Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C January 20, 2019

First Reading
Isaiah 62:1-5
God delights in Israel and will rejoice as a bridegroom rejoices over his
bride.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 96:1-2,2-3,7-8,9-10
A song in praise of God's marvelous deeds

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
All spiritual gifts originate from the same Spirit.

Gospel Reading
John 2:1-11
Jesus performs his first sign at a wedding feast in Cana.

MASS READINGS In the Philippines: Feast of the Santo Niño

FIRST READING (Isaiah 9:1-6)
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Psalm 97:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6)
SECOND READING (Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18)
THE GOSPEL (Luke 2:41-52)


Gospel JN 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her,
"Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servers,
"Do whatever he tells you."
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told the them,
"Fill the jars with water."
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter."
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
— although the servers who had drawn the water knew —,
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
"Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.


Background on the Gospel Reading

This Sunday we begin the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. For many
Sundays in this lectionary cycle (Cycle C), our readings will be taken
from the Gospel of Luke. Occasionally, however, we will read from John's
Gospel. This is true of today's Gospel reading, which describes the
beginning of Jesus' ministry and his first miracle.

To situate today's reading within the context of John's Gospel, we note
that John's report of this event follows Jesus' call of his first
disciples. John tells us that Jesus and his disciples were invited to this
wedding at Cana, as was Jesus' mother, Mary. There is no parallel report
of this miracle at Cana in the Synoptic Gospels.

In the Church's liturgical history, the wedding feast of Cana is closely
associated with the baptism of the Lord and the adoration of the infant
Jesus by the Wise Men. In this context, the sign Jesus performs at the
wedding feast is celebrated as an epiphany or a manifestation of Jesus'
divinity.

Yet awareness of Jesus' impending passion and death is ever present in
John's Gospel. Even in this report of Jesus' first sign, the language used
anticipates Jesus' passion. When Jesus says to his mother that his hour
has not yet come, he protests against her wishes in language that John
will use again when reporting Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. When
introducing the story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet, John writes
that Jesus knew that his hour had come. In John's Gospel, Jesus is very
much in command and aware of all that is to happen to him.

Here, as elsewhere in John's Gospel, Mary is not mentioned by name, but is
referred to instead as the mother of Jesus. Mary is influential in Jesus'
first sign. She will also be present at his Crucifixion, a witness to the
final manifestation of his divinity.

John's Gospel describes seven signs that indicate Jesus' identity to his
disciples. John never speaks of these signs as miracles because their
importance is not in the deed that Jesus performs but in what these deeds
indicate about Jesus' identity. Here, as when John describes the other
signs, the disciples are said to begin to believe, but no mention is made
as to whether the other wedding guests are even aware of what has
happened.

Marriage and wedding feasts are metaphors used in Scripture to describe
God's salvation and the Kingdom of God. Here at the beginning of Jesus'
public ministry, John's Gospel seeks to establish that Jesus is going to
re-interpret and fulfill Yahweh's promise to Israel. Jesus establishes the
New Covenant. A hint about what this New Covenant will be like is made
evident in the deed that Jesus performs. Asked to do something to address
the awkward situation that the absence of wine at a wedding feast would
create, Jesus' miracle produces vast quantities of wine—six jars holding
thirty gallons each are filled to overflowing with choice wine.

This lavish response to a simple human need is a vision for us of the
abundance of God's kingdom. It challenges us to respond generously when
confronted with human need today. We respond as best we can, fully
confident that God can transform our efforts, bringing the Kingdom of God
to fulfillment among us.


Family Connection

Weddings are wonderful family celebrations. We go out of our way to make
the occasion festive and extraordinary. People work hard to please one
another. What better image of the Kingdom of God! Not every day is a
wedding celebration, but we can anticipate the Kingdom of God each day in
our attentiveness to one another's needs.

If your family has attended a wedding celebration together, talk about the
experience and the planning and cooperation that made the celebration
memorable. Talk about how weddings and feasts are images in Scripture for
the Kingdom of God. Consider how these festive occasions are images of
God's tremendous love for us and examples of how we can show our love for
one another. Then read together today's Gospel, John 2:1-11. Talk about
Mary's attentiveness to the needs of the hosts and about Jesus' response.
What could your family learn from this story? Consider ways that you might
show these values in your family's daily life. Pray together Saint
Ignatius' Prayer for Generosity.


Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings