MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
The Wedding Feast at Cana marks the third
mystery revealed to us first during the Christmas Season at the Epiphany: the
Visit of the Magi, The Baptism of the Lord, and now the Wedding Feast at Cana.
Here Jesus performs his first public miracle and puts his full divinity on
display. The Word Becoming Flesh is raised up and displayed for all to see. The
water changed into wine links Jesus’ baptism to the foreshadowing of his
crucifixion. As Jesus offered the cup at the Last Supper he said, “This cup is
the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” The visit of Magi
tells us that Jesus came in the flesh for the salvation of the world. His
baptism serves as an example to us to come forward to celebrate repentance and
a changing of our ways while receiving the Gift of Sanctifying Grace necessary
for our salvation. All of this is then brought to completion by His crucifixion
for our salvation foreshadowed through the miracle of the water turned into
wine.
We are invited to experience this entire
story through the application of it in our own lives. Jesus comes to us and
offers us a life with purpose and direction. The reason why we are here is to
love God and experience His gift of creation through Him and with Him. We are
encourage to live the experiences of His birth, revelation through the Magi,
baptism, and foreshadowing of His crucifixion with Him. It is an amazing and wondrous
journey that began at that very moment when God uttered the words, “Let there
be light!” We, as Christians, become partakers in an infinite story of
forgiveness, love, and salvation. Jesus became flesh to join us in this amazing
journey and to guarantee the ultimate experience of life that makes everything
else pale in comparison. This is something that unites us all together with
Creation and with God.
So often we think we are alone. So often
we think that life is all about the physical and what society wants us to
believe. Jesus encourages us to look beyond this and into a future filled with
promise and hope. The promise is a promise of happiness and ultimate love. How
can we ignore this? So often we go
forward towards destruction while ignoring the alternative through Jesus
Christ. The message has been here for thousands of years, an intricate part of
us, yet we still refuse to notice it. It is so obvious, so right in front of
us, that it is missed. The times that we are invited together in community to
worship are the times that can serve as a reminder of what is really important
in our lives, yet we still miss it.
It is through our relationship with
Jesus Christ that our lives are perfected regardless where we find ourselves. As
long as we acknowledge Jesus in our lives then we can be open to the spiritual
gifts that he offers. We need to take a moment and contemplate the mysteries
that are being offered to us as we leave the Christmas Season and journey
onwards towards the Season of Lent. Christ is indeed with us and for us on this
journey.
Deacon Tom
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