In John 15:11, Jesus says: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.^” Jesus spoke these words in the context of the relationship between the vine and the branches.  As the branch that remains attached to the vine shares in the life of the vine and bears fruit, so, Jesus says, when we remain in him by acting on his word, we will share in his joy. Do you have the joy of the Jesus in you? Do you want more of the joy of the Jesus?

Second Sunday Ordinary Gospel Reflections C

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
· Cana was about four miles from Nazareth.
· This is the first mentioned of Mary in John’s Gospel. The second time will be at Calvary. In placing                Mary at the beginning and the end of Jesus’ ministry is John trying to say something about Mary’s                  involvement in the redemptive work of Jesus?
· Since Joseph is not mentioned, it is possible that he has died.

Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him,“ They have no wine.” 
· Mary was not only a guest, but she probably, like the other women, helped in the serving of the food.
· Mary’s role as intercessor is identified here. She continues this role on our behalf even in the present              moment.

And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”
· Here and from the cross Jesus addresses his mother as “woman.” This is done in respect. He probably          never called her by her name.
· “My hour” is a favorite expression in John’s Gospel. It refers to Jesus ultimate glorification of the                     Father   through the gift of his life on the cross.

 His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”
· This simple directive Mary gives to us as well. Her role is to point us to Jesus. How obedient are we to          Jesus?

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
· This would compute to about 100-150 gallons of water. When Jesus does something he is overly                  generous. Recall the multiplication of the loaves and the fish or the miraculous catch of fish to the point          the nets were breaking. One of the signs of the messianic times was abundance.

Then he told them,“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it.  And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from -. although the servers who had drawn the water knew -.,the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
· Has Jesus treated you any different? Has he not provided you with the best? What should our                        response  be?

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.
· In John’s Gospel, this was the first sign or miracle Jesus performed that led to his disciples putting their          faith in him.
· How do we apply this passage to our life? What does Jesus want to teach us through this event?

In answer to the question, “Why was I made?” an earlier catechism answer responded, “I was made to know, love and serve the Lord in this life and to be happy with him in the next.” When we acknowledge the great commandment, we say “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” To do what these two faith proclamations state, we must choose to align our will with the will of God for us. To do otherwise is to oppose the Lord’s plan by substituting our own plan of life, thus making ourselves the center of life and not God.

Such surrender and alignment can only occur when the love of God is the motivation and not the love of self. This happens when we fall so in love with God that nothing and no one, including ourselves is more important to us. “Love is the ‘weight” of a soul which draws it as if by a law of gravity to what it loves and where it finds its rightful rest.” (Raniero Cantalamessa, Life in the Lordship of Christ, p. 144).