SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
16 JANUARY 2022
The
Prophet Isaiah speaks in God’s name to his people who have just been released
from their captivity in Babylon. It had
seemed to them that God had been silent during those forty years. Now, God rejoices over Jerusalem as a lover rejoices
over his bride. God no longer calls his
people “forsaken” or “desolate” because of their sins. Instead, God gives them new names. He calls them “My Delight” and
“espoused.” Just as Adam had named all
creatures in the Book of Genesis to reflect his stewardship of creation, God gives
his people a new direction, a new mission.
God is the joyful bridegroom who sees his people dressed in the splendor
of a bride.
Saint John
uses marriage imagery to describe Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast at
Cana. His focus is not on the bride and
groom. They are facing embarrassment
because they ran out of wine. His focus
is on Jesus, the bridegroom who will form a new Covenant, replacing the
Covenant mediated through Moses. At the
base of Mount Sinai, Moses announced that the Lord would reveal his glory on
the third day and form them into a Covenant community. On the third day, Jesus reveals his glory by
changing water into wine. He is the
bridegroom who will form disciples and create a new community. The six stone
water jars represent the Old Covenant.
In forming the New Covenant, Jesus exceeds all expectations by changing
130 gallons of water into wine. That is
an incredible amount of wine! The
headwaiter confirms that something new and unexpected has happened. Jesus reveals his glory for the first time and
invites his disciples to begin to place their trust in him.
The mother
of Jesus plays an important role in this first sign. She informs her Son of the problem. He appears to respond rudely when he calls
her “woman” and asks how her concern affects him. The text literally says, “What is this to me
and to you?” His hour will eventually
come when the bridegroom will give himself completely out of love for his
bride, the Church. At this moment, he
has established a new relationship with his mother. She is now more than his physical
mother. She is a disciple who puts
complete trust in her Son. As a faithful
disciple, she tells the servers to do what he says.
The next
time that the mother of Jesus appears in the Gospel of John is at the foot of
the cross on Calvary. In that terrible
moment when her Son’s hour has finally come, she will remain a faithful and
committed disciple. Her Son will give
her to the care of the beloved disciple, who also stands at the foot of the
cross. Her Son will also give his
beloved disciple to his mother. Because
Saint John never mentions the name of the beloved disciple, he invites each one
of us to see ourselves as his beloved disciple standing at the foot of the
cross with Mary as our mother.
The Lord
formed us as his beloved disciples into the new community of the Church when we
were baptized. As we continue to recognize
signs of his presence and deepen our trust in him, we follow the example of the
Mother of God, the first and most faithful disciple. We ask her intercession as we continue to
discern what spiritual gifts the Lord has given us. As Saint Paul points out to Corinthians, the
Lord has given each of us individual gifts.
He gives these gifts not for our individual needs, but for the benefit
of the community. We can exercise our
role as beloved disciples by putting these gifts at the service of this
community. We can better understand our
role as beloved disciples, as our Lord’s Delight. Espoused to him as his bride, we can work
together to make a difference in a world torn apart by hatred, violence,
racism, and lack of respect.
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