By Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates January 13, 2013 as the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C. The sacrament of marriage is very much at the center of this day’s Eucharist. In the first reading from the prophecy of Isaiah (62: 1-5), the prophet Isaiah tells us that the Messiah will restore the relationship between God and his people that has all the love of a perfect marriage. God will make his people holy and will rejoice in them as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride. In the second reading from Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (12: 4-11), Saint Paul speaks to his converts of Corinth about the variety of gifts with which God has endowed them. These various gifts are to be used for the common good of all, and for building the Christian community, which is the Church of which Christ is the head. In the Gospel from Saint John (2: 1-11), the evangelist tells us about the first miracle Christ performs after his baptism: he changes water into wine, at the request of his mother, Mary, to save a young couple from embarrassment. With his presence at the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus sanctifies the sacrament of marriage as a union of one man and one woman, which is a sign of his own relationship with the Church.
In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to receive Jesus into our own homes and into our hearts. May he fill them with love so we can readily receive all who come to us this day, especially the stranger and the needy.
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.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
The third part of the book of Isaiah, from where our reading is taken, was written against the backdrop of problems that arose in Judah, particularly in Jerusalem, when the exiles came back home. The initial enthusiasm of those returning from exile was quickly dampened by the harsh realities they met: the land of Judah lay in ruins, those who never went into exile considered those returning as strangers with no right to the land, and tensions quickly developed between the two communities. The hope of a glorious new era for the returnees did not materialize and the task of restoration was slow and difficult, and while the majority of the people lived in poverty, the well-to-do shamelessly exploited the poor and the weak.
That is when the prophet steps in to revive the hopes of his people for a better future. He calls for the introduction of a purer form of religious worship that is not based on externals. His message encourages the people to remain faithful to the God of Israel, to be sincere in their religious practices and to look forward in hope to a wonderful restoration of Jerusalem, the holy city.
In the passage of our meditation, the prophet praises the holy city of Jerusalem and depicts Zion as the spouse of the Lord. He reassures the people that none of them will ever again feel lonely and unprotected in God’s city, Jerusalem, to which God has shown his tenderness; even the nations of the earth will recognize her as God’s “Delight”, and his “Wedded” one. He tells the people to be prepared for the day the Lord will enter in glory and take possession of his city and of those living in it.
What lesson do I take from this reading? Many people in Cameroon, in particular, and in Africa, as a whole, find themselves in situations similar to those the returning exiles found in Jerusalem at the time of prophet Isaiah. Corruption is so rife in Cameroon today that our country has, on three occasions, received the unenviable title of the most corrupt country in the world. A select few have enriched themselves, often through the embezzlement of public funds that have been entrusted to their care. This seems to be an African disease, leading Blessed John Paul II to say that “Africa’s economic problems are compounded by the dishonesty of corrupt government leaders who, in connivance with domestic or foreign private interests, divert national resources for their own profit and transfer public funds to private accounts in foreign lands. This is plain theft, whatever the legal camouflage may be” (Ecclesia in Africa, 113).
However, the message of the prophet to the returnees of Israel is also relevant to us. The restoration and renovation of Jerusalem after the exile should find an echo in our hearts as well. The message of hope to Jerusalem tells us that God does not abandon his people, just as he did not abandon Jerusalem when she betrayed him. He still made her his spouse and loved her. Our God is therefore a God of compassion and mercy, who is quick to forgive us our trespasses. Let entrust our county, Cameroon, to our God and he will make of us his own people, his “Delight”, his “Wedded One.” Amen.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11.
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; 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. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Saint Paul established the Christian community of Corinth during his second missionary journey. The city of Corinth was one of the most important commercial cities in the Roman Empire. It was the capital city of southern Greece also known as Achaia (Achaia and Macedonia being the two provinces into which the Romans divided Greece). Since it was a commercial city, it had a cosmopolitan population which included people from Asia Minor, Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece and a Jewish population as well given that there was a synagogue in the city (Acts 18:4).
It was also a city with many religions and with temples dedicated to all sorts of gods. It was, however, notorious for its immorality. Saint Paul preached the Christian message in this city and the Holy Spirit enabled him to found a Christian community there with the help of Silas and Timothy during his second missionary journey (Acts 18: 1-18). Paul had arrived from Athens where he had failed to make many converts despite his brilliant discourse at the Areopagus (Acts 17: 16-34). He was, however, lucky in Corinth where he spent more than a year (50-52 AD), preaching and making converts. However, when opposition to his preaching from local Jews intensified, he left Corinth.
The First Epistle, from where our reading is taken, is particularly important from the doctrinal point of view, especially as it has a wide range of subjects on Christian worship. One of the themes he deals with, and which forms part of the reading of this day, is the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which his converts of Corinth were using in an abusive manner. That is why Paul takes such pains to explain in detail what these gifts are and what connection there is between them and the doctrine of the mystical body of Christ.
