Inviting Jesus to the wedding

Readings for January 20, 2013  

Qari  20 ta’ Jannar, 2013

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Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

It-Tieni Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin C 264

Reading 1 - Isaiah 62:1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall behold your vindication, and all the kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the LORD. You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem held by your God. No more shall people call you “Forsaken”, or your land “Desolate”, but you shall be called “My Delight”, and your land “Espoused”. For the LORD delights in you and makes your land his spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari -  Isaija  62, 1-5

Minħabba f'Sijon ma nehdiex, minħabba f'Ġerusalem ma niskotx, sa ma tfeġġ bħal  dija  l-ġustizzja tagħha, tħeġġeġ bħal torċa s-salvazzjoni tagħha. Il-ġustizzja tiegħek għad jarawha l-ġnus, u s-sebħ tiegħek jarawh is-slaten kollha. B'isem ġdid għad isejħulek, isem li għad jagħżlu fomm il-Mulej. Għad tkun kuruna ta' ġmiel f'id il-Muleju dijadema ta' sultan f'id Alla tieghek. Ma jgħidulekx aktar  .-Abbandunata, anqas lill artek l-Imħarbta. Lilek għad isejħulek  Għaxqti fiha, u lil artek għad igħidulha Għarusa, għax il-għaxqa tal-Mulej fik, u artek għad titgħarras. Bħalma l-għarus jitgħarras xebba, hekk jitgħarrsek il-Bennej tiegħek; u bħalma l-għarus jitgħaxxaq b'għarustu, hekk jitgħaxxaq bik Alla tiegħek. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10

R. (3) Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name                             R/

Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.              R/

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!            R/

Worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He governs the peoples with equity.                      R/

Salm Responsorjali  - Salm 95

                R/  Xandru fost il-popli kollha, l-għeuġibijiet tal-Mulej

Għannu lill-Mulej għanja ġdida;

għannu lill-Mulej fl-art kollha!

Għannu lill-Mulej, bierku ismu!                                          R/

Ħabbru minn jum għal ieħor is-salvazzjoni tiegħu.

Xandru fost il-ġnus is-sebħ tiegħu,

fost il-popli  kollha l-għeġubijiet tiegħu!                        R/

Agħtu lill-Mulej, familji tal-popli,

agħtu lill-Mulej sebħ u setgħa,

agħtu lill-Mulej is-sebħ ta' ismu!                                        R/

Inxteħtu quddiem il-Mulej b'tiżjin qaddis;

triegħdu quddiemu, nies  kollha tal-art!

Għidu fost il-ġnus:  "Il-Mulej isaltan!"

Huwa jiġġudika l-popli bis-sewwa.                    R/

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Reading 2 - 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Brothers and sisters: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another, the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another, mighty deeds; to another, prophecy; to another, discernment of spirits; to another, varieties of tongues; to another, interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari -  mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin  12, 4-11

Ħuti, hemm diversi doni,  imma wieħed hu l-Ispirtu; hemm diversi ministeri, imma l-istess wieħed hu l-Mulej; hemm diversi ħidmiet, imma l-istess Alla,  li jaħdem  kollox f'kulħadd.  Lil kull wieħed tingħata r-rivelazzjoni tal-Ispirtu għall-ġid ta' kulħadd; lil wieħed  kliem l-għerf, mill-istess Spirtu; lil ieħor kliem tas-sapjenza, milll-istess Spirtu; lil ieħor il-fidi, mill-istess Spirtu;  lil ieħor id-don tal-fejqan, mill-istess Spirtu; lil ieħor is-setgħa tal-mirakli; lil ieħor id-don tal-prefezzija; lil ieħor id-don tal-għażla tal-ispirti; lil ieħor diversi ilsna; lil ieħor it-tifsir tal-ilsna. Dan kollu jaħdmu l-istess Spirtu wieħed, li jqassam lil kull wieħed kif jogħġbu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Gospel - John 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.Jesus told the them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from — although the servers who had drawn the water knew —, the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju  - San Ġwann  2, 1-12

F'dak iż-żmien, sar tieġ f'Kana tal-Galilija, u omm  Ġesu' kienet hemm.Ġesu' kien mistieden għat-tieġ hu ukoll flimkien mad-dixxipli tiegħu.Billi  ma kienx fadal iżjed inbid, omm Ġesu' qaltlu: "Ma għandhomx inbid."    U Ġesu' qalilha:  "X'hemm bejni u bejnek, mara?   Is-siegħa tiegħi għadha ma waslitx." Omm Ġesu' qalet lill-qaddejja:  "Agħmlu kulma jgħidilkom hu."Issa kien hemm sitt ġarar tal-ħaġar, imqiegħda  hemm għar-rit  tal-purifikazzjoni tal-Lhud, kull waħda minnhom tasa' xi mitt jew mija u għoxrin litru.   Ġesu' qal  lill-qaddejja:  "Imlew il-ġarar bl-ilma." U dawk imlewhom sax-xifer.Imbagħad qalilhom: "Issa ħudu minnu u newluh lil dak li qiegħed jieħu ħsieb il-mejda."   U huma marru  jnewluhulu. Hu daq l-ilma mibdul fi nbid: u billi ma kienx jaf mnejn ġie, għalkemm il-qaddejja li ħadu mill-ilma kienu jafu, sejjaħ lill-għarus u qallu:  "Kulħadd l-inbid it-tajjeb iservi l-ewwel; meta mbagħad ikun ħadhom iġibu dak li jkuu  inqas tajjeb.  Imma int l-inbid it-tajjeb erfajtu sa issa." Dan, li għamel Ġesu' f'Kana tal-Galilija kien l-ewwel wieħed  fost is-sinjali tiegħu.  Bih wera l-glorja tiegħu u d-dixxipli tiegħu emmnu fih.Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY

