Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

 Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) [Lk 4:21-30]

30.01.2022

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

Readings: (1) Jer 1:4-5.17-19 (2) 1 Cor 12:31-13:13

1.  Theme in brief

Rejection of a prophet

2.  Focus Statement

Just as the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus in his own native place, we too quite often reject him by throwing his values out of our minds and designs; or when we exercise our baptismal call to be prophets like Jesus, our own people may reject us as they did to him.

3.  Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel text tells us about the twofold reaction to the mission-statement of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth (which we heard on last Sunday): one of admiration and another of wonder, sarcasm, rejection, hostility and even of an attempt on his life. In the beginning, those who heard his inaugural address in the synagogue of his hometown, “spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came out of his mouth” (4:22). But very soon they would be filled with rage against him and make an attempt to kill him by pushing him down the cliff of the hill (4:28-29), because he told them a truth they did not want to hear. 

The text begins with the concluding part of Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth with the words: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). In Luke’s Gospel the word “today” does not refer to a point in history but to the time of “fulfilment” of God’s promise. All the promises made by God from the time of Abraham including all the prophetic expectations reach their fulfillment in Jesus. With him, a new era of universal salvation had begun. After a brief positive admiration for him, the text mentions about the negative reaction of his own people towards him as they begin to judge him from his human origins. They wondered how such “gracious words” or words of salvation could come from the mouth of “Joseph’s son” (4:22). They might have thought, “Who does he think he is? He thinks too high of himself. After all, he is a carpenter’s son.” His own people doubted about his divine origin and refused to accept him as the fulfillment of God’s promises. They wondered whether anything great or worthy could come from the son of a carpenter. They were challenging him to match his gracious words with works of wonder for his or their own benefits. 

Jesus was aware of what was going on in the minds of many of his hearers. He imagined their objections and tackled them with two proverbs. The first one was: “Doctor, cure yourself” (4:23). In this, he alluded to the challenge thrown at him by his townspeople to better his or his own people’s condition first; then help other people. They might have thought, after all, “Charity begins at home.” They were challenging him to prove his divine powers by doing mighty works in his own hometown as he did other places; for instance in Capernaum (4:23). The second proverb was: “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (4:24). This was meant to explain why as a doctor, he could not cure himself and work miracles in his own place because his own people would not accept one of their own men doing the role of a prophet. Since his own people (who were the chosen ones) were rejecting him, his mission would go to the gentiles.

Jesus emphasized that God’s mercy was universal, and was equally available to Jews and non-Jews, to men and women. He illustrated this truth by referring to a miracle performed by Prophet Elijah for a gentile woman (a non-Israelite and a widow, 1 Kings 17:8-16), and another one performed by Prophet Elisha to a gentile leprosy patient from Syria named Namaan (2 Kings 5:8-14). Thus, Jesus compared himself to two prophets of Israel who ministered to non-Israelites because the chosen people were not open to their service. The people of Nazareth did not want to listen to this truth because they thought only they had the monopoly of salvation. Since it was too hard to accept his message they thought the best option for them was to get rid of the messenger. Though they attempted to kill him by hurling him down the cliff, they did not succeed, since he passed through the crowd without their notice (4:29-30). His ultimate rejection would take place not so soon, but on the cross, after which he would emerge victorious at the resurrection.

4.  Application to life

By our baptism, we too we are called and sent by God on a prophetic mission just as Jesus himself was. As prophets, we are called to stand up or speak for God and uphold his values even if people refuse to listen. Prophets in the OT were spokespersons of God who spoke on his behalf. Broadly speaking, they had two contrasting roles: (1) announcing God’s word, interpreting his will, predicting the future in terms of the present situation and instilling hope and consolation in people; and (2) denouncing or warning people of personal and social evil, social injustice and ungodly ways of the world. Though OT prophets proclaimed God’s promises for the future, Jesus spoke about God’s promises for “today.” As Jesus said, TODAY we are called to fulfil his action plan (mission) announced in his synagogue sermon to proclaim the good news to the poor, the captives and the oppressed only if we are faithful to our call to be prophets today. Therefore, we need to always ask: Today what good news can I give to this sort of people?

