unconditional love and mercy felt in our lives. When we serve the poor, we are called to be conscious that we do not just serve the poor and those in need of our help. It is more than just fulfilling their hunger and their needs, but that in so doing, we reveal His love for us all, regardless of religion, race, age or gender. His glory can be seen through our joyful, humble service when we help those who are in need. When they see us serving them genuinely without conditions, they will come to believe that our love and service is real; and not given with ulterior motives, even with the intention to convert them. All we seek to do is to reveal the glory of God, that is, His love for them.
Secondly, we must be attentive to the needs of others. Sensitivity to those whom we serve is important. Care-givers must also be looking out and be conscious of whom we are serving, as in the case of Mary. We must be like Mary, tactful and diplomatic even when intervening to help them. Mary did not embarrass the wedding couple publicly or drew attention to herself. She was happy to quietly help the couple without drawing attention to herself or using the wedding couple to glorify herself. We, too, in our service to the poor and the suffering, should not make use of them to glorify ourselves and even our organization. Too often, some individuals, organizations and companies sponsoring humanitarian causes want their name to be publicized so that the world will know how great they are. They are not sincerely wanting to help the underprivileged or the marginalized but they want to use them for their own publicity and glory.
Thirdly, we must recognize our limitations. We cannot do everything ourselves in helping the poor of this world. We must be humble to collaborate with like-minded organizations so that together we can serve the poor better. Mary recognized her constraints and so turned to her Son even though it was not His time yet to intervene. So too, we must be ready to work with other organizations to serve the poor. We must always collaborate with each other, and not see ourselves as competitors but rather as complementing each other. We must rejoice with others if they can help and we cannot. Charitable Organizations must therefore not be parochial-minded but seek to empower each other so that we can assist each other in reaching out to the poor. Let us be ready to offer assistance not just to the poor but to other humanitarian organizations when they call for help or collaboration for a common cause. We must know how to refer cases to the respective organizations especially when we cannot handle them ourselves.
Fourthly, as members serving the poor, we must be ready to inconvenience ourselves. Our Lord, although personally was not yet ready to manifest His glory, did so because of a greater need. When the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said, “Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.” He was ready to adapt for a greater good. Indeed, at times we have our plans. But we need to be flexible. Certain policies are in place for best practices. Yet, we must never forget that the Sabbath is made for man not man for the Sabbath. There is a serious temptation to place dogmas above human needs. Dogmas and rules are important to govern and to teach our people to do the right thing. But there are situations when we need to be flexible in applying the policies in place in some situations. Jesus was always ready to bend the laws when the situation demanded it. All policies and rules must serve the greater good and most of all, the individual.
Fifthly, we must not just rely on ourselves. We must rely on the grace of God. We must pray as much as we serve. We must never imagine that through our hard work and ingenuity alone, we can satisfy the needs of the poor. In the first reading, St John wrote, “We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything and it is in accordance with his will, he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us, we know that we have been granted what we asked of him.” Indeed, we must pray in such a way that God’s will be done. All prayers must be said according to the mind of Christ as expressed in the Lord’s Prayer. We must only desire what the Lord wills of us. We do not impose our will on our Lord. We only have to bring our petition to Him and He will know what to do. Isn’t this the case of Mary? She simply told our Lord, “They have no wine.” She did not say more or instruct our Lord as to what He should do. She left it to the Lord to do what He willed. We too must pray in this manner so that we will not get upset when things do not turn out the way we want. Otherwise, sometimes, even serving the poor can be turned into a means of serving our ego, our ambition and our pride. We must do all we can and surrender our good works to the Lord. He will bless us and make us fruitful.
However, we must also go beyond just fulfilling their material and physical needs. We need to take care of their moral and spiritual needs as well. St John wrote, “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that is not a deadly sin, he has only to pray, and God will give life to the sinner – not those who commit a deadly sin; for there is a sin that is death, and I will not say that you must pray about that. Every kind of wrong-doing is sin, but not all sin is deadly.” Often, some are poor because they have been irresponsible in their lives or live in a sinful environment. Many are wounded by the sins and irresponsibility of their parents or guardians. As a result, they fall into situations of sin easily. They imbibe in bad and unhealthy values. To help them get out of their vicious cycle of poverty, we need to help them gain their dignity, to live in true freedom from the clutches of the evil one. Indeed, helping them to live responsible, meaningful and purposeful lives is part of our task in serving our beneficiaries. We cannot limit ourselves just to provide their material and physical ones. Helping them to overcome sins and temptations are equally important so that they can be truly free to develop themselves.
Finally, the greatest gift we can give to them is Jesus. As St John says, “We know that anyone who has been begotten by God does not sin, because the begotten Son of God protects him, and the Evil One does not touch him. We know that we belong to God, but the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One.” Bringing them into the ambience of our Lord is a sure way to keep them from the Evil One or do evil things in their lives. That is why, when we find the opportunity, we must lead them to Jesus but always without coercion but with the sincerity and conviction that Jesus can give them what none of us can give. St John made it clear, “We know, too, that the Son of God has come, and has given us the power to know the true God. We are in the true God, as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God, this is eternal life.” And he concludes, “Children, be on your guard against false gods.” This is the sure and most effective way to safeguard ourselves from worshipping false gods in our lives, which ultimately destroys us.
Truly, if we bear in mind these principles delineated in today’s scripture reading, we will reveal God’s glory in us. In this way, we will be able to rejoice with the psalmist, “Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let Zion’s sons exult in their king. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people. He crowns the poor with salvation. Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, shout for joy and take their rest. Let the praise of God be on their lips: this honour is for all his faithful.” May we be the epiphany of God in our lives.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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