Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is 62:1-5; Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9 -10; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Jn 2:1-11
God delights in you. Have you ever thought about that? Too often we can be terrible critics of ourselves. How often, when talking to yourself in your head, do you start your sentences like this: “I should have…”, “I’m not (fill in the blank) enough,” “I need to be more (fill in the blank)…” I think we often tend to put ourselves down more easily than we build ourselves up. Isaiah gives us a friendly nudge today, reminding us of the truth: God delights in you. In fact, God tells the Israelites in Isaiah’s time that their new name is “My Delight” and that “...as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.” I think the Psalm today gives us an idea of an appropriate response to the truth of God’s delight in us: SING!! Have you ever belted out a song in joy? (Maybe in the shower when no one else can hear... if your voice is like mine). There is a joyful release that comes from singing out loud, rejoicing in the truth. Saint Paul adds that God has also given us gifts. Wow! God delights in us, rejoices in us, AND gives us gifts! What a great God we have! These gifts are not only for ourselves, but are to be shared with others. Gifts like listening, compassion, skills in all sorts of areas and fields...are from God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus changes water into wine. This is a skill we don’t have, but we can be like the waiters in the Gospel who know the truth that the water is now wine, that miracles happen, and we can share that joy of our miraculous, loving, rejoicing God with those around us in service and perhaps even in song.