From the pastor’s desk
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time-Year C- “do whatever My Son tells you (John 2:5)”
The gospel describes a marriage feast that took place at Cana in Galilee where Jesus and his disciples were in attendance as well as Mary, his mother. Mary was personally concerned when the wedding parties ran out of wine. She came to let Jesus know that they had no wine. Jesus responded by asking how that concerned him since his hour had not yet come.
Mary who knew that it was his hour, instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus, her son tells them. With that intervention of Mary, Jesus changed water into wine, revealed his glory and his disciples came to believe in him.
From careful observation, Mary is the only person who perfectly knew the plan of God, that it was her son’s hour of glory-when she told the servants: ‘Do whatever he tells you to do’
(John 2:5). This was the moment of revelation of God’s love; the marriage of God and humanity in Christ.
Mary was there as the Mother of God, Help of Christians in her perpetual visitation. As she visited Elizabeth to help her in her house-hold chores, so was she at the marriage feast and noticed that they had run out of wine. That was when she made her request to her divine Son, Jesus Christ to do something for them. When her request seemed to have met with disapproval by her son, she “turned to the servants to do whatever her son tells them to do”.
It was God himself that revealed to Mary what she had expected Jesus to do for the disciples.
It was Mary alone who knew, released and launched Christ into the said ‘hour’ to embark on his father’s mission and subsequently accomplished his father’s will that day, his first sign or miracle of changing water into wine (Jn 2:11). This was the hour of complete change, transformation and revolution; the ‘hour’ of central moment and point in human history when relationships would take different shapes; it was an hour when humanity would live in peace, transforming into the image of its creator. This is the hour to love one another; it is the hour to deliver society from oppressions and injustices.
Jesus addressed his mother as ‘woman’ to point her out as the New Eve who teaches her children, all his disciples and would-be disciples to do whatever he tells them. Mary is the first among all her son’s servants or disciples. She has first done the Will of God and teaches us how to do the Will of God. With Mary as a model and spiritual Mother, no more shall we be regarded as ‘forsaken’ or ‘desolate’ but the ‘delight; and ‘espoused’ of the Lord who delights in us.
Just as she launched her Son Jesus Christ into his earthly ministry, so will she launch us into our God-given vocations to serve God in His holy Church, under different ministries or categories, as he has called each of us, as His Spirit enables. All we need to do is to turn to Mary and deepen our devotions to her. As the Mediatrix of all graces, she will direct us to her Son and teach us to follow him.
Rev. Fr. Michael Onyekwere, SDV, PhD
