Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Praise be to Jesus Christ

How was your week?

We pray that God will bless the faithful and fill them with joy during the Ordinary Time.  

Sometimes I am invited to lunch or dinner.  Whenever we run out of alcohol, someone always makes a joke by sincerely asking “Father, should I fill a jar with water?”  Because of the Canaan wedding’s wine miracle, I feel awkward.  However, it is good that we are able to use a passage from the bible.  

Today’s gospel is about a wedding ceremony.  Marriage is quite important in Israel.  Jewish people are not happy when they are not married; marriage is a blessing from God; their good deeds do not accumulate if unmarried; they are not complete as a human if they don’t marry.  

God blesses the marriage the most.  Hence, the relationship between God and Israel is often referred to as a marriage.  In the first reading, Jerusalem is referred to as “My Delight” as well as “spouse”; the relationship between God and Israel is like a married couple.  

A typical wedding ceremony is 7 days long, and they eat and drink the entire time.  The attendees dance, sing, and bless the couple with God’s blessings.  

Let us join the ceremony together.  

The wedding in Cana has begun. Jesus, Mary, and the disciples are all attending.  The ceremony is quite loud; they joyfully drink and eat.  Everyone blesses the couple.  

Then they ran out of alcohol.  It was very award moment and the enthusiasm was about to turn into panic.  At this moment, Jesus intervenes and says “filled the jars with water.”  Then the water turned into wine and the celebration continues.  

This was the first miracle performed by Jesus.  Through this event, Jesus’ glory was revealed and disciples began to have faith in him.  But most importantly, the ceremony continued with joy.  

The Canaan wedding is a precursor to the wedding feast of the lamb (Revelation 19:9) and Jesus is inviting us.  Furthermore, we are also experiencing the wedding feast of the lamb through each Mass.  When we drink and eat Jesus’ body and blood, we are invited to the wedding feast in God’s kingdom.  

Let us give thanks for the invitation and joyfully celebrate this Mass.  

Let us meditate for a moment.