20250119 MAXIMISING OUR POTENTIALS IN THE SPIRIT
First reading | Isaiah 62:1-5 |
The bridegroom rejoices in his bride
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-10 |
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.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 |
The Spirit distributes gifts to different people just as he chooses
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.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Th2:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
19 January 2025, Sunday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
MAXIMISING OUR POTENTIALS IN THE SPIRIT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isa 62:1-5; Ps 96:1-3,7-10; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-11]
Last Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. For Jesus, it was the beginning of His public ministry. Commissioned by the Father in the Holy Spirit, Jesus received His Father’s approval for Him to begin His ministry to bring Good News to the poor. Being His Father’s beloved Son, He was called to do what the Father does, which is to give life to all. And so, in the power of the Holy Spirit which descended upon Him anew, He was able to proclaim the Kingdom of God. For ourselves, by virtue of our baptism, we too share in His sonship, and all the work that He has called us to do, which is to exercise our priestly, kingly and prophetic role in the world.
How could this come about? How do we proclaim His glory and power unless we allow the Lord to work in our lives in the Holy Spirit? We are given the Spirit of sonship. But it is not enough to receive the Spirit of Sonship without growing in the Spirit. It is said that too many of our Catholics who are born again after encountering Christ die prematurely because they did not continue to exercise the gifts of the Spirit given to them at baptism, or develop their relationship with the Lord. Indeed, as Christians born again in Christ through baptism, we have huge potentials before us to live the fullness of life, here and hereafter. This is what the Lord promised Israel when they were in exile. The Lord wants to do great things for us if we are receptive to Him and His grace.
Secondly, we must humbly acknowledge and accept that it is God who gives us His gifts. We must not be arrogant and think that we made ourselves to be what we are today. We are what we are because of His gifts. When a gift is given, there is also a task assigned. Unless we accept the gift, the gift is useless to the person. So we must cooperate with the Lord in making use of the gifts He has given to us. So we are what we are only by cooperating with the grace of God.
What are these gifts that the Lord has given us? St Paul wrote, “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 recognizing spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them.” Indeed, the gifts of the Spirit are inexhaustible. Some gifts are more spectacular than others. However, it is also important to appreciate our own gifts instead of being envious of others. Sometimes, we are so concerned with the gifts in others that we forget that we have many gifts ourselves that are unutilized.
Regardless of what gifts we have, they are given by the same Spirit. As St Paul remarked, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.” These gifts are not confined only to Catholics but they are also given to others. Every gift comes from God. We do not have to claim them only for ourselves. Indeed, in one incident, the apostles were envious that others who were outside their circle were performing miracles in the name of the Lord. John asked the Lord, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” (Lk 9:49f)
Different gifts are given to different people because different kinds of work need to be done. These gifts we receive are not for ourselves but for the service of others. Otherwise this would be an abuse of the gifts of God. Indeed, St Paul said, “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.” Most of all, the gifts are given to the Church for the building of His body, the Church. St Paul said, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (Eph 4:12f) So God always give gifts to the whole body of Christ so that together we can blossom and be transformed into Christ.
God wants us to shine before the world by living a life of integrity, a life in union with Him, and be a delight and joy to others. He wants us, as the responsorial psalm exhorts us, to “Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders 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.” This is what the gospel is also asking of us. The miracle of the water changed into wine reminds us that we are called to be the joy of God in the lives of others. Water has no taste but wine is always drunk during celebration. Just as the Lord changed water into wine, you too must also bring joy and delight to wherever you are in life. You must be a transforming power to the people and organization you belong to. We should not hide our gifts and talents as the Steward 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.” Hence, it is important that we do not hide our gifts that the Spirit has given to us.
We must therefore be attentive to the needs of our people and our community. Mary who was invited to the Wedding was observant of the needs of the guests. So when they ran out of wine, Mary quietly stepped in and told the Lord, “They have no wine.” Indeed, wherever we are, we must seek to share the wine with people who are in need. We do not have to compete with each other but to complete each other with the gifts we have. Today, there are many people who are without wine. Their life is meaningless, aimless and often not driven. They just drift from one thing to another. Nothing can sustain them. They do not know what and how to find joy and meaning in life. Food and pleasure and even travelling after some time will become boring as well. It is in relationships that we find joy and meaning in life. Truly, the real luxuries in life is time, health, peace in our heart, ability to walk, a good night’s sleep, meaningful conversations, people you love and serve; and people who love you back, and being of service to others. Only through caring and loving, will our life be rich and empowering.
In the final analysis, what will give flavour to our lives, is our relationship with the Lord. The best gift we can give to anyone for life is Jesus. More than just equipping us with secular knowledge and skills, we are to be transformed into leaders and servants for tomorrow, leaders and servants with a heart, with passion for life and for the building of our community. Only Jesus can give them the right motive and the spiritual wisdom, selflessness and perseverance to accomplish His work. Most of all, only Jesus can make us leaders and servants who are spirit-filled, selfless and with integrity.
In the miracle of the water changed into wine, we are told that there were only six stone jars meant for ablutions. For the Jews, six is an incomplete number, because Jesus is the seventh jar. He comes to give us joy and to fill us with the Holy Spirit. We must therefore come to Him and be filled with His Spirit. It is significant that the Lord answered His mother, “‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.” In other words, the Spirit would be given at that hour when He hangs on the cross. In that moment, St John wrote, “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (Jn 19:30) Let us heed the advice of His mother, “Do whatever he tells you.” This is the surest way to live in His Spirit and be a transforming force in the world and in our community.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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