SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--1/17/10
By Msgr. Eric R. Barr, S.T.L.
READINGS: ISAIAH 62:1-5; I CORINTHIANS 12:4-11; JOHN 2:1-11
I. Where Christ Is, There Is Life; Where Christ Is Not, Life Decays!
A. You can just hear the steward gasping in surprise, “This was water, now it’s wine, and the best I’ve ever tasted. How did you do this?” And I think Jesus never answered; instead, throughout the day in Cana of Galilee, when those who were enjoying the wedding celebration saw Jesus, they would say, “Wherever he goes, he brings life!” That’s what they would say.
B. Christ couldn’t bear to see a wedding feast destroyed--so he acted. Whatever he touched, turned to life. A stable became a Church; a wedding became even more joyful, sick people became well; women were recognized and given dignity; sinners were forgiven, a funeral procession became a celebration of life. Where Christ is, there is life. And where Christ is not, life decays. When Herod’s soldiers entered Bethlehem--they didn’t find the Baby Jesus, but they found all the boys two years old and under and killed them. When Jesus was twelve and absent from Mary and Joseph in Jerusalem, they thought they’d lost him--and they were distraught, their family in crisis. When Judas left Jesus at the Last Supper and went out into the night, he left Christ and Judas was left with evil plots and his own despair, and finally his death. Where Christ is not, life decays.
C. Christ became human so that we might become more like God. What that means is simply this: Christ came to give life, and by his example he shows us how to do the same. There is so much more going on here than just the discovery of a few more jugs of White Zinfandel for a wedding. Where Christ is, there is life; where Christ is not, life decays. So we are faced with the choice: are we going to stay with Christ and be givers of life, or are we going to leave Jesus and become givers of death?
II. Stay Close To Christ Through The Sacraments
A. John’s Gospel was written to answer the question: “Now that the witnesses of Christ are all dead, how will we ever keep in touch with our Lord–who will tell us his stories; how will be experience his Presence?
B. And John gives the answer: You will stay in touch with Christ when you stay close to the Church and the Sacraments he gave her. The wedding feast at Cana tells us that with Christ, marriage is holy; without the presence of the Lord of love, marriage is in trouble. The feeding of the five thousand, another big miracle in John’s Gospel, tells us that Christ is the bread of life. By eating him, we live; away from him we starve in the desert.
1. Jesus takes the ordinary things of the earth-wine, water, bread, marriage, birth, death, sickness, forgiveness, and infuses all these things with his presence in the sacraments so that the things of earth become doorways to heaven, ways of encountering God, chances at being in touch with Jesus.
2. That’s what John is trying to get across in his Gospel. He’s telling us that Jesus didn’t leave us; he is with us in special ways now, through signs and wonders that communicate his presence and give life. Christ was found in the middle of ordinary life. He made ordinary life holy. That’s the sacramental nature of our faith. I’m not talking just about the 7 sacraments. I’m talking about the sacramental nature of our faith which finds God in every part of life. Jesus showed us that the things of the world could allow us to see God.
III. It’s Great To Be Catholic; Why Would Anyone Ever Want To Leave?
A. Sometimes we are afraid to look at what makes us different from everyone else. When we refuse to see our uniqueness, we miss the gifts that our faith has. What makes us distinctively Catholic as opposed to Protestant? Just take a look at the Sacraments and the way we worship. If you were to be put on the spot, could you stand up here and say what’s the difference between Catholicism and other Christian faiths? No doubt you would be tongue tied. Perhaps you’ve never thought of it before, but the differences are real. Of course, we live in a time that says all religions are the same so some think it doesn’t matter what you believe, but that’s not true. Our distinctive way of encountering God is through the sacraments. Some of us don’t understand that and have been absent from our midst. They’re missing out on one of the surest ways to contact God, and we are missing out on their strength, and love, and prayer life.
B. What’s frightening in our day and age is how willing some Catholics are just to chuck the whole sacramental system and say it doesn’t matter. It’s like saying I’d rather watch a movie on an i-pod rather than in a theater, or listen to music coming from a single speaker rather than a stereo system, or eating oatmeal each and every day for the rest of your life instead of sitting down to a feast. Catholics are in danger of walking away from the one sure way of encountering Christ–namely, the sacraments. We can’t let that happen.
C. Want to bring people back to the Catholic Church? Start talking about your experience of sacraments. Do you meet Jesus in the Eucharist when you receive Communion? Tell people what that is like. Do you find God in married love? Tell people what that is like. Do you feel the presence of Christ when your child or brother or sister is baptized? What’s it like to experience God? You can talk about this–you’ve got the power and you’ve got the experience. Those people at the wedding feast of Cana experienced Jesus as Messiah. They were joyful, happy, and awestruck. We ought to be that way when we experience Christ in the sacraments, and we ought to tell people about our experience. If we do, then we just might convince a few people who no longer practice their Catholic faith that they are indeed missing a great way to experience God. Invite them to come back home, and feel Christ’s presence once again.
When we take our sacraments into daily life we can find Christ in everything we do. A kind word or jesture, putting others needs before our own. Finding joy in others happiness over your own, will leave people to wonder how your heart carries such a warm and unselfish love. A beautiful way to remind those we meet of the fresh face of todays Catholic. Each of us have a calling, never let a day pass without sharing God's wonders with someone. thank you again for your words.......
Posted by: Dragonfly | January 16, 2010 at 08:35 PM