Is 62:1-5; Ps 95; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-11
The gospel tells us that Jesus requested six jars holding anywhere from 20 to 30 gallons of water each. We appreciate the fact that Jesus performed his first miracle by changing these 120 to 180 gallons of water into wine. Taking just 120 gallons which equate to 480 quarts, we must come to a conclusion that Jesus our Lord knew how to throw a party.
After the Lord changed the water into wine, the writer of John’s gospel commented that “this was the first of the signs given by Jesus” (2:11). What happened at Cana in Galilee was more than a miracle and a party; it was meant to point a profound reality concerning God and His people.
Bible commentators note the fact that the “changing of the water into wine” took place at a wedding banquet. In the Scriptures, God’s relationship with the people of Israel is described as a marital union: Yahweh being the husband and Israel as the spouse. The first reading, for example, says “As the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you” (Is 62:5). Saint Paul speaks of the same reality when he describes the Church as the bride of Christ. It is God’s desire and delight to be one with us, to share life with us and to love us unconditionally. The gospels portray the Messianic era as a marriage feast (Mt 22:10; Mk 2:19) because this is the time when God lives amongst His people.
Like a good shepherd, Jesus was to gather the people of God under his care. As he changed the water into wine, so Jesus was going to transform the people into a Church or a community of caring disciples. Christianity was like a choice wine that was kept until later in the history of humanity.
Today, countless people come to believe in Jesus Christ and many also are enjoying meaningful lives because of the Christian faith. Undeniably, however, there are people who are disgruntled and unhappy because they feel that the Church (often equated with the hierarchy) is not helping them or that the Christian faith is not making a real difference to their life. The second reading is relevant because it provides an important key to keeping Christianity a choice wine for people to relish truly and fully. Here, Saint Paul reminds us that the Church is not only the priests and religious but the whole Christian community of which every member has a vital role to play. The Holy Spirit gives to individuals various gifts/talents not for personal use but for the service of the community. Christianity sometimes would appear irrelevant because Christians themselves do not fulfill their mission in the world. Christians would find meaning in following Christ when they strive to use their gifts/talents to serve one another.
Like Mary, we are to remain ever mindful to the needs of people around us. Mary considers the difficult situation of others more than her own personal concerns. Indeed, she remains a model of a caring disciple who glorifies God through self-denial and self-giving.
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
“What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered – he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.
“There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”
The mouse turned to the cow and said “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.
But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember – when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
(The story is from an unknown author)
The gospel tells us that Jesus requested six jars holding anywhere from 20 to 30 gallons of water each. We appreciate the fact that Jesus performed his first miracle by changing these 120 to 180 gallons of water into wine. Taking just 120 gallons which equate to 480 quarts, we must come to a conclusion that Jesus our Lord knew how to throw a party.
After the Lord changed the water into wine, the writer of John’s gospel commented that “this was the first of the signs given by Jesus” (2:11). What happened at Cana in Galilee was more than a miracle and a party; it was meant to point a profound reality concerning God and His people.
Bible commentators note the fact that the “changing of the water into wine” took place at a wedding banquet. In the Scriptures, God’s relationship with the people of Israel is described as a marital union: Yahweh being the husband and Israel as the spouse. The first reading, for example, says “As the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you” (Is 62:5). Saint Paul speaks of the same reality when he describes the Church as the bride of Christ. It is God’s desire and delight to be one with us, to share life with us and to love us unconditionally. The gospels portray the Messianic era as a marriage feast (Mt 22:10; Mk 2:19) because this is the time when God lives amongst His people.
Like a good shepherd, Jesus was to gather the people of God under his care. As he changed the water into wine, so Jesus was going to transform the people into a Church or a community of caring disciples. Christianity was like a choice wine that was kept until later in the history of humanity.
Today, countless people come to believe in Jesus Christ and many also are enjoying meaningful lives because of the Christian faith. Undeniably, however, there are people who are disgruntled and unhappy because they feel that the Church (often equated with the hierarchy) is not helping them or that the Christian faith is not making a real difference to their life. The second reading is relevant because it provides an important key to keeping Christianity a choice wine for people to relish truly and fully. Here, Saint Paul reminds us that the Church is not only the priests and religious but the whole Christian community of which every member has a vital role to play. The Holy Spirit gives to individuals various gifts/talents not for personal use but for the service of the community. Christianity sometimes would appear irrelevant because Christians themselves do not fulfill their mission in the world. Christians would find meaning in following Christ when they strive to use their gifts/talents to serve one another.
Like Mary, we are to remain ever mindful to the needs of people around us. Mary considers the difficult situation of others more than her own personal concerns. Indeed, she remains a model of a caring disciple who glorifies God through self-denial and self-giving.
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
“What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered – he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.
“There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”
The mouse turned to the cow and said “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.
But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember – when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
(The story is from an unknown author)
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