FIRST RFADING: Isaiah 62: 1-5. (rsv) For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. EXPLANATION: (exegesis) When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile (538 B.C.) they found Jerusalem in ruins, its Temple, its walls, its houses razed to the ground, desolation on all sides. This was a sight to cast a deep gloom on the joy of returning and despair was widespread. But God sent his prophet (second- or third-Isaiah) to cheer and encourage his people---there were great times in store for the New Jerusalem. Her splendor and glory would be admired by the world in the days to come. The Chosen People would be God's bride once more and would be "his delight." Literally these verses apply to the Jerusalem reconstructed at that time but it was only in the Christian Jerusalem and in the people of the new covenant they had their real fulfillment.For Zion's sake . . . Jerusalem: The prophet, acting as God's mouthpiece, must utter words of consolation and encouragement. Jerusalem (Zion is its other name) was the capital of the promised land, where God had his throne amongst his people, it was still dear to him and though now in ruins it would rise again to a glory and a fame greater than it had before.
nations . . . your vindication: The Gentiles did not respect Jerusalem or its people in the past---it was in fact the Gentiles (Babylon) who razed it to the ground. Now they would see that God was with it, that God had come to its aid, and forgiving the sins of his people for which he let them suffer exile, that he would dwell once more there as its king.
all . . . kings . . . your glory: The kings of the Gentile nations as well as the ordinary people would turn to Jerusalem and admire its glory.
called by a new name: A name stands for the nature, the essence of a thing. The Jerusalem, which the Gentile kings and people would admire, would be different---it would be something new---the new kingdom of God in fact.
mouth of the Lord: By God's power this change would take place.
crown . . . diadem: The new Jerusalem would be God's glory---a crown on his royal head, something worthy of his great kingship.
"Forsaken" . . . "Desolate": Names of women in the Old Testament (1 Kg. 22: 42; 2 Kg. 21: 1). The Forsaken and Desolate was a woman abandoned by her husband as Jerusalem was during the exile. God her spouse had left her to be punished by Babylon.
But . . . "My Delight" . . . Married: God is taking her back once more. She will be his spouse once more and his delight.
virgin . . . bride: It will be a new marriage. Jerusalem will be a virgin bride for its "builder" God, and she will be a source of joy for him. This was only very partially fulfilled in the history of the returned exiles, if at all. But in the New Jerusalem, in the Chosen People of the New Covenant, a people raised to the sublime status of adopted sons of God through the Incarnation, the Lord found a Bride, his Church, in which this prophecy was fulfilled. APPLICATION: On reading these words of the prophet (God's mouthpiece) today, words spoken to encourage and console the returned exiles in the midst of their desolation, our first thought must be of the infinite mercy, kindness and love of God. This people had deserted him, they had brought this exile on themselves, yet he has brought them back to their native land and he now encourages them to take up the work of reconstruction and promises them his divine assistance. And our second thought must be of the meanness, the ingratitude, the incredible thanklessness of that people to the God who so befriended them. They very soon forgot him, they became immersed in their earthly concerns, became worldly and politically minded. They interpreted his promise of a new Jerusalem, which would be to him a virgin bride and his crown of glory, into an earthly city which would give them political power and earthly plenty, they would have no further need of him. But let us stop for a moment and turn our thoughts on ourselves. Are we much better than they, in fact are we not much meaner, much more ungrateful than they ever were? Is our Christian world today---the new spouse of Christ, the adopted children of God, the people to whom this prophecy was really directed---is this Christian world of ours, living up to its vocation---is it really behaving as God would and does expect it to behave? He has done infinitely more for us than he did for the Jews. He has sent his Son to make us heirs of eternal life. That Son suffered and died for us. He gave us all the necessary instructions as to how we can get to heaven and gave us the means of getting there. In spite of all this, there are many---far too many---Christians today who not only forget him and all he has done for them, but also despise and insult him by their mode of life. Like the Jews of old they are busy trying to make a heaven for themselves in this life and alas like the Jews of old their endeavors will be in vain. They will have to leave this earth of ours and face the great beyond with empty hands, having buried their talent (all the gifts God has given them) in this barren earth.
