Fr. Michael Williams
"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."
02nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
GK Chesterton once said, “When people stop believing in God, they don\’t believe in nothing -- they believe in anything”. Today that anything that people believe in could include the Media, New Age thinking, or the cult of celebrity.
St John’s gospel presents us with something very different to believe in- namely Christ. And in this gospel Mary shows herself as a woman of great belief in the power of her Son: she believes in the power of her Son to transform situations. We see this in today’s gospel where at Cana in Galilee, we witness Mary’s unwavering faith in her Son’s ability, to bring joy to an embarrassed wedding reception. We also see it at the end of John’s gospel, when Mary’s unwavering faith is manifested as she stands beneath her crucified Son on Calvary. It is at the place of suffering, which we must all experience, that our faith in God’s plans of love are scrutinised the most. In joy and sorrow Mary was faithful. In the joy of a wedding and in the sorrow of suffering, Mary manifests her faith in God. We too are called to live a similar faithfulness, in the joys and sorrows of life.
The kind of deep faith that Mary has, and the faith that each one of us is called to, is described by Jesus in St Mark’s gospel. Our Lord says, ‘I tell you therefore, everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours’ (Mk 11:24). In today’s gospel Mary believed that her Son would respond to her request, even though He initially appears to reject it. But Mary is totally confident in her Son’s willingness, and His ability to act- to change the situation. Mary’s great confidence in the Lord is duly rewarded, because at the wedding Jesus ‘let His glory be seen, and His disciples believed in Him’. Mary’s faith in Christ enabled others to believe: our faith in the Christ should also lead others to believe.
Mary is also a teacher of truth. She knows that everything depends on doing what her Son instructs us to do. She tells the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you’. Mary counsels us to pay attention and be obedient to what Christ says, even if it seems strange and difficult at times. Some people today, try to explain away what Christ teaches in the scriptures and through the Church. Mary cuts through the clever arguments, which usually try to justify sinning. She quite simply says, ‘Do whatever He tells you’. If we are struggling to do what the Lord is telling us to do, then we need to pray, ‘Lord increase my faith’.
No doubt it must have seemed strange for the servants in today’s gospel, to fill the ablution jars with so much water- what was the point of that? They didn’t need water, they needed wine? Yet they were obedient to Our Lord’s instruction, and a wonderfully joyful thing occurred. Obedience to Our Lord’s commands bring wonderful things into existence. Conversely, disobedience to Christ brings terrible things into existence.
Mary, mother of Jesus and woman of faith, presents to us a supreme example of being a disciple of Christ. She shows us that we need to be confident with the Lord, not weak willed; she shows us to look out for the needs of others, rather than just look out for ourselves; and she shows us to do whatever the Lord asks of us, even if that is sometimes puzzling or difficult.
Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church, pray for us, that our faith in Christ, like yours, will always be unwavering; and that our love, like yours, will always direct us to the needs of others.