2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - January 19, 2025

 2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

January 19, 2025    5pm, 8:30 and 11am          

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

John’s Gospel

 

Today I want to do a kind of “Bible-study” approach to my homily.

 

There are some wonderful details in this story about the wedding in Cana. They are enriching in what they tell us about Jesus and about our relationship with him. 

 

The Wedding: The Problem 

 

To begin with, Mary says to Jesus, “`They have no wine.’” Jesus’ mother could simply be concerned about the embarrassment of the newly married couple in running out of wine at their wedding reception.  

 

But there is probably another, deeper level of meaning. Throughout the Scriptures, wine was seen as part of the heavenly banquet – a sign of God’s presence with us.   

 

So, Mary’s statement that “`They have no wine’” may also mean that they have no relationship with God. Their relationship with God may have run out and run dry.

 

Then, Jesus seems to respond to his mother rather disrespectfully: “`Woman, how does your concern affect me?’” In other words: “So, what do you want me to do about it?”

 

And, on top of that, Jesus addresses his mother as “’Woman’” – not the usual way in that culture to speak to your mother. But, as you might guess, there is some significance here.

 

Jesus uses this same word “woman” when he is dying on the cross and entrusts his mother to the disciple John and John to his mother. So, in using this word “woman,” Jesus is transforming the relationship between his mother and himself.

 

He is adding an additional level of relationship. He is seeing his mother also as a disciple who will join him in doing God’s work on this earth.   

 

Then, Jesus goes on to say, “‘My hour has not yet come.’” Maybe Jesus just wants to enjoy himself and not be bothered with anyone’s problems.

 

But Jesus’ words “`My hour’” are very significant and they refer to the time of his suffering and death. Apparently, Jesus knows, here at Cana, that as soon as he starts his divine mission, opposition and hardship will also start. 

 

The Wedding: The Solution 

 

So, Jesus seems to dodge his mother’s request, but Mary is undeterred and says to the waiters: “`Do whatever he tells you.’” In one way, I can imagine Mary as a mother rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and taking a deep breath.

 

But maybe the bigger point is that Mary already shows herself as a disciple. She already trusts in Jesus’ power.

 

And in her trust, she – a good disciple – calls us to be disciples: “‘Do whatever he tells you.’” And if we do that, we too will experience the presence of God in our lives.

 

Then John’s gospel carefully notes that there are 6 water jars. To his audience, this means 1 less than the perfect number, which is 7, a sign of fulfillment or perfection.

 

The significance here is that Jesus himself will become the 7^th jar, the fulfillment or perfection of humanity’s relationship with God. And he will become this when he gives us not a water jar with wine, but a chalice with wine as his blood. 

 

And then, there is the great statement of the headwaiter. “`Everyone serves good wine first, but you have kept the good wine until now.’”

 

On one level, the headwaiter voices the commonsense practice of not holding the good wine until people are a bit high, because then they won’t appreciate it. On another level, these words are about Jesus and are saying that in Jesus himself, the best has been saved until this moment. 

 

Two Takeaways

 

Okay! From all of that, I want to leave you with two takeaways, one about Jesus and one about our relationship with him

 

Let’s first remember that Jesus himself is the 7th water jar. He is the fulfillment and perfection of God’s presence with us. 

 

And one specific way that he is this for us is when he gives us the bread and wine turned into his body and blood. So, let’s be sure to appreciate his presence here whenever we receive the Eucharist.     

 

And second, let’s remember that we are to follow Mary’s example and guidance. We also are to be Jesus’ disciples.

 

As Mary says, we are to “Do whatever he tells you.” And in doing this, we can help to make his presence alive in our world today.  

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle C - January 12, 2025

 Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – C 

January 12, 2025    8:30am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Humpty Dumpty

 

I’m guessing that most of us have read or at least heard of the famous story Alice in Wonderland. 

 

This was written by the beloved English author Lewis Carroll. Carroll also wrote a second Alice story, called Alice through the Looking Glass.  

 

In this story Alice meets the character Humpty Dumpty. The conversation between Alice and Humpty Dumpty is what I am recalling this morning.  

 

Humpty Dumpty is sitting on top of a high, narrow wall. Alice looks up and says, “And exactly like an egg he is!”   

 

Humpty Dumpty responds, “It is very provoking to be called an egg – very provoking!” Alice explains, “I said you looked like an egg, and some eggs are very pretty.”

 

But Humpty Dumpty is not amused and says, “Tell me your name and your business.” Alice responds, “My name is Alice, but…”

 

Humpty Dumpty interrupts, “It’s a stupid name; what does it mean?” Alice asks, “Must a name mean something?”

 

And Humpty Dumpty retorts, “Of course it must; my name – Humpty Dumpty – means the shape I am – and a good handsome shape I am too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape.”   

 

Baptism: Name and Shape

 

Well, this little exchange between Alice and Humpty Dumpty may help us to appreciate something about baptism.

 

We have all been baptized “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”As Humpty Dumpty would say, each of these names – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – means something.