SECOND READING: 1 Cor. 12:4-11. There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. EXPLANATION: Corinth was a Roman colony, materially prosperous but morally corrupt, when St. Paul came to preach the gospel there in the year 50 A.D. He made some converts among the Jews and many among the Gentiles during his two years stay there. He left for Ephesus in 52 and from there he wrote this letter to his converts correcting some abuses of which he had heard and adding further explanations to the message he had already preached to them. In the eight verses read to you today, St. Paul is referring to the marvelous gift God gave to the new converts. These were common at that time and most helpful for the spread of the faith; they ceased when the Church was solidly established. As St. Augustine says---"one waters a newly-planted tree but when it has taken root it is watered no longer."
varieties of gifts . . . Spirit: One of the abuses among the Corinthian converts was the inclination to form separate groups (see 1:11-13). Paul shows here that just as each one is a separate individual and has his own personal character, so also in the Church God gives different spiritual gifts to different people, but they all come from the same one Holy Spirit and are intended for the good of all, not for the person or persons who receive the gifts.
service . . . workings: The capacity to govern the community, to direct its activities is looked on by Paul as a spiritual gift to help the growth of the Church.
given for . . . good: The spiritual gifts are intended to build up the community.
wisdom . . . utterance: Like the prophets of the Old Testament some of the early Christians were given the gift of wise counsel to help all the members to act rightly.
utterance of knowledge: A deeper understanding of God's revelation.
one . . . faith: Faith means here trust in God and in his providence.
gifts of healing: The power to cure bodily illnesses---to help the sick person but especially to convince the pagan neighbors of the truth and power of Christ and Christianity.
miracles . . . another prophecy: The power which supersedes nature or does instantly what nature could slowly do of itself. Our Lord worked many such miracles: raising the dead to life and multiplying the loaves. Prophecy here has the two meanings of the word: to foretell future events and to encourage in God's name the newly converted.
distinguish . . . spirits: There were many false teachers at the time who wanted to lead the converts away from the faith, and among the faithful there were some who imagined they had a special gift to teach others, which they had not, and were more liable to teach error than truth. Members of the first Christian communities were able through the gift given them to discern the true teacher from the false.
another . . . tongues: As many languages were spoken in the Roman Empire and as Corinth was an important port, where people from many parts of the known world came, this gift of languages was very necessary.
interpretation of tongues: If a foreigner or a member of the Church spoke in a foreign language, an interpreter was necessary, if the community was to profit by what was said.
apportions . . . as he wills: These gifts of the Holy Spirit were not given for the benefit of the receiver but for the good of the community, for the up-building of the new Christian Church. APPLICATION: The kindness and the goodness of God to us unworthy creatures, is a mystery we shall never understand in this life. All through the story of God's dealings with man we have example after example of this infinite love, mercy and kindness. The Old Testament has proofs of this in almost every page of its two thousand years' history. And what of the’ story of the New Testament, during our two thousand years' history? This began with an almost incredible act of divine love, the coming of God's Son in our human nature---his setting up of the Church, the society of the new Chosen Race and his promise to be "with it all days even unto the consummation of the world." That he has kept his promise the history of the Church proves. He was with it in its infancy, as today's reading from St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians shows. He showered extraordinary gifts on the first converts to help the spread of the faith. He was with it in its early years when persecution followed persecution, encouraging and strengthening the martyrs to bear their trials and give witness to the faith that was in them. He was with his Church in the sad days of schism and heresy when some of his chosen ones left him and when brother turned against brother in foolish fraternal strife. He is with it today when, moved by his grace, the separated brothers are making preparations for a great family reunion. He has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church---they cannot for he is ever with it guiding and guarding it. While thanking God today for the infinite goodness, kindness and mercy he has shown to the human race down through the ages, especially for sending us his Son to raise us up and make us heirs of heaven, let us stop for a moment and ask ourselves one question: Are we really and truly grateful to God for all he has done and is still doing for us? Our answer will be evident from the answer we can honestly give to this second question: what have I done in the past, what am I doing in the present to show that gratitude? If I cannot give myself good marks on that question, and which of us can, it is never too late to begin. We are dealing with a God of mercy, with a father who is ever ready to welcome back all his prodigal sons; we can begin this moment by saying a heartfelt "thank you, God, for all your loving kindness, please forget my past ingratitude, and give me the grace to be one of your grateful children for the future."
