EDante, CFC monthly teaching
This reflection is taken from John 2:5 “Do whatever he tells you”. As we begin this reflection, let us first read the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana as found in John 2:1-11. 1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. 9 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 10 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.” 11 Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. I would like to focus on verses 3, 4 and 5 and share some insights from these verses. Verse 4 is probably one of the most difficult verses in the New Testament to comprehend. Literally, it seems to convey a form of rejection. It sounds like Jesus saying to Mary, I don’t care, it is not my business, I have nothing to do with it. In the New American Bible, a footnote to this verse explains that the literally meaning of the verse is “What is this to me and to you?” This gives us a completely different sense of that short conversation. It is about relationship between Jesus and Mary, and the role she has taken as a Mother of God. Based on the culture at that time, a son has a moral obligation to submit to his mother’s pleading. By the time the son reaches the age of maturity, the moral obligation based on flesh and blood is broken. Thus, when Mary pleaded, Jesus expressed his consent, not because of any moral obligation, but to establish Mary as the initiatress of Jesus miraculous activities based purely on spiritual bond. Jesus first miracle happened because of Mary. It is a symbol that Mary is the key to miracles. Therefore, when Jesus expressed those mysterious words in front of her mother, Mary understood his consent. So in verse 5, she said to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you”. Going back to verse 3, Mary said “Son, they have no wine”. It is interesting to note that Mary did not ask for the miracle of turning water into wine. She simply expressed her concern and allowed Jesus to decide how to respond. I believe this is a powerful lesson about prayer. When we pray, we should allow God to determine the manner in which he wants to answer our prayer. He knows what is best for us. It is normal to pray for a renewal of our job contract when it is going to end. However, God may have a better plan, perhaps a job with another company, or a break of work to allow us to spend more time with family and friends or even to rest. God has many other options and he will give us the best one if only we believe. Moving on to verse 5, Mother Mary said: “Do whatever he tells you” She addressed these words to whom, to the newly married couple, to the guests, or to the owner of the house? Verse 5 states that these were addressed to the servants. Many aspire to be God’s servants and made many sacrifices to do some work for the church. Did Jesus not say: He who lays his hand on the plough and looks back to bid farewell to those who are staying, is not fit for the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). When we decided to join the community, we would need to lay our hands on the plough not to cut the ground with the ploughshare but to open the hearts of men and sow there the word of God. As God’s servants, our entire being is founded on obedience. It is our identity. It is our way of life. It is our bread and butter. It is the one that defines us. It is the reason of our being. It is our destiny. Once we no longer obey, we lose the identity of being God’s servant. Why is it difficult to obey? Imagine one day you were alone in your prayer room, absorbed in meditating God’s words, and suddenly the winds blew, the door of your room opened, and there in front of your door Jesus appeared in his glorious body, in dazzling light, gentle in his appearance, and said “My son/daughter, do you want to serve me and become a leader in your church community?” How would you react in this situation? Would you say, “not me Lord, as you know, I am so busy”? Or would you say “Yes” right away because you do not have the courage to refuse God? Would you prefer that God appears to you in a miraculous way to ask you directly to serve him? Indeed, the bible and the church history tell us many stories of people receiving direct revelations from God, for which many of them obeyed. For one, the story of Saul on his way to Damascus demonstrates Jesus being seen and heard by man. That particular experience alone propelled Paul to fulfil what seems to be one of the most dangerous and challenging works God has given to man – to evangelize the most powerful Roman Empire during his time. I believe that the clearer the call, the bigger the responsibility becomes. Through his great mercy for us, and our limited capacity to respond, God often does not speak to man the way he did for Saul. His voice is so subtle and heard only through a lift of faith. Over the years, I have gathered stories about the life of a priest. I am curious how a man arrives at a decision to become a priest. I was surprised by what I had heard so far. A priest in our parish told me that it was the bad experience he had with his father, who left the family when he was young, that compelled him to be a priest. After a few minutes, he returned to me to say; it was my mother who brought me to the seminary. Finally, after another few minutes, he admitted he only knew it was God’s will for him to become a priest six years after his ordination. Another priest once told me that he was attracted to the priestly life while observing a group of young seminarians who lived in a seminary near his parents’ house. Each day¸ he used to watch them working, praying and meditating peacefully together and he sensed a tremendous peace emanating from them. That experience and feeling alone was sufficient to lead him to priesthood. Recently, this priest died peacefully at a very advance age. A close couple friend told us one day about how their son became a priest. Their son was educated in an international school in Bangkok and graduated top in the class. He was sent to the US to pursue graduate studies in nuclear physics. One day in a church, and while listening to a mass, he heard the song “Here I am Lord”. He felt a call from above and responded to that. To his parent’s dismay, he decided to quit school that day to enter the seminary. In order to obey God, we must be sensitive to God’s ways of calling us. Each day, he presents himself to us to remind us to pray and serve him in many ways. Unless, we learn to hear God’s voice and respond to that voice, we will never become an obedient servant of God. |
Authorfather of countless children Archives
January 2024
Categories |