THE GOOD WINE.

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
January 14, 2007
(First Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5) (Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
(Gospel Reading: John 2:1-11)

THE GOOD WINE.

At the wedding of mankind with God the good wine never runs out. Our world, however, is running out of the most essential things necessary to sustain our life as human beings.

- As individuals we experience, at some point in or life: scarcities, shortages, emptiness which we need to replenish; there are times when we seem to be running out of good health, of decent work, of sufficient income, times when we run out of willingness to care for our fellow human beings, times when we run out of peace of mind, of stability, of joy, of patience, of hope, even of faith in ourselves and faith in God.

- As members of the community of nations we experience horrendous shortages of justice, equality, peace, respect among nations. Every day we witness a world torn apart by strife, aggression, oppression, destruction, predatory wars, economic policies that produce hunger and starvation of countless peoples all over the world.

All these shortages denounce a world which is dangerously running out of the Lord Jesus' life, of the Lord Jesus' good wine.

The gospel announces that it is the time to start replenishing our hope, our love and our faith through the power of the Lord Jesus. Thus, in the face of such alarming shortages we, Christians and people of good need to invite into our world Jesus and his blessed mother. Jesus will replenish our empty jars of wine, he will replenish our emptiness, he will turn the world's destructive and oppressive policies into ways of peace and mutual respect and understanding among individuals and nations.

Yes, the gospel shows us whom we need to invite to the celebration of the wedding of life, and whom we do not need to invite. The powers of the world need not be invited for, so far, they are causing or failing to solve the physical and spiritual starvation of mankind(1).

Our Immediate Task.
Our task is two-fold:

(a)We must be able to see, identify and denounce(2) the shortages of life in us as individuals and as a world community; and

(b) We must imitate Mary and go to Jesus telling him: "The world is running out of peace, of justice, of equality, of mutual understanding, of concern for human dignity; the world is running out of life".

Just as at the request of Mary the Lord Jesus gave the wedding party the best wine, so will he also give each one of us and the whole world true peace, justice, equality, mutual understanding, concern for human dignity by changing us, human beings, into depositories of his own life, recipients of his powers, his gifts, only if we request him to do so.

Let Us Be Ready To Receive The Gifts Of Jesus.
Today is the time to ask the Lord Jesus to give us the eagerness to receive and use his gifts, to give us the willingness to let him fill our empty jars with his "good wine".

Saint Paul (Second reading) describes the gifts that come from Jesus, (the "good wine" that only Jesus can give):
- The gift of knowledge allows us to open our eyes, to know and understand the injustices, destructive trends of our world.
- The gift of wisdom shows us the way to achieve justice, peace and equality.

- The gift of faith brings us the conviction that the goodness in our human nature will prevail over the forces of evil.

- The gift of healing allows us to assist one another in bringing cure to our personal and social maladies.

- The gift of mighty deeds instills effectiveness into our efforts to fight the oppressive forces of our decaying world.

- The gift of prophecy gives us the courage to warn the world and its leaders of the impending doom which will fall upon mankind if our world continues on its path of wars, oppression, injustice.

- The gift of discernment allows us to fully embrace the causes of peace, justice, equality, liberation, mutual understanding, and prevents us from compromising for anything less.

- The gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues give us the ability to communicate with our fellow human beings at the level of the total person; in other words, he who receives the gift of tongues is able to listen and to understand not only the words but also the sufferings, the pains, the poverty, the miseries, the needs, the joys, the aspirations of other human beings.

Today, as we ask the Lord Jesus to prepare us to receive his gifts, we can be sure that we all will enjoy his "good wine" just as at the wedding at Cana.
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Footnotes.
(1) In fact, the powerful nations and the powerful interest groups ruling said nations not only cannot correct the injustices and inequalities in the world, but they are the ones responsible for causing them. Their insatiable thirst for riches and power renders unrealistic any hope that they may become part of the solution.
(2) Failure to see and acknowledge the problems of the world will prevent their solution, just as the miracle at Cana would not have occurred if Mary had not seen and acknowledged that there was no more wine. Therefore, ignorance, intentional or otherwise, of the problems of injustice, oppression, wars, aggression and exploitation in our world will only perpetuate them.