Sunday, January 16, 2022

 

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Isaiah 62: 1-5; I Corinthians 12: 4-11; John 2: 1-11)

Forty years ago, a journalist reported that race relations were improving. However, he said, in a way things hadn't changed. Mixed couples were still taboo at that time. This prohibition does not exist today. At least you can see interracial couples regularly. Although his dream has not been fully realized, Martin Luther King's efforts have had an effect. In any case, the first reading today tells of a more impressive mixed marriage.

Isaiah says on behalf of God that the fortunes of Jerusalem have changed. No more will the city be ashamed of the sins of its past. No longer will it be famous for its iniquity. Rather, it will be known as the center of a just nation. The prophet uses a brilliant comparison. God, creator of the universe, will take the city as his bride. He will endow it with virtue. Instead of being "abandoned," the city will be recognized as "betrothed." Instead of being "desolate," it will be the "pleasure" of God Himself.

God fulfilled this intention with the birth of when Jesus. Christmas represents the wedding of God with the people of Israel. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the first miraculous sign made by Jesus takes place at a wedding. It relates the same message. By changing the water to wine, Jesus manifests himself as the Son of God who has arrived among humans. Now he will fulfill his marital responsibilities of making his bride virtuous.

The wedding between the Son of God and the people will have repercussions around the world. As the prophets indicated, the whole world will come to learn from him. They will profit of his saving actions by joining with him in Baptism. The benefits of Baptism may be seen in the second reading where Saint Paul writes about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He says that each member of the community has a gift that contributes to the good of all. Likewise, the different nations that make up the Church have their particular gifts. Each one will lend its particular gift to the good of the universal Church. We can name some of these gifts. Africans will contribute their joy. Asians will give their concentrated effort. Latinos will provide deep faith. Europeans will contribute to their organization. We will be more with the contribution of each one’s gift. And we would be less without the gift from one or the other.

Marriage helps us understand God's closeness to His people. As a reciprocal benefit, God has elevated marriage to a preeminent level. Because it is associated with God Himself, marriage is more than a contract or a legal way to satisfy the sexual appetite. It is a sacred vow between a man and a woman to remain faithful in bad times and good times. It is a total surrender of one to another so that the couple become a family where offspring are raised. It is a commitment of love until the end of life.

This year, called the “Year C of the lectionary,” we are going to read regularly from the Gospel according to Luke. But this Sunday we use this passage from the Gospel according to John for a specific reason. With the visitation of the Magi and the Baptism of Jesus, the story of the wedding at Cana forms a triple epiphany of the Lord. In these three passages Jesus manifests himself as the Son of God who has finally come into the world. He is here to empower us to be better persons, better spouses, and better parents.

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