SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  – C – 2022

v  The Christmas celebrations are over. 

v  In the second vespers of the Epiphany we read an antiphon which summarizes in a very beautiful way the meaning of the Christmas-Epiphany season.    

 Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.   

v  The meaning of Christmas is the manifestation of the Son of God made flesh; manifestation when he is born, when he is adored by the magi, in the wedding feast when the water is changed into wine and in his  baptism when the voice of the Father said “You are my son in you is my delight.”   

v  Let us see what the today’s reading tell us, we continue with the theme of the epiphany of the Lord, his manifestation by means of the sign of the water changed into wine.  

THE BOOK OF THE THIRD ISAIH

Ø  For a long time, the Church considered that the book of the prophet Isaiah was a single book.  

Ø  However, since the studies and investigation of the Bible go on continually, the specialists realized that this book has long sections of several chapter that refer to different historical times very distant from each other and thus, they were in front of a book that, in reality was three books: First Isaiah or Isaiah from Jerusalem. Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah, and Third Isaiah or Trito-Isaiah.  These books, written by different authors and  from different times, had a basic unity at the literary and theological level. 

Ø  What is the theme of the Third Isaiah?   The Third Isaiah lets us know that there is a conflict among the people of Israel when the exiled returned. The group that returned, the conservative group, comes with enthusiasm to rebuild what had been lost, they consider themselves and believe they are the true Israel since they have been purified by the sufferings of the exile.   The group that remained in Jerusalem which is more prophetic looks at those who have returned as contaminated by their coexistence with the pagans and that they have changed in some way their traditions, their way to see life. The prophet has a mission somehow like that of the Second Isaiah, to console and also to denounce sin and awaken the prophetic spirit.   

FIRST READING :  Is 62:1-5

ü  The prophet cannot be silent until the liberation of Jerusalem is known by the nations. 

ü  The second paragraph, very poetic and inspiring, speaks of the beauty of the city.  

o   She will be like a diadem in the hand of her God.  

o   She will not be anymore the abandoned city, dominated by the foreigners, now she is the beloved  bride that delights her God.    

ü  These words said to Jerusalem, are also said for each one of us.   

o   In our baptism we received a name and in confirmation a new name.  

o   God has us tattooed on the palm of his hand, according to what we read someplace else in the Bible.    This, which is so poetic and maybe even romantic, what does it mean? When we want to remember something or the name of someone, we write it on the palm of our hand, the lovers have the name of their beloved tattooed. The Lord loves us with eternal and true, close and affectionate love.     

o   We are thus the delight of our God, despite our sins and infidelities.   

o   Our God marries the church and, in the church, each one of us. 

o   This comparison of God’s love for us to the conjugal love has its origin in God’s revelation to his prophets who are his voice.

o   Let  us meditate and allow the Lord explain to us the meaning of these beautiful words.   

RESPONSORIAL PSALM – Ps 96

R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
            sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
            among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
            give to the LORD glory and praise;
            give to the LORD the glory due his name! 
R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations

Worship the LORD in holy attire.
            Tremble before him, all the earth;
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
            He governs the peoples with equity.
R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations

 

§  We are invited to sing the greatness of our Lord.   

§  And to tell the peoples that the Lord reigns, reigns with tenderness, justice and love.   

GOSPEL Jn 2:1-11

      As we read this episode from the Gospel of John, we cannot ignore how this gospel was written, because it is very different from the other three which we call the Synoptic Gospels. John narrates and event that has happened, but he is not interested in the details of the event, his interest is in the hidden and profound meaning of the event which becomes an opportunity to invite us to discover what the Lord wants to reveal to us.   

      There is a wedding at Canna in Galilee and John says, that Mary the mother of Jesus was there. I like to think that she was at the wedding feast like the rest of the women.  In the little towns and villages and probably everywhere the women are in the kitchen and making sure that everything goes well, that everybody has enough food and drink, in a word, they make sure that the guests enjoy the celebration.  

      John continues to says that Jesus with his disciples were also invited to the feast. Maybe the bride or the bridegroom were friends of Jesus. Since we do not know, we are allowed to dream, imagine, whatever…  

      The wine is running short and the celebration will continue for several days. Mary realizes that, and looks for a solution. 

      We do not know if she thinks of her son because she has seen him perform other miracles, although John says that this is the first sign, we do not know if God moves her internally to dare and decide to ask her son for help, or simply she wants him to know,  so that he does what he deems appropriate.   She simply says to him  "They don't have wine."