We exercise our prophetic call and mission at the personal level when we guide, correct and admonish people; at the level of the Church when we encourage other members, instil hope in them, purify the Church and warn her erring members; at the level of society when we stand for God’s values, oppose social evil, encourage, comfort, warn and admonish its rulers and leaders. Prophets among us are: parents to their children, teachers to their students, married persons to their spouses, leaders to those who are under their care, priests and religious to God’s people, etc. God continues to call his people (us) back to his path through these prophet-like persons. They often remind us to walk on God’s ways, correct us and even warn us. We do not want to listen to them and reject them along with their message. By rejecting them we have rejected Jesus himself and his gospel-values.

Just as the OT prophets and Jesus were rejected by their own people, so also today’s prophets are rejected because their message often disturbs people. They call people to do unpopular things, make changes in their life that they do not like to make. When we carry out our prophetic mission seriously, we are bound to meet with resistance, opposition, criticism and rejection, especially by those who refuse to change their ways. If Jesus’ teaching met with contempt from his own people, why should we expect something different? In spite of these hurdles, today’s gospel-message encourages us to be faithful to our prophetic mission, and learn to live with or deal with rejection, criticism, opposition and frustration.

Luke in this passage hints at three reasons why prophets are often rejected and hardly listened to:

(1)  Over-familiarity, envy and prejudices, which block our minds from accepting the truth from ordinary people who do not have an outstanding family background or spotless personal record: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” When we do God’s work, speak for him and act on his behalf, we are often rejected by our own family members, friends and relatives, and in our own native place. Those who know us and our background too well often fail to believe, respect and accept us. When people become fixated to this over-familiarity, they refuse to accept and believe in anything good coming from the best prophets, leaders and teachers among them. Sometimes we too do the same to our own parents, teachers and spiritual leaders. The question is whether we are willing to transcend these boundaries and accept the truth from whomever it comes, especially when they work for our own good.

(2) Demands for unrealistic expectations and too high moral standards from prophets: When the messengers of God (leaders, superiors, preachers, teachers and parents) speak on behalf of God and want to correct us or warn us about the dangers of following ungodly and immoral ways, instead of accepting the truth of their message, we reject it by highlighting (sometimes even exaggerating) their personal weakness or bad record of their past. Like the people of Nazareth, we refuse to believe in their message unless we see miraculous intervention of God through their prayer or services to solve all our problems. Just as Satan did it to Jesus at the time of temptation, people of our times will not cease to challenge the prophet to jump down from the pinnacle of the temple (Lk 4:9) and prove their powers by miraculously bettering their own condition. Just as Jesus’ human origin was a great obstacle for people to accept his divine message, when we see the scandals in the Church or among her leaders, and when her mighty institutions resemble any other institutions in the world today, we wonder whether she has anything of  the divine in her. By rejecting her message we reject Jesus himself.

(3) Pride and stubbornness of heart: This could become another cause for our refusal to change our ways, or our refusal to heed to the prophet’s call to accept the truth, even though it may sometimes hurt. Heart of hearts we do not want to change, and want to maintain the status quo. We find it difficult to sacrifice those self-interests, evil practices and worldly pleasures which are condemned by prophets. If anybody among us upholds the values taught by Christ and sticks to strict moral principles, or opposes worldly standards, we try to suppress his/her voice by all kinds of means. By doing so, we push Jesus out of our mind and out of our sight, or out of our homes and profession, just like the people of Nazareth who tried to push Jesus down the cliff of a hill.