GOSPEL: John 2:1-12. There was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days. EXPLANATION: The story of the marriage feast at Cana is narrated by St. John only. The event had probably made a deep impression on him, as it happened only a few days after he and the other first four disciples had decided to follow Christ. At this wedding he witnessed the first miracle worked by our Lord---this must have impressed him. It is possible too, that at the time he was writing his Gospel, stories were already in circulation relating extraordinary miracles worked by Christ as a child and youth in Nazareth (they appeared later in the Apocryphal Gospels). He emphatically denies these stories by asserting this miracle at Cana as the first of Christ's miracles.
Mother of Jesus was there: Very probably Mary was a relative or close friend of the groom, as she shows a deep interest in what concerned him seems to have a certain amount of authority in the house as she gives orders to the servants.
Jesus . . . his disciples: Jesus would be invited because of the probable family ties. Nathaniel, one of Jesus' six disciples, was from Cana and it was probably through him that the other disciples got their invitation.
They have no . . . wine: It was the custom among the Jews at the time that a wedding feast would go on for a week. Each guest was expected to bring some of the necessaries for the feast. Wine was, and still is, the ordinary drink at meals, in Mediterranean countries, and any abuse of it was, and is, rare. The shortage was due to oversight or perhaps because of extra guests. Because of Mary's kindly interest in the family concerned, she wished to save them embarrassment and approached her Son, Jesus, knowing that he was able to help.
Woman . . . me: Why ask me? It would seem as if he resented her interference, yet Mary's subsequent actions show she did not understand his answer to be a refusal. For a son to call his mother "Woman" may seem strange to us, but the Greek word gune means "lady" also, and this form of respectful address was not unusual.
My hour has not yet come: This answer of our Lord shows he understood his Mother was asking him to perform a miracle. The "hour," the time, appointed for manifesting himself as the Messiah sent by God, had not yet come. He had not begun his public mission yet.
do whatever he tells you: It is clear from this that Mary did not see his answer to her as a refusal. The servants filled the water-jars as Christ told them, took some of the water-turned-into-wine to the chief steward who was so amazed at its fine quality that he questioned the groom about it.
first of his signs: Miracles are signs, i.e. proofs of his claim to be from God, and stimulants to faith in his word (see Is. 7: 11. Jn. 3: 2 etc.). St. John (as said above) had reason to stress this fact.
Capharnaum: a village on the northern shore of Lake Genesareth, where, later on, most of his public life was spent.
his disciples: not blood-brothers which he had not but cousins (Hebrew and Aramaic had no word for "cousin" so a cousin was called a brother as he was of the same family) or maybe the term refers to the inner circle of his disciples (see Acts 1: 15 ff). APPLICATION: There are many lessons we can learn from this incident in Christ's life: for example, Christ's approval of marriage---there were some heretical sects later who said marriage was sinful, unfit for a Christian. Or we could see in it the intercessory power of our blessed Mother. Christ anticipated his "hour" for working miracles in order to grant her request. But the theme of today's readings is the goodness and kindness of God and we surely have a convincing proof of that loving kindness in today's gospel story. Christ worked his first miracle in order to grant a temporal favor, an earthly gift, to save the newly married groom from embarrassment. It had the other effects of convincing his very recent disciples of their belief that he was the expected Messiah, and also it convinces all Christians of the efficacy of our Lady's intercession for us, but its primary purpose was to confer a temporal benefit on the groom. By this kind act he has shown us that he is interested in our earthly affairs also. He became man in order that we could become sons of God, he came on earth so that we could go to heaven, but this miracle at Cana proves that he has a deep interest in our many and varied activities during the course of our journey to heaven. He told us "ask and you shall receive." That "shall" is very definite, our prayers will be answered, and what we should ask for is not only spiritual gifts, but the temporal aids also which we need. The "shall" applies to them too, as the miracle of Cana proves. We shall get our temporal requests, provided of course that they won't impede us on our journey to heaven. No kind father would give his child a gift that would injure him---God is the kindest of fathers and he sees what will or will not impede or endanger our eternal happiness. We can and should therefore make our temporal needs known to God in our prayers, confident that he will give us what we ask if it is for our real good. But, someone may object: how often have I asked God for temporal favors I needed so badly, and my prayer was unanswered? Was it unanswered really? Perhaps you did not get the exact thing you asked for but you got something more useful, more necessary, something you never thought of asking for, but the good God saw your need of it. We have a father in heaven who really loves us, and cares for us, let us make our temporal, as well as our spiritual needs, known to him in confident prayer. Our requests will not go unanswered.-c070 Click to return to our Home page
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