These spiritual gifts, also called “charisms”, are the exceptional graces we receive, not only for our personal benefit, but for the benefit of the Christian community as a whole. The Fathers of Vatican II Council tell us, among other things, that the gifts of the Holy Spirit make God’s people fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church. “Whether these charisms be very remarkable or more simple and widely diffused, they are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation since they are fitting and useful for the needs of the Church. Extraordinary gifts are not to be rashly desired, nor is it from them that the fruits of apostolic labours are to be presumptuously expected.” The Fathers continue by warning that such gifts not be used against the Church. That is why “those who have charge over the Church should judge the genuineness and proper use of these gifts” (Lumen gentium, 12).
The Holy Spirit can, and does, give extraordinary gifts to the faithful, some of such gifts manifesting themselves in dramatic ways, as we often see in some charismatic groups. It is, however, important to note that such extraordinary powers are not the only things that promote the growth of the Church. As Blessed John Paul II tell us, extraordinary charisms are useful only if they lead “the greatest possible number of the faithful, as they travel their daily path, to make a humble, patient and persevering effort to know the mystery of Christ better and better, and to bear witness to it” (Catechesi tradendae, 72).
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to continue to enlighten us with his many gifts, gifts we should put at the service of our Christian community and of the society we live in. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us now receive the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Wonder Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace according to Saint John, 2: 1-11.
There was a wedding in 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. ‘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 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.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
Shortly before this day’s Gospel reading, the evangelist John shows how Jesus is gradually building the team that is going to help him to spread his message to the world. First of all, he calls two curious young men, Andrew and John, who are the disciples of John the Baptist. They decide to follow Jesus as soon as John the Baptist points him out to them in these words: “Behold the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36). They spend the day with the Lord and leave changed people. Andrew then goes in search of his brother Simon, whom he leads to Jesus who immediately renames “Cephas” or “Rock”. Shortly thereafter, Jesus invites Philip who is also so touched that he goes out in search of his friend, Nathaniel (Bartholomew), who is not as enthusiastic as his friend, Philip, wondering aloud if anything good can come out of Nazareth (Jn 1:46).
We imagine that this is group that is around Jesus when he is invited to the wedding feast at Cana. They are still, for the most part, timid and largely unsure of the person they are following. It will not be long, however, before their faith in him begins to firm through the first miracle Jesus performs in their presence. Jesus and his mother, Mary, have been invited to a wedding feast and he takes his disciples along with him. There he performs the first miracle recorded by the evangelist John – the young couple runs out of wine and, at Mary’s timely intervention, Christ saves them from embarrassment by turning water into wine.
In his beautiful book entitled Harden not your Hearts, Cameroonian Jesuit priest, Reverend Kizito Forbi, examines the importance of inviting Jesus into our homes and into our lives. There are many other occasions in the Bible, he reminds us, where Jesus has been invited into people’s homes and there he has always performed a miracle. Peter invites Jesus into his home and the first thing the Lord does is to cure Peter’s mother-in-law, who has been in bed with a fever (Lk 4: 38-39). On another occasion, the fraudulent tax collector of Jericho, Zaccheus, invites Jesus into his home; the two talk for a while together and Zaccheus emerges from that encounter a changed man. He vows to give up half of his possessions to the poor and to pay back those he has cheated four times over (Lk 19: 8). There is the moving scene on the road to Emmaus on Easter night. Cleopas and his companion invite the one they believe is a complete stranger to stay the night with them instead of risking night travel. Jesus ends up celebrating the first Eucharist after the Last Supper with them. Once they recognize the Risen Lord, the sad pilgrims become bold missionaries, who defy the dangers of the night to take back the good news of their Lord’s resurrection to the rest of the disciples (Lk 24:30).
What lesson do I learn from these examples? They show me that whenever I invite Jesus into my heart or into my home, he will always perform a miracle for me and my family. Jesus never visits a home without leaving something special behind. Inviting Jesus into our home changes our family life for the better. And how do we invite Jesus in? Through prayers, of course. Our lives are sometimes as flat as water until Christ blesses them, thus transforming our sorrows into joy, and our tears into laughter.
How else can we invite Jesus into our homes? This can be done through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, his mother. The miracle of this day takes place because Mary intervenes and her Son obeys her. She is always attentive to our needs and supplications, which she faithfully transmits to her Son, who always listens to her and fulfils all her demands. At this wedding, her request is simple: “They have no wine”. Despite her son’s slight protest, she simply turns to the servants and says: “Do whatever he tells you.” So, whenever we turn to our Lady in prayer and invite her into our homes and hearts, she always takes our plea to her Son. Once she sees that the wine of life is running out, and our life is dreary and lukewarm towards spiritual deeds, she will tell her Son, “They have no wine”. Obedient as her Son is, he will then ask us to fill the jars of our lives with water. Why does he ask us to fill the jars with water, instead of doing it himself? It is because he always wants us to cooperate with him before he saves us. As Saint Augustine says: God who made us without us, will not save us without us. Through our cooperation, Christ will then turn our lives into wine – the wine of joy and happiness.
Let us pray during this Eucharist that Jesus and his mother, Mary, may come into our homes and into our hearts and bless them and fill them with the sweet wine of happiness. May they also enter every home in our Archdiocese and there spread the music of joy and understanding where there is sadness and discord. Bless the doors of our homes and of our hearts, Lord, and help us to keep them open to the poor and those in need. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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