      Jesus’ answer is always difficult for me , even if Ilook at different translations and editions of the  Bible.  “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”   

o   We do not like the way he talks to her  

o   We do not like that, he calls her woman; but this is the most beautiful title or word he can use to address her, she is the woman of Genesis whose offspring will crush the head of the serpent, the devil.   

      Mary, who knew well her son, understands in some way, in these words of Jesus that he is going to do something; so she says to the servants “do whatever he tells you.”   

o   These words are addressed also to us, to each one of us, to the whole Church.   

o   Yes, the only thing we have to do is to do what he tells us, and he has already told us “love one another as I have loved you.”    

o   Let  us be faithful to what he says to us. Let  us be faithful like her.   

      And the great sign that has fascinated all generations of believers is produced.  

      When the servants draw the water from the jars, it is water no more but wine.  

      Likewise, if we do what he tells us, our water(life) so many times cloudy, tasteless, not transparent will be turned into wine, the wine of joy, hope, enthusiasm, tenderness; we will be truly happy even if what surrounds us remains the same  

THE CITY OF CORINTH

v  Corinth was the capital of the Roman Province of Acaya since the year 27 before Christ. It came to have half a million inhabitants. It was situated at the South of Greece in the Western coast opposite to Athens.   

v  It had two harbors and a temple to the pagan goddess of love Aphrodite, sacred prostitution was practiced in that temple.   

v  There was a conglomeration of religions of all species, very varied itinerant preachers, many languages and  races. Abundance and economic prosperity went hand in hand with an immoral life.

v  Paul came as one more preacher, and the religion he preached was very estrange.  

v  He arrives after the “failure” in Athens, he comes humiliated and humble, trusting only in his gospel.  

v  Aquila y Priscila, a Jewish married couple, exiled there by the Emperor, welcome Paul in their home.  

v  The Jews rejected Paul, so he began his community with humble people of the village and with slaves.

v  He formed them, he dedicated time and energy to this community. 

v  Let us think about who formed the community and to them he wrote this letter.  If they understood it and it helped them, can't it help us? Won't we be able to understand it?

 

SECOND READING  – 1Cor 12:4-11

Ø  Paul explains to his community of Corinth how God gives his different spiritual gifts to each one for the building of the community.   

Ø  Let us imagine the picture that this fragment puts before our eyes:  

o   God, as a father of family, or as the leader of a community, or as the director of a movement, an organization,  distributes the responsibilities among the members of the group and with the responsibility comes the gift to fulfill it.       

o   This has several consequences, the first is that the gift is given to serve, whom? Those we are supposed to serve in our family, in the work place, in the recreation areas, in a word every human being who needs our help.  

Ø  We all have gifts, and we have to use them and not to hide them as the man in the parable Jesus told. They  do not belong to us, they are given to be administered for the common good.    

Ø  We need to be grateful and give thanks to God for the gifts we have received, even if the use of them requires effort and sacrifice from us.    

 CLARETIAN CORNER 

            2. Year 1842, one night while I was at prayer pleading to Christ crucified to remedy the necessities of the church, which in that time were many, that had cost him so much, I offered him my life in sacrifice as I have done before many times, well aware that my life was not of much value to sacrifice for so many evils, but as I had no virtues to offer him, I begged him to deign to teach me what should I do in order to give him pleasure and glory accomplishing his most holy will.

 

            3. In this petition which, later I understood, was very much to the liking of His Divine Majesty, because it was done with much simplicity and good will, our Lord has deigned to teach me with much pleasure how He would like to be                                                     served by this ungrateful creature, it was in this how He set before my eyes the observance of His most Holy Law and evangelical counsels, and told me to observe them with much perfection; he told me with intense sorrow that He had nobody in Hid house to observe  them, for the great extent that all the religious orders had gone lax in the observance of His most Holy Law and because of this He permitted with grief, their destruction.

 

          4. I was shocked at this because I had always believed that all persons who profess perfection served God faithfully and for this, I wanted to be a religious. Here, once more our Lord put, as of what I can understand, before the eyes of my soul, because with my bodily eyes I did not see anything, His most Holy Law and Evangelical Counsel

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONFERENCIA DE OBISPO DE ESPANA. Sagrada Biblia. Versión oficial. B.A.C. Madrid 2012

BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO. (Biblia del Peregrino – América Latina)  Texto de Luis Alonso Schökel, Adaptación del texto y comentarios: Equipo Internacional. 2015