January 20, 2013

Bulletin: January 20, 2013 2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11
The Christmas Season has ended and now the readings and liturgy are called ‘ordinary time.’ As always, there is nothing ordinary about any part of Scripture…its purpose is to lead each person to an awareness of God and His great gifts given to each person showing His love. Each and every gift has a rationale of love and care which leads everyone involved to heaven. I know this…I preach it…I have to be reminded of it often. I find that an explanation and a reflection on these readings do exactly that.
The many chapters of Isaiah leading up to today traced Israel’s slow awakening to faith during their time in exile. They had suffered much and realized that God had been faithful, but they hadn’t. The prophet is telling them that God wants them to return home: home to their own country and little plots of land, home to their religious heritage, and home to the temple the symbol of God’s presence and how He had chosen and gifted these people. They had felt ‘desolate and forsaken’…but now the prophet uses names “My Delight” and “Espoused”. These are wedding terms and ones showing that God wants to be with them and each person. The Father announced at Jesus’ baptism similar words ‘the Son in whom I am well pleased’; another translation is ‘one in whom I take delight’. Delight…God takes delight in me and in each person. Am I there yet, hardly; but God is. What will it take in me to let God show His delight; I do not have to do anything, just let God be the doer. This takes trust, abandonment and a realization that I am really loved; each person is. All the great saints echo this while at same time acknowledging their own sinfulness. I have not met a parent who isn’t delighted and thrilled at a child’s first recital or art work, or public performance. Was it good…it’s not about goodness, it’s about love; and this is the love God has for me and for each person.
And God helps me and each person along this road to Himself by sending the Spirit to fill each with gifts to build up the Church. Again, this reiterates that it is not about me but about God and living this way brings each one closer to God. Living the Word expresses it this way, “He (Paul) speaks of gifts, ministries, and works. ‘Gifts’ here refers to operations of the Spirit, notably speaking in tongues and prophesying, gifts that were usually operative during worship. Ministry was service within the community. Works were feats of great energy or divine power. Since all of these gifts or ministries or works were manifestations of the Spirit, no one was to be considered superior to another. Further they were not given for the self-aggrandizement of the one who received them. All were given for the benefit of the entire community.” Again the reminder for me: it’s not about me but how God is gifting, sharing and leading me closer to Him, because He wants me to be in heaven with Him. Do I want this?

The Gospel recounts the wonderful first miracle of Jesus public ministry at Cana with the changing of water into wine. It is so important to remember that the miracles of Jesus were never mere exhibitions of supernatural power. This miracle certainly showed His glory…it said, ‘His glory was manifested to His disciples and they believed in Him.’ But was there more...yes!

The miracle shows God’s generosity and His generosity in my life and each person’s cannot be overestimated. I have never said enough ‘thanks’ to God for how He has touched me; how He has saved me; how He has rescued me; how He has sent someone in my life at the right time to touch me; how He has lead me through the ‘pathways of despair and depression’ to show that I am loved and important and valuable to Him and therefore to others. I can never thank God enough for the discovery of the innumerable gifts He has blessed me with. I can’t even enumerate them because when I try, I discover there is another. Not one of these gifts was meant to make me ‘big and important’ but to touch another who was in need. I will never know this fully until I am with God; no person will.

And then there are the Sacraments: what an honor to be the ‘servant administrator’ of them. One of the great gifts of my priesthood is being touched by the faith of people who come humbly and so sincerely to receive the Lord in the sacraments. Do I reflect on them as often as I should…no. The readings today call me to look at God’s unbelievable awesome gifts of love.

I am honored to have Msgr. Chet Michael as my spiritual director. His wisdom and guidance expresses each person’s giftedness in this quote from ‘Arise, A Christian Psychology of Love.’ He says, “Each of us should feel a personal challenge to do all we can to meet the needs of the times. No matter how small I feel myself to be, I am called by God to do something worthwhile to help the world attain the fullness destined for it. Regardless of my education or lack of education, regardless of the specialization of past training or my present situation, I always can make a worthwhile contribution to the total growth of our world…Regardless of whether or not I realize it and intend it, by the very fact of being alive and existing, I exert an influence for better or for worse upon others.

Never must I allow myself to make the mistake of imagining that I am unimportant or that what I do has little or no effect upon others. Every human being is important in the work of the redemption of the world. Others may be more important, but I have a definite place assigned to me by Almighty God. There is a niche that I am expected to fill; and, if I fail to accomplish my particular task, a certain part of the fabric of the world’s perfection will be lost. I am needed; others depend upon me; and they will not be able to do a good job in their vocation unless I do a good job in me. …when I do the most good for God and others is down deep in my heart where the basic attitudes which govern my exterior conduct and influence others are formed.” I am gifted and called to love…and as Chet says…’gratitude, gratitude, gratitude…..and more gratitude for God’s love and gifts.

So I reflect on:

• What gifts of a generous God do I see in my own life and in those around me?
• Take some time to reflect on the special gifts from the Holy Spirit? How and when did I become aware of them? Have I enabled the Spirit to keep them growing in my life?
• Do I help others identify and nurture their own gifts? If I don’t, am I too focused on myself and miss the Spirit in others?
• Jerome Sabatowich, a well-known religious educator gives this reflection, “We usually see pictures of a serious Jesus but today’s Gospel tells us He also went to parties and He undoubtedly had fun at them. We may even assume Jesus and His apostles joked around and teased each other as they traveled from town to town. Today, ask Jesus to teach you how to be a joyful Christian.”