It is not uncommon to notice some good and committed leaders, preachers and social reformers becoming unacceptable to their own people and unsuccessful among them; but getting acceptance from outsiders or strangers. It is not totally unusual to find our worst critics or opponents among our own family members, relatives and neighbours. In family, workplace, office, committees, staff, neighbourhood, and even in religious congregations and among the clergy of the same diocese, over-familiarity and better performance often generates jealousies towards those who perform better, or are better committed and talented. By putting down better performers their opponents think they can continue their non-performance or wrongdoing without any prophet to challenge, admonish and correct them. Once the prophet’s voice is suppressed, or he/she is silenced, they think they will have a free hand to do what they want. It is like God, out of his boundless compassion, sending prophets to a rebellious people, and their outright rejection of them in the OT.

There is a tendency in us to give up our prophetic mission of counselling, guiding and giving fraternal correction altogether due to discouragement caused by the rejection of our message by those to whom it is addressed. Whether people listen or not, we have to proclaim God’s truth. Sometimes when we consider our own weakness or frailty, we think we are unworthy to correct others.  Some parents think: Who am I to tell children not to do a thing when I myself am doing it. Thus they fail in their God-given mission to proclaim his values to them. In that case, children get license to do the wrong things that parents do not have the guts to forbid. Should not this sort of dilemma become a strong motivating factor for parents to change themselves first and give better example for their children?

The people of Nazareth did not want to hear that God was as favourable to the gentiles as them and wanted to save them also. They thought only they had the monopoly of God’s favour and salvation. They thought, “Charity begins at home.” The people of Nazareth expected Jesus to restrict his charity to his own place or his own people. But according to Jesus, charity begins whenever and wherever we meet anybody who is in need or suffering.

5.  Response to God's Word

Do we remain faithful to our prophetic call and mission against all odds such as opposition, criticism, discouragement? Due to frustration and rejection do we give up this mission? Do we listen to prophets among us? Are there symptoms of narrow-mindedness, prejudice and jealousy in us that lead us to reject the good in our own leaders? Are we too often critical towards those who are close to us and reject the truth that comes from them? Do we realize, by doing so, we reject Jesus himself and throw him out of our minds and designs, as people of Nazareth tried to do?

6.  A prayer

Jesus, you are the most amazing Prophet for all times. Continue to guide, encourage, comfort, warn and instil hope in us. Grant that we may be faithful to our baptismal call to be prophets who announce your word of comfort and denounce evil. Give us the strength to face criticism and rejection of a prophet. Amen.

 

 

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

 Third Sunday of Year C [Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21]

23.01.2022

Jesus Proclaims His Mission at Nazareth

Readings: (1) Neh 8:2-6.8-10 (2) 1 Cor 12:12-30

1.  Theme in brief

Jesus’ mission of liberation is our mission

2.  Focus Statement

By baptism, we are anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit and sent into the world with a mission to proclaim liberation to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed.

3.  Explanation of the text

While Jesus’ public ministry began with a miracle of changing water into wine at Cana according to John’s gospel proclaimed on last Sunday, according to today’s gospel of Luke, it began with a sermon in the synagogue of Nazareth on a Sabbath day (4:15-16). Luke placed this passage immediately after the temptations of Jesus, to tell his readers that after winning a victory over Satan, Jesus was further empowered with the Holy Spirit (4:14) to deliver his inaugural address in his own home town. By stating that Jesus began his ministry after he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and in Galilee (4:14), Luke wanted to emphasize two things: (1) that Jesus’ public ministry was Spirit-powered; and (2) he had come for a universal mission towards the gentiles and the marginalized. Galilee was a region with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles and was despised by the respectable Jews in Judea as dull and backward.

