{"id":941,"date":"2013-01-20T15:15:46","date_gmt":"2013-01-20T20:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=941"},"modified":"2013-01-20T15:15:46","modified_gmt":"2013-01-20T20:15:46","slug":"2nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/2nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C<\/a>
\nIsaiah 62:1-5
\n1 Corinthians 12:4-11
\nJohn 2:1-11
\nJanuary 20, 2013<\/p>\n

Jesus changes water into wine.<\/p>\n

No small thing and it isn\u2019t meant to be.\u00a0 This is first of seven great signs in John\u2019s Gospel meant to show us who Jesus is as the Son of God with the power of God at work in him.\u00a0 The signs are great miracles but the miracles serve to show Jesus not just as a miracle worker but as the one the Israelites had been waiting centuries for.\u00a0 The miracles show us the power of God at work in Jesus.\u00a0 Jesus is not miracle worker but teacher with authority from God as his son.<\/p>\n

So, we need to look not just at the signs but also the whole story around the signs.<\/p>\n

In today’s story, the setting of the miracle says something.\u00a0 It is a wedding celebration.\u00a0 The Church has taught us that Jesus\u2019 presence at the wedding identifies weddings as something important.\u00a0 Jesus won\u2019t have gone if it was something bad.<\/p>\n

Why are weddings good?<\/p>\n

Weddings are about relationships.\u00a0 Most specifically a wedding is about the relationship of a man and woman coming together in love.\u00a0 God is love.\u00a0 Jesus values the love of man and woman as husband and wife.<\/p>\n

We also see another relationship in the story, the relationship of Jesus and Mary.\u00a0 Certainly this is a relationship of mother and son and that\u2019s important.\u00a0 But it\u2019s more than that.<\/p>\n

When his mother Mary tells him that they are out of wine, he says it\u2019s no concern of his but he does what Mary asks of him.<\/p>\n

What does Mary say when she hears they are out of wine?\u00a0 She tells the servants, \u201cDo whatever he tells you<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Mary doesn\u2019t just say this as \u201cmom.\u201d\u00a0 She says this as a disciple of Jesus, knowing and believing that Jesus will do what\u2019s right.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t know what Jesus will do but she totally trusts him.\u00a0 She is the model disciple.<\/p>\n

As the model disciple, Mary was present at the foot of the Cross where Jesus said to the beloved disciple and to us, “behold your mother.”\u00a0 Mary becomes the Mother of the Church and so we enter into relationship with her.<\/p>\n

Still thinking about relationships, let\u2019s go back for a moment to the changing of the water into wine.\u00a0 I said it was the first of seven signs.\u00a0 As signs, they point us to who Jesus is so that we might enter into relationship with him and seek to continue to deepen our relationship with him.<\/p>\n

But relationship with God is not new with Jesus.\u00a0 Our relationship with God takes a new direction with Jesus but God has always sought a relationship with his people.<\/p>\n

The Bible is\u00a0Salvation History.\u00a0 It is the story of God’s relationship with his people.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Think of the stories from Genesis where God is\u00a0our creator.\u00a0 Stories of\u00a0Abraham and the Exodus where God set his people free.\u00a0\u00a0There are the stories of Samuel and David.\u00a0 These\u00a0stories tell us how God has always been present to his people, always been in relationship with his people.<\/p>\n

Even in the prophets, we hear of God\u2019s relationship with his people.\u00a0 Today Isaiah speaks of God\u2019s relationship with his people.\u00a0 Without God we are forsaken and desolate.\u00a0 Isaiah tells us that God will espouse his people, marrying the Church.\u00a0 Without God we cannot be all that we are meant to be.<\/p>\n

So we need to have a deep relationship with God.\u00a0 Relationships take work.\u00a0 We know this in our human relationships.\u00a0 We do things that hurt our relationships with other people but the relationship survives.\u00a0 In our relationship with God, we call this venial sin.<\/p>\n

We also do things that hurt our relationships with other people.\u00a0 In our relationship with God, we call this mortal sin.\u00a0 We can break our relationship with God through sin but the good news is that God always wants to be in relationship with us and when we confess our sins, seeking Reconciliation in the Sacrament, God restores our relationship with him through Jesus’ Crucifixion.\u00a0 Jesus came into the world to restore our relationship with God to what it was always meant to be.<\/p>\n

We need to talk about our relationship with God but this isn’t easy.\u00a0 Each of us experiences God in our own way.\u00a0 There are common experiences like celebrating Mass together but we each perceive it differently because of our past experiences.\u00a0 It can be hard to find the right words to express our relationship with God to others.\u00a0 The only way we are going to learn is to start talking about God.<\/p>\n

For a starting point, let me pose a question to you.\u00a0 I remember when I was taking a spirituality course in seminary.\u00a0 We were discussing the Trinity.\u00a0\u00a0The teacher then asked who do we pray to.\u00a0 Do we pray to the Father, or the Son, or to the Holy Spirit?<\/p>\n

Someone might like to ask, \u2018Does it matter?\u201d\u00a0 In one sense, it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 They are one God but yet it can say a lot.\u00a0 For instance, do we relate more to Jesus since he is the one who became man and knows what it is like to be human and to suffer?<\/p>\n

Do we pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom, understanding, or guidance?<\/p>\n

We pray based on what we have experienced in our relationships.\u00a0 What is your relationship with God like and how do you experience it in others?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 John 2:1-11 January 20, 2013 Jesus changes water into wine. No small thing and it isn\u2019t meant to be.\u00a0 This is first of seven great signs in John\u2019s Gospel meant to show us who Jesus is as the Son of God with the …<\/p>\n

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