Homily

             Fr. Jose Kallukalam Homily - January 20, 2019

     

Second Sunday in Ordinary time 
Wedding at Cana – The first miracle that manifested Jesus’ glory 
Last few Sundays we have been hearing about God’s revelation of Jesus as the Messiah to the shepherds, to the Magi, to John the Baptist and those gathered around John at the Jordan. This week we are at a wedding where Jesus reveals his Divine power by his first miracle of transforming water into wine manifesting his divinity. Here we see Jesus working a miracle to save a family in their great need.
The setting for the miracle:  Christ’s first miracle, which St. John refers to as a “sign,” takes place in the village of Cana in Galilee. Cana was located some eight miles northeast of Nazareth. This miracle is the first in St. John’s series of seven signs by which Jesus manifested his power and glory during his public ministry. 
Johnny Carson, in his famous ‘Tonight Show’, was interviewing an eight-year-old boy. The young man was asked to appear on the Late Show because he had rescued two friends from a coal mine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned him, it became apparent that the boy was a Christian. Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did, Johnny asked, "What did you learn there last week?" The boy replied, "Last week, our lesson was about how Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." The audience burst into laughter and applause. Keeping a straight face, Johnny asked, "And what did you learn from that story?" The boy squirmed in his chair. It was evident that he had not expected it. But without any hesitation he said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus and Mary!" 
That is precisely the message of today’s Gospel: make sure we invite Jesus and Mary into our lives or wherever we live. 
Messages: 1) The miracle at Cana tells us that we should “invite Jesus and Mary to remain with us in our homes.” St. John Mary Vianney suggests this as the solution for many of our family problems. He used to encourage parents to create an atmosphere of prayer, Bible-reading, mutual love and respect at home so that the presence of Jesus and Mary might be perpetually experienced in the family. 
2) Let us follow Mary's command, "Do whatever He tells you." This is the only command given by Mary recorded in the New Testament. Mary is telling us also, "Do whatever He tells you." This is very important for miracles to happen in our families.
We need to ask ourselves, ‘Do we do as Jesus asks us to do?” 
Are our families formed by Sacramental Marriages and do our children experience the love of God in the words and actions of their parents? 
There are several marriage jokes. They usually reflect some aspects of married life.
 
Q: What is the difference between love and marriage?
A: Love is blind and marriage is an eye-opener!
 
A son asked his mother what it's like to be married. She told him “leave me alone” and when he did, she asked him “why are you ignoring me.”
 
Man: “I haven’t spoken to my wife in 18 months.”
Friend: “Why not?”
Man: “I don’t like to interrupt her.” 
Wife: Do you want dinner?
Husband: Sure, what are my choices?
Wife: Yes and no.
Son: Dad, I’ve heard that in some parts of the world a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her.
Father: Son, that's true everywhere.
So, what do we do about the issues in married life?
3) Just as Jesus filled the empty water jars with wine, we should fill the empty hearts around us with the new wine of love, mercy, compassion and care. Emptiness of heart happens when we do not have the ‘Grace of God’ in us. We may be very good people otherwise - great parents who care about their children, who want the best for their children. But unfortunately we sometimes do not give the best to them - the ‘Grace of God’ that is so essential to their success in life.
If our families have lost the quality of closeness to God, then there will be no selfless mutual love or warmth in life. Therefore let us renew our life at the altar with Grace - the power of the Holy Spirit - so that we all may enjoy its great effects in our life.