As a practising Jew, when Jesus went to worship in the synagogue on a Sabbath day, he got a chance to read the Scripture. When the scroll of prophet Isaiah was given to him, he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written concerning the mission of God’s Anointed One (that is, Messiah). He modified the text from Isaiah 61:1-2 a bit to announce his mission statement or his manifesto. He applied it to himself and made it clear who he was, what he would do, and for whom or for what purpose he had come. By doing so he implied: He was God’s anointed prophet and Messiah in a very special sense, because he was anointed at his baptism, not by oil, as the kings of Israel were, but by the Spirit of the Lord (4:18); he was sent on a mission by the Father for the purpose of bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, restoring sight to the blind, freeing the oppressed (4:18), and proclaiming the year of God’s special favour to this sort of people (4:19). In fact, he used this text to summarize his whole ministry of preaching, teaching and healing that ultimately led to his passion and crucifixion by declaring: “Today the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21). Strikingly, he omitted the words proclaiming "the day of vengeance of our God," (mentioned in Isaiah 61:2), because he had come to proclaim not judgement but God’s boundless mercy and special favour to the poor and the oppressed. 

Who are the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed? The "poor" are not merely those who are economically poor or penniless (though they too are included) but also those who are spiritually poor – all the vulnerable, powerless, underprivileged, afflicted and oppressed people in general.  Jesus’ compassionate concern for such people is indeed good news for them (4:18). Proclaiming release to the captives naturally points to his ministry of releasing people from the bondage of demons and death. Recovery of sight to the blind refers to his saving deeds of restoring physical sight to the blind which are signs of restoring spiritual vision as well. The year of the Lord’s favour is an obvious reference to the Jubilee Year – also called the Sabbatical Year – the Jews were required to observe every fiftieth year in the Scripture (Lev 25:8-17).  In the Jubilee Year, the Law required that they let their land lie fallow, forgive or cancel debts and free slaves. Jesus implied that his ministry would give the experience of a Jubilee, a divine favour to those who respond to his message.

4.  Application to life

As per today’s gospel, Jesus announced his mission statement or manifesto in the synagogue of Nazareth. Like Jesus, we too are anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit at the time of our baptism and sent into the world to carry forward the mission outlined in his manifesto: (1) to bring good news to the poor; (2) to proclaim liberty to captives; (3) to restore sight to the blind; (4) to free the oppressed and (5) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour or a Jubilee Year. This was Jesus’ vision and mission. He was a man of a burning wish or desire (which we call a vision or a ‘dream’) to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. The desire to save humankind from all sorts of bondages was burning within him like a fire. He said: “I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already enkindled” (Lk 12:49). This desire or enthusiasm was like a fire burning inside him that he longed to go through another baptism – the baptism (= plunge or immersion) of blood (Lk 12:50) to achieve this goal. He wished that the same fire would catch in the hearts of his disciples.

In modern democracies many political parties publish their manifestos before election. They contain a lot of promises and hopes that are mostly forgotten after the election. Many secular organizations/ companies as well as religious institutes formulate and display their vision-mission statements in their brochures, notice-boards, handbooks, constitutions or bye-laws, etc. Quite often they are written/ displayed for the sake of institutional requirement and are hardly followed up by individual members. Based on this and besides this common vision-mission statement, if each one of us could formulate and  develop a personal vision-mission for ourselves for our particular state of life and work in the line of Jesus’ vision, it could motive r influence us better. Every action/ innovation/ invention is first born in the mind before it becomes a reality; hence, the more we fantasize our vision of life in our minds the more it influences our actions.

A vision – also called a dream by some experts – is a mental image or picture of the ideal to be realized in future. It is a conception of the future based on a wish or an aspiration. Whereas a vision is a mental framework, a mission is the way or manner in which we would like to translate our vision into concrete action. Each one of us should imagine: What are the guiding principles I would like to follow in my personal life, in my personal conduct, in my family life/ religious life/ priestly ministry, in my work and in my social life? As Christians, each one of us should ask: What is the vision of my life? Are we highly motivated by Jesus’ vision or his programme of action? When I ask students (all of them Christians), “Why do you study,” they say that they study in order to gain knowledge, to pass in examinations, to get a degree, to please their parents, to get a job, to earn money and to gain higher position in society. Yes, all these things are very important for life. But, if education is meant for only these things, what about those who fail or do not get a job even if they have passed an examination? Education is for life and not merely for these things. We should tell them, as Christian disciples, for what else they should study. If we (as parents and teachers) are influenced by the vision of Christ, we should teach our children to create a dream for themselves, for their family, society and country beyond this “purely” selfish and narrow boundary.