 

They say something about our shape. The idea is that we are to allow our baptism to shape us around God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Our Shape: The Father

 

So first, baptism “In the name of the Father” means that we look to a power greater than ourselves. 

 

We believe that there is a God, the Father, the heavenly parent who has brought us into being. We look to God as our beginning and our end, and as our source of meaning and purpose.

 

We see this in John the Baptist in today’s gospel. He denies that he is the Christ and asserts that “One mightier than I is coming.” 

 

So, baptism “In the name of the Father” means that we don’t make ourselves the center of life. We make God our center and grounding. 

 

Our Shape: The Son

  

And then, we are to allow our baptism to shape us around the Son.

 

Notice that today’s gospel says, “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized…” Interesting: Jesus is one with all the people.

 

I mean, Jesus had no need to receive John’s baptism of repentance, but he was one with others. He then showed this oneness in his compassion, healing, and just hanging out with others. 

 

So, our baptism “In the name of the Son” means that we recognize our oneness with all other persons, no matter how alike to us or how different from us they are. And because of this, we live with a mission, as Jesus did, to enhance the life of others in some way, no matter how insignificant it may seem. 

 

Our Shape: The Holy Spirit

 

And finally, we are to allow our baptism to shape us around the Holy Spirit.

Our traditional Catholic theology defines the Holy Spirit as “the love between the Father and the Son.” Well, our baptism “in the name of the Holy Spirit” means that we allow the Spirit to flavor our lives with that love.

 

This love gets expressed in what we call the fruits of the Holy Spirit. These fruits are the effects of the Spirit’s presence within us. 

 

Saint Paul names these: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Being baptized “in the name of the Holy Spirit” means that we allow the Spirit to shape our lives around these qualities.    

Conclusion

So, Humpty Dumpty says, “My name means the shape I am.”  

 

We are baptized “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Let’s allow our baptism to shape us around these names. 

Feast of the Epiphany, Cycle C - January 5, 2025

Feast of the Epiphany – Cycle C

January 5, 2025 – 5pm 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton       

 

The Power of a Baby

 

This past Sunday, I was visiting with some family members.

 

My brother and sister-in-law were here in town, and there were seven of us adults and one baby. We were hanging out and just talking for hours. 

 

Well, two of the adults were a young couple – Matt and Jen – with their two-month-old baby, Tate. You might guess what happened.

 

While we talked about a lot of things, the real center of attention was Tate. This little, ten-pound baby had that kind of magnetism or power.  

 

Four Kinds of Power

 

Today’s gospel got me thinking about that experience and about different kinds of power – I’m thinking of four kinds. 

The first is the leader of a country, maybe like King Herod in today’s gospel.

The word and decision of these leaders can affect peoples’ lives in good ways and in bad ways. They have some real power.

Then there is the gifted athlete, maybe like Lamar Jackson.

He is fast and strong and can attract thousands of people to the stadium or to watch a Ravens game on TV. That’s another kind of power.

Then there is a music star, maybe like Taylor Swift.

 

Her music and charisma can electrify large audiences and move people to spend hundreds of dollars to attend one of her concerts. That’s still another kind of power. 

And then there’s a newborn baby, maybe like little Tate whom I saw last Sunday.

He can’t do anything for himself or for anybody and yet everyone’s attention is riveted on him. Isn’t that another form of power?

The Greatest Power 

 

In fact, isn’t it true that a baby has a different kind of power and may have the greatest power of all?

 

The powerlessness of a baby is powerful. This little person can touch hearts in a way that national leaders or athletes or rock stars cannot. 

 

Its innocent, wordless presence can transform a room in a way that no one else can. It touches us at a deep level. 

 

We watch our language around a baby. It moves us to be the best person we can be, at least while we are with the baby. 

 

Many of you who are parents know this very well. The powerlessness of a baby is powerful!

 

Jesus’ Power 

 

And this is how we experience God’s power here on earth.

 

God has come to us in Jesus, born as an ordinary baby. As we see in the nativity scene, he was powerless at birth. 

 

Yet his birth manifests the kind of power on which we can build our lives. God comes to us in Jesus not coercing or forcing us but trying to draw the best out of us.

 

God comes to us in Jesus trying to elicit our care and respect – not just for babies, but for all persons. God comes to us in Jesus moving us to come out of our self-focus and reach out to others who are in need.  

 

A Different Way 

 

So, the infant Jesus calls us to embrace a different kind of power.

 

Maybe this is what the magi experience. They come from the East looking for the newborn king of the Jews and what they find is different from what they probably expected.

 

They didn’t find this newborn king, this baby in a palace and surrounded by wealth and power. Instead, they found him to be powerless in ordinary human terms.

 

And maybe this is what the passage means when it says that the magi went home “by another way.” They apparently did take a different route home and did not return to Herod.

 

But maybe they also went home “by another way” in the sense of being different and seeing things differently. God, coming to us in the powerless baby Jesus has affected them, changed them.

 

And that’s the invitation to us in this Christmas season. Allow the powerlessness of the baby to draw the best out of us and change our lives too.