Father Cantalamessa ofm cap on Christ at Cana

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.
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Inviting Jesus to the wedding

 The Gospel of the second Sunday in Ordinary Time is the episode of the wedding feast at Cana. What did Jesus want to tell us by participating in a wedding feast?

Above all, in this way he in fact honored the marriage between man and woman, implicitly reaffirming that it is a beautiful thing, willed by the Creator and blessed by him. But he wanted also to teach us something else. With his coming the marriage between God and humanity promised through the prophets was realized under the name of the "new and eternal covenant."

At Cana, symbol and reality meet: The human marriage of two young people is the occasion to speak to us of another marriage, that between Christ and the Church, which will be achieved in "his hour" on the cross.

If we want to find out how the relationship between a man and woman in marriage should be according to the Bible, we must look at the relationship between Christ and the Church. Let us try to do it following the thought of St. Paul on this theme as it is expressed in Ephesians 5:35-33. At the origin and center of every matrimony, according to this vision, there must be love: "You, husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her."

This affirmation -- that matrimony is based on love -- seems to us to be discounted today. But that marriage should be based on love is something that has only been recognized for little over a century, and it is still not recognized everywhere.

For centuries and millenniums, marriage was a transaction between families, a way of providing for the conservation of a patrimony or a social obligation. The parents and the families were the protagonists, not the spouses, who often did not know each other until the day of the wedding.

Jesus, Paul says in the text of Ephesians, gave himself up "that he might present the Church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing." Is it possible for the human husband to emulate Christ the bridegroom even in this? Can he remove his wife's wrinkles? Certainly!

There are wrinkles that result from a lack of love, from being left alone. The woman who feels herself to still be important to her husband does not have wrinkles, or if she does, they are a different kind of wrinkles and they make her beauty grow rather than diminish it.

And wives, what can they learn from their model which is the Church? The Church makes herself beautiful only for her husband and not to please anyone else. She is proud and thrilled about her husband and does not cease to praise him. Translated onto the human plane this reminds fianceés and wives that their esteem and admiration is a very important thing for their fiancé or husband.

Sometimes to them this is the thing that counts the most in the world. It would be a grave thing to deny them this, to never have a word of appreciation for their work, for their ability to organize, their courage, their dedication to the family; for what he says, if he is a politician, for what he writes, if he is a writer, for what he paints, if he is an artist. Love is nourished by esteem and dies without it.

 But there is something that the model of divine love calls husbands to above all: fidelity. God is faithful, always, despite everything. Today, this discourse about fidelity has become something rather delicate and no one any longer dares to risk it. And yet the principal reason for the disintegration of many marriages is precisely here, in infidelity. Some deny this, saying that adultery is the effect and not the cause of marriage crises. In other words, betrayal happens because there is nothing that exists any longer with one's spouse.

On occasion this is also true; but often what we have is a vicious circle. There is betrayal because the marriage is dead, but the marriage is dead precisely because treachery has already begun, perhaps at first only in the heart. That which is the most odious is when the traitor himself casts the fault entirely on the other and assumes the attitude of the victim.
 
  But let us return to the Gospel episode, because it contains hope for all marriages, even the better ones. What happens in all marriages happens in the wedding feast at Cana. It begins with enthusiasm and joy (the wine is the symbol of this); but this initial enthusiasm, like the wine at Cana, comes to wane with the passage of time. Then things are done no longer for love and with joy, but out of habit. It descends upon the family, if we are not careful, like a cloud of sadness and boredom. Of this couple it must sadly be said: "They have no more wine!"

This Gospel episode points out to the couple a way to not fall into this situation or get out of if they are already in it: Invite Jesus to your wedding! If he is present, he can always be asked to repeat the miracle of Cana: transform the water into wine -- the water of habit, of routine, of frigidity, into the wine of love and joy better than the initial love and joy, just as the miraculous wine at Cana.

Inviting Jesus to your wedding means honoring the Gospel in your house, praying together, receiving the sacraments, taking part in the life of the Church.

Married couples are not always in the same place, religiously speaking. Perhaps one of them is a believer and the other is not, or at least not in the same way. In this case, the one who knows Jesus should invite him to the wedding and do it in such a way -- with kindness, respect for the other, love and coherence of life -- that Jesus soon becomes the friend of both. A "friend of the family!"