Similarly, when I ask the youth, “What is the purpose of your life,” most of them write: To study well, to pass in examinations, to get a job, to marry a good boy/girl and to get settled in life. When I ask those who attend Marriage Preparation Courses, “Why do you want to get married,” many of them say: To continue the family line through procreation, to get a helper for work, to get social/economic security, to get honour and respect in society, to work hard and take care of their partners and children, etc. When I say, though these things are essential for life, their marriage need not be a “Christian” marriage at all to achieve these things, they begin to wonder! From their answers I learn that Christian principles have not penetrated deep into us in spite of regular church attendance and prayers. From the studies conducted by social analysts on religious life and priesthood in developing countries, we come to know that the motivation for priesthood or religious life in the Catholic Church among a number of candidates is not based much on their attraction to the vision of Christ and their willingness to dedicate their life for his cause, but is influenced by their desire to gain social security, upgrade their standard of living, get a higher social status in society, to make a career, etc.

If so, today’s text is a reminder for us to ask ourselves whether the same fire or zeal with which Jesus' heart was burning to accomplish his Father’s liberating mission has caught us. If yes, we need to ask: Is the vision of my life, of my marriage and family, of my religious life/ priesthood, of my leadership, of my job or any other work that I do influenced and motivated by the vision of Christ? If yes, for us marriage is not meant only for sex and procreation; job is not only for earning money; family is not only for working hard to feed children or for financial/ social security; studies are not only for doing a job and get settled in comfortable life; religious life/ priesthood is not only for getting honour, status, position, economic/ social security; leadership is not only for exercising power and for personal gain. As Christians we are here not merely to make a living. As Christians we impoverish ourselves if we forget that we are personally chosen, called and sent with a mission to make a specific contribution to the cause of God and humanity. We need to ask today: “What is the quality of my contribution to the cause of humanity which is also the cause or mission of Christ? How can I make Christ’s vision come true?” Only by the way we translate Christ’s vision into action for those who are materially and spiritually poor, those in various bondages, are blind and oppressed, we can fulfil the Scripture TODAY, as Jesus declared.

The first mission mentioned by Christ is to proclaim good news to the poor. Today we are so much used to hear bad news or cruel news of so many horrible atrocities committed in various parts of the world by terrorist/ extremist/ fanatic/ religious fundamentalist outfits even, sometimes, in the name of God.  In the midst of this bad news, people long for good news. God anointed Jesus with his Spirit to bring us his salvation or liberation, mercy, pardon, peace and reconciliation. That is good news. Like Jesus, we too should say today the Spirit of the Lord is upon me; today he calls and sends me to bring good news to the poor, to liberate people from all types of bondage and slavery.

The issues mentioned by Jesus in his manifesto, namely, poverty, captivity, blindness and oppression have both physical and spiritual dimensions. Proclaiming good news to the poor could mean not only sharing our resources with the economically deprived people but also loving the unloved, caring for the uncared and serving the unwanted or the undeserving. Deliverance to the captives could mean liberating people from the bonds of sin, addiction, guilt, corruption and exploitation. We too sometimes live in slavery or captivity when we become prisoners of sin, hatred, pride, prejudice, wealth, power, luxury, addictions to bad habits, etc. Liberating ourselves before liberating others from this prison is also an important mission. Recovering of sight to the blind could also mean enlightening the minds of those who sit in darkness of ignorance. Whenever and wherever we do this mission of liberation we proclaim the jubilee year of God’s favour to the poor and the oppressed, and thus fulfil the Scripture.

