1/20 - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parish Family,

We just began a new season of the Church the “Ordinary Time.” During this season we will hear from the Gospel Jesus’ active and public life as God’s Word. This time is a special time for us to reflect on His ministry and grow as a Church.
How long will “Ordinary Time” last? Every Sunday from now on, except for interventions by the Lent/Easter season, or any other special celebration of the Lord. There are three different years’ worth of Ordinary Time readings, one for each year in the three year cycle, each having a ‘simple’ name such as A, B, or C. In every one of these years one particular “synoptic” Gospel writer is featured, Mark, Matthew or Luke.

We are now in year C, which we began in Advent (2018). Thus Ordinary Time for this year will feature the Gospel according to Luke. The following words will be proclaimed before the Gospel reading each Sunday: “A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.” To make things more complicated, however, this year’s Second Sunday of Ordinary Time does not have a reading from Luke’s Gospel after all. The Church has used instead a reading from the Gospel of John, about an event which took place before Jesus’ public life had begun, as Jesus says explicitly (“My hour has not yet come”). So we reflect on the well-known miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana.

This miracle has many intrinsic layers of significance on top of the fact that this is indeed a unique miracle. Water turned to wine is a wonderful image for a people who are fresh out of hope and need to drink of the promise. Only God in Jesus can supply this real refreshment. Mary says modestly to Jesus, “They have no wine” [symbolically, the human race has no real life left in it]. Jesus replies strangely: “Woman, …My hour has not yet come.” Mary does not take seriously all the reasons God’s promise cannot be fulfilled at this time. She knew that the people needed the full, rich wine of life, which is love. She trusted her son. She says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” And then there is an abundance of wine.

Wine is a further Biblical symbol of joy that comes with God’s presence. The arrival of the groom to claim his bride is the high point of Jewish wedding celebration. Until that moment the people live only in expectation and hope. The stone water jars though costly and precious, are only six in number (not seven the sign of perfection) and they contain just water. The wedding celebration of the new covenant begins with Christ who turns water into wine. Whenever our Christian discipleship is ‘joy-less’ we need to experience the miracle of Cana and allow Christ to take the place of honor in our life.