2nd Sunday
Parish Mission
January 19-20 2019
John 2, 1-24
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.
Homily
It is easy to imagine the scene. A wedding lots of people are invited, everyone is invited, all the people nearby and many who came just for the wedding. The Aunts and Uncles and cousins are there, and maybe some people you don´t know are there. ¨They must be from the other side.¨ You think. The food had been served and now people are eating cake and still drinking. Tables have been moved aside and people are dancing. You have the folks who know how to dance and then those who obvisously only dance at weddings. It is a great time, most of the folks are the kind who are in bed early, but they will stay out late tonight, it is a great party after all and we don´t have many parties. And then the word goes around, ¨They´ve run out of wine.¨ You´re not sure if it is true but if it is you think, ¨This party will end soon.¨ If they´ve no more wine people will leave and there is no where to buy wine especially at this late hour. You think, I´m going to get a glass if there is any left. But there is a lot of wine, at least six jugs and it is good wine, better then the wine they had at the meal. Party saved, you go and dance with Aunt Mildred.
I think it is easy to imagine this scene. The wedding guests all dressed in their finest, the wedding couple, the parents, the bridal couple. Take the scene in for a moment. If they were going to do a movie the main character would be the blessed Mother. Even though Jesus is the key person Mary is the one who has the most lines. Jesus is the supporting actor, then the head waiter, the bride and groom, the disciples. They all are played by important people. But what about the servers? We don´t even know how many servers there are. Like the servers at any wedding celebration, you don´t notice them unless you need a fork, or if you run out of coffee. The servers are bit players, they aren´t key figures. But today I invite you to notice the servers. Because in our story they play a key role. They are the ones who filled the jars with water, they are the ones who were obedient to Jesus. We don´t know who they are, but if it wasn´t for them, the miracle never would have taken place. It is interesting to note that the scriptures said, ¨The servers knew of the miracle.¨
I was thinking of the servers this past week, not just the servers at the wedding in Cana, but the servers here at St. Boniface in Edwardsville. The servers at St. Alphonsus where I come from in Minneapolis. They are the liturgical ministers, the money counters, the ladies in the CCW, the Knights of Columbus, the ones who wash the altar linens, who set up for coffee and donuts, the parish festival, organize the funeral dinners and sing in the choir. Get out a list of the bulletin and begin reading some names.
Like the nameless servers at the wedding of Cana there are so many servants here at this parish. You might think that you´re not important but without you the miracles
wouldn´t happen. The celebration of the sacraments over the weekend wouldn´t take place. The children wouldn´t be catechized, the new members wouldn´t be welcomed. The so many ministries that make up what St. Bonaventure is all about just wouldn´t be.
Today´s second reading speaks of the gifts of the spirit. There are many gifts here at St. Bonaventure and they are all different but they are joined together by one God. That is what it means to be a part of the Catholic Church, the Spirit gives gifts to all of so that all people may be served.
Fr. Tuan and I will be here for this week preaching a parish mission. What is a parish mission? Well, like the Gospel think of the servers at the wedding. Who serves them? When the wedding is all over and the guest have gone home. Fr. Tuan and I are here to serve you this week. The many good servers of St. Bonaventure. We invite you to the wedding feast this week, beginning tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. T
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