As Jesus outlined in the synagogue of Nazareth, we can consciously undertake a mission to proclaim God's special favour to the needy by doing the following deeds of mercy in small ways: (1) Resisting sarcasm because it is the antithesis of mercy; (2) sharing our things with the needy; (3) calling by phone now and then someone who we know is lonely; (4) writing a letter of forgiveness to someone whom we have hurt; (5) repeating this prayer often: “Dear Lord, bless [annoying person’s name] and have mercy on me!” May God’s Kingdom proclaimed by Christ come through our faithfulness to the works of mercy towards those who are in poverty, captivity, blindness and oppression.

5.  Response to God's Word

Who are the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed in my situation today? What good news can I bring to them? What is my vision of life in my state of life and work? In the recent past, have I gone out of myself to help any one of the poor/ afflicted/ underprivileged people in any way that was possible for me? Have I taken their side when they were oppressed or their rights were trampled upon at least by words? Have I tried to free any of those who were in captivity of bad habits or evil, give sight to those who were in ignorance and spiritual blindness and liberate those who were oppressed by physical and psychological burdens at least by a few words of comfort? In the midst of so much bad news such as poverty, hunger, violence, terrorism, injustice, etc., what good news can we proclaim to those affected by these issues? How can we become sharers rather than hoarders, liberators rather than perpetrators of socio-economic slavery? 

6.  A prayer

Send forth your Spirit on us O Lord that we may bring good news to the poor and the vulnerable, proclaim liberty to the captives, work for recovery of sight to the blind, bring freedom to the oppressed and proclaim the Sabbatical Year of your divine mercy to all so that the Scripture may be fulfilled today. Amen.

 

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) [Jn 2:1-11]

16.01.2022

The Wedding at Cana

Readings: (1) Is 62:1-5 (2) 1 Cor 12:4-11

1.    Theme in brief

Transforming our emptiness into fullness of joy

2.    Focus Statement

Jesus has the power to change our water-like deficiencies or emptiness into abundance of wine-like joy only when we do whatever he tells us to do in the gospel.

3.    Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel text tells us that it was during a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee that Jesus performed “first of his signs” and “revealed his glory” for the first time; and his disciples’ faith in him as the Messiah was confirmed (2:11). For John, all miracles of Jesus are “signs.” Hence, this particular miracle of changing water into wine at Cana is more than just an act of charity or favour done to neighbours in their moment of need. It is a “sign” – something that points to a greater thing or reality beyond itself. It was a sign that revealed that Jesus is not an ordinary person but the promised Messiah and led them to deepen their faith in him (2:11).

Wine was essential in a Jewish wedding. In the OT it is considered as a symbol of joy. Take for instance, what the Psalmist says: The Lord brings forth food from the earth and “wine to gladden the human heart” (Ps104:15). In Jewish society, hospitality towards the guests was considered a sacred duty. Hence, when the supply of wine ran out in a wedding at Cana in Galilee (2:3), it was a moment of a terrible humiliation and embarrassment or shame for the bride and the bridegroom as well as the chief steward.

The Mother of Jesus (John’s gospel never calls Mary by her proper name), who was present there (2:1), noticed the embarrassing situation because of her sensitivity/ concern/ care for a troubled family. She reported the matter to her Son hoping that he might do something about it (2:3). Jesus responded to her with the words: “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?” (2:4). Apparently, these words imply a reluctance to intervene or a don’t-care-attitude. But in fact they weren’t. Why Jesus replied in that manner was because his “hour” had not yet come (2:4). In John’s gospel “the hour” of Jesus is the time willed by God – for his glorification through his death and resurrection. Though his hour had not come, he performed this miracle because he must have thought it was the best moment to reveal his messianic glory and confirm the faith of his disciples. Or, Jesus must have meant that he would deal with that problem in his own way and she should not be worried about it. The very fact that Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do (2:5), shows that she had total trust in him. She was confident that ultimately her Son would not refuse her request.

