Second Sunday in Ordinry Time

Cycle C

Homily on January 19, 2025.

Isaiah 62: 1-5, Psalm 96: 1-2, 3-3, 7-9, 9-10, 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11, Jhon 2: 1-11.

Filling our Jars and celebrating with Jesus

Greeting you again on this Sunday in Ordinary Time. Sharing and praying together the readings of the day. In the first reading we find the narrative of the Prophet Isaiah and this beautiful comparison of a wife with her husband, where joy and enthusiasm are the highlights. He uses this image so that the people of Israel can understand the great love with which God will take them and therefore their joy will be greater. In the second reading we listen to St. Paul with this beautiful narrative where he speaks to us about the different gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to each one of us. And finally we listen to the Gospel of John, where we are told about the first sign that Jesus makes at the wedding in Cana.

Reading and meditating on these readings makes me think of the great joy it takes to celebrate a wedding, usually two groups of families united by two people who now make them share in their joy. The people are now invited and feel part of the happiness and the atmosphere becomes more joyful. And I remembered that some years ago I had the opportunity to receive the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius for a month, an incredible experience. But also in that month a cousin of mine was getting married, obviously I couldn't be at that party because of the time I was going to have for spirituality. And I remember the young couple said to me: Please give us a few words that the wedding will go well. At that moment I just said to them, read the wedding of Cana and remember the words of our Mother Mary: Do whatever he tells you.

Evidently I had not planned to say anything and perhaps I just told them about the chapter so as not to appear foolish. However, now that I think about it and meditate, the advice is very valid; doing what Jesus tells us leads to a better way to a fuller life. Jesus, as in every event in our lives, invites us to trust and work with him. During the Wedding passage Jesus does not tell them that things are lost for lack of wine, on the contrary he gives them instructions. And patiently he waits for them to finish filling the jars with water to make the first sign. And we can take this example to our lives, Jesus is not alien to our problems, our difficulties or daily worries. He is not insensible to us and to everything that surrounds us, he is there with us, letting us work, seeing how we are filling our jars, so that when everything is ready he can also participate in our daily life, manifesting his signs that become grace.

Jesus participates with us in our daily work, as well as in the wedding feast of Cana. Many times we think he is not there. But Jesus believes in us and he trusts in the gifts we have received from the spirit as St. Paul told us today. Jesus knows our abilities, our passions, in those which the spirit has given us and the abundant grace in our lives. Mary's words are valid yesterday and today; for to follow Jesus' instructions is to follow a life where the Kingdom project and its justice are the priority. A life where service and love will make the heart burst with joy as at a wedding. Today I could tell my cousins and you too, that keeping the heart in Jesus and his instructions is the best way to celebrate, not only a wedding but life itself.

Finally, dear friends, I want to continue to invite you not to be afraid to join Jesus' project and do what he tells us to do. In the kingdom of God and his righteousness all those gifts that the Spirit has given us are much more fruitful and bring with them a more planned and lasting happiness. Through the intercession of Our Mother Mary may we continue to do what Jesus tells us.