YOU SHALL BE CALLED BY A NEW NAME WHICH THE MOUTH OF THE LORD WILL GIVE
⏰SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
📖Isa 62:1-5; Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8, 9-10a and c (R.v.3); 1 Cor 12:4-11; John 2:1-11
🎤”YOU SHALL BE CALLED BY A NEW NAME WHICH THE MOUTH OF THE LORD WILL GIVE” (Isa 62:2)
We can prophetically and prayerfully call today a glorious Sunday. The Liturgy of today predisposes us to do so especially when we remember that it is only in God that we can shine out in glory. Both the First Reading and the Gospel point to the restoration of the glory of God among his people.
After the people of Israel had returned from exile, they met a destroyed homeland and this was disheartening to them. So, the post-exilic Isaiah began to encourage the people by promising them that the Lord would once more restore their land to glory such that they would become once more a pride to the nations around them.
That dilapidated state in which the Jews met their homeland draws our attention to another dilapidated state. This time, it is the state of the Jewish rites at the time of Jesus. This has become adulterated and abused, and Jesus is going to restore them to their former glory. At this point, we shall immediately direct our attention to the actions around the six jars of water at that wedding feast.
- The jars were meant for keeping water used in washing of legs at the entrance of Jewish homes; it would be considered unhygienic to drink from the contents of those jars.
- The jars were probably empty as is not supposed to be, which necessitated the instruction to have them filled.
- Six is an imperfect number when considered in line with the biblical numbers and symbols.
The presence of Jesus at the wedding feast would be a correction of these. First, he would replace the Jewish rite of purification. Having taken away the jars from what they were used for, he will now stand in to supply for that service. No longer would they need ordinary water to be purified, but Jesus, who washes us in his precious blood (cf. Rev 7:14). Second, with Jesus, they will no longer be deficient like the empty jars but filled with graces.
These graces are the gifts of the Spirit which St. Paul points to in the Second Reading. These gifts vary from one person to another, but when everyone makes good use of the gift which God has given him, for the good of all, the glory of God will shine out through all. It is with those gifts that we can respond positively to the call of the psalmist today, “Tell among all the peoples the wonders of the Lord” (Ps 96:3).
So, are you deficient in the use of your own gift for the good of all? Have you even discovered the gift you were given by God?
May God give us the grace to shine out in the world through the gifts he has given us, and so join him in the project of renewing the face of the earth, for the glory of his name and for our joy and happiness, both now and forever. Amen.
Have a blessed Sunday celebration. Peace be with you.