In this context, John reports that Jesus addressed his own mother as “woman,” (2:4) because he wanted to point to the role of Mary beyond blood-relationship. He wanted to project Mary as the New Eve in contrast to the old or first Eve mentioned in the creation story of Genesis. In it, Eve is called “the mother of all living beings” (Gen 3:20). By reporting this type of address, probably John wanted to portray Mary as the New Eve who was the Mother of all believers in Christ. The first woman (Eve) had co-operated with the serpent (devil) to bring sin into the world; now another woman (New Eve, i.e. the Mother of Jesus) closely cooperated with Jesus to redeem humankind from sin. Here Mary is shown to be a close collaborator in the redemptive work of Christ.

The six stone water-jars standing there (2:6) were meant for two purposes: (1) cleaning the feet from dust, and (2) ceremonial washing of the hands at various parts of a meal as per Jewish regulations. When Jesus commanded the servants to fill the jars, John mentions that they “filled them up to the brim” (2:7), to indicate that Jesus had come to bring the abundance or overflowing quantity of God’s grace to all believers. Since number seven is the perfect number according to Jewish beliefs, six water-jars instead of the holy number seven, point to the imperfection of Jewish law which is replaced by the perfection of the gospel of his grace. In other words, Jesus had come to replace the limitations of the Jewish law with the superabundance of his grace available to those who “believe” in him (that is, put their faith and trust in him). It was a sign pointing to something beyond itself: With the arrival of the Messiah, the water used for Jewish ceremonial washing was replaced by the wine of the best quality and abundant (overflowing) quantity. The quality of that new wine was so superior that the compliments given by the steward (2:10) must have made the bridegroom’s family proud.

4.    Application to life

Today’s gospel speaks about the miraculous transformation of plain water into abundance of superior quality of wine done by Jesus at a wedding in Cana. In the OT wine is considered as a symbol of joy – a thing that “gladdens the human heart” (Ps104:15). It is about how Jesus transformed an embarrassing and joyless situation faced by an ordinary family at Cana during their wedding feast into a joyful one, when wine got over. Now and then ‘wine’ of joy runs out in our families (also in religious communities). Due to lack of genuine love, concern, understanding, depth-level communication, we fail to experience the joy of unity and intimacy among us. We have heard the saying, “East or west, home is the best.” But as the world advances, this ‘best place’ (home) is becoming less and less joyful due to the onslaught of modern secularization, individualism, electronic gadgets, and erosion of family values, such as the warmth of inter-personal relationships.

In the light of today’s gospel-message, it is good to examine whether this kind of situation is true of us. How many marriages and religious professions which began with “joyful wine” (that is, with a lot of enthusiasm and expectations) have become like empty jars of Cana and the plain “water” poured into them without any taste or joy! These empty pots of Cana as well as plain water could symbolize one or more of the following things: our deficiencies, defects of character, weaknesses, self-centredness, jealousies, disunity, dreariness (dullness) of daily routine, monotony of daily work, superficiality of faith, failure to sacrifice our self-interests to render pro-active service, shallowness of human relationships, etc. We observe that so many families and religious communities have no wine left; that is, there is no genuine love and understanding left. Today it is not wine but love, peace and harmony that come to an end when we live a life of self-centredness and individualism. And it is Jesus who can transform this situation, if we turn to him in faith and begin to live the Gospel more radically. We have to allow Christ to change what is water-like situation into joyful ‘wine.’

We are either like either empty water-pots or like plain water poured into them. As in Cana, Jesus alone has the power to change water into wine. In other words, our faith in Jesus has the power to change the water of our deficiencies into wine of joy. We need to strive day after day to be transformed into the image of Christ to really experience joy of his gospel. We need to recreate and revisit our original joy and enthusiasm again and again when we took the most important step in life. Day by day we have to strive to fill the emptiness of gospel-values in our hearts – due to which our tensions and unrest increase – with abundance of God’s grace by deciding to love where genuine love seems to slip away.

Another reason why the “wine of joy” runs out in our families is our tendency to take so many expressions of love of our family members for granted. Sometimes we are more courteous, warm, polite and helpful to outsiders than to their own family members. One of the reasons for this is that we take the love of our near and dear ones for granted because their love is guaranteed. It is said the “familiarity breeds contempt.” We can observe this even among many children who behave very calm and obedient in schools but turn out to be rebellious at home, especially towards their mothers. They have a guarantee of their parents’ love and know that they would be loved even if they rebel against their authority. They take advantage of natural attraction of parents towards their children without thinking for a while how much heartache it might create for parents. This makes the children think how they can enhance the joy of their parents in return to the sacrifice they make for them.

Today’s gospel tells us, being a Mother, as at Cana, so also now, Mary is very sensitive to all situations of emptiness, shallowness and deficiencies in our families and personal lives. Just as she did at Cana, today too she refers the matter to Jesus and allows him to do what he wants on behalf of her children. Jesus can transform a situation of disgrace, dreariness, lack of love and joy into fullness of joy. Just as she noticed the embarrassing situation in that family at Cana, today too she notices lack of genuine love and care in our families (or religious communities) and sighs sadly: “They have no wine” (2:3). Her prayer (intercession) before Jesus to transform her children’s water-like situation into ‘joyful wine’ continues even today. Ultimately, Jesus will not refuse her request even today. She becomes a model of charity or love of neighbours shown through active concern for their problem, joyful service and deeds of mercy after recognizing their difficulty . Today, deeply concerned at the joyless and loveless situation in our families (or communities), Mary points to Jesus and reminds us: “Do whatever he tells you” (2:5) in the gospel. Just as she wanted to save the reputation of a family at Cana out of her concern for them, she wants to do the same thing for us today.

Since this miracle is called a “sign” (2:11) in John’s gospel, a sign that points to something else a literal understanding of it is pointless. Its symbolic meaning is rich: When Jesus comes into our life, it is like water changing into wine. Any change that takes place under the influence of faith in Christ, or by doing what he says in the gospel, is like water turning into wine. The Lord replaced emptiness of water-jars with fullness of joy, or replaced disappointment and embarrassment with fullness of joy and grace. Today we have to regret that we have drifted away from Christ and his teachings, and have allowed selfish and secular values to reign in our homes, due to which we experience lack of peace and joy in our families.

How can we experience Jesus’ ‘glory’ (that is, his presence) if there is no genuine love in our families? Just as Mary’s sensitivity to the needs of others or her care for them became an occasion for Jesus to reveal his glory, our sensitivity to others’ needs in our families and neighbourhood can reveal to them God’s presence in us. When we totally neglect to do what Jesus tells us in the gospel, especially when we fail to live his commandment of love, service, sacrifice, active concern, care and forgiveness, our water never becomes wine and our empty water-pots never get filled with joy.

The overflowing quantity of wine symbolizes an overflow of God’s grace through Christ. Jesus brings us the superabundance of God’s grace and salvific gifts. God in Christ continues to pour out the abundance of his love and life out of his generosity. We need to admit our emptiness and approach him in faith. The miracle happened only when the servants obeyed Jesus’ command and cooperated with him. Many more miracles will happen when we cooperate with God’s grace. The world’s joy (merriment) runs out, but the joy (inner peace) he gives will overflow like the overflowing quantity of wine and its far superior quality. Let us invite Jesus to our homes today like the host at Cana had invited him. His powerful presence in our homes can turn water into wine, emptiness into fullness, and dreariness into gladness.

5.    Response to God's Word

Are we more courteous, warm, polite and helpful to outsiders than to our own family members? Is there genuine love, concern, understanding, depth-level communication in our families/ religious communities? What are the empty water-pots of our deficiencies and defects of character? Have we drifted away from Christ and his teachings, and have allowed selfish and secular values to rule in our homes? Do we co-operate with his grace for our inner transformation?

6.    A prayer

Jesus, our Divine Guest, today once again we invite you into our homes. Look kindly on our emptiness and water-like situation and transform it into joy with your power. As the Divine Host, feed us with the Sacred Bread and Wine to gladden our hearts with your divine presence. Amen.