Homily - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Msgr. Joseph K. Ntuwa • January 24, 2025

Homily - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 19, 2025

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 2:1-11

I don’t know about you but when I was a much younger person during those College years I used to hate “last call” --- especially whenever we were having a night out with friends. I never wanted the fun to end! Of course, there are other sorts of “last calls” in life. It happens at formal occasions such as parties, dinners and receptions that involve renting a space for a certain amount of time. “Last calls” happen at amusement parks, and all places where the fun only happens during specified hours. They even exist at parties in homes. How many times have we seen one of the hosts hold back a yawn and know that it is our cue to grab our coats and say our goodbyes? And, of course, kids really take these sorts of “last calls” quite hard --- they always want to stay up a few minutes past their usual bedtime, or finish their video game, or ask if the play-date at a friend’s house can turn into a sleepover. It seems clear that when things are good, we don’t want them to end.

The opposite is also true. A dental procedure that seems to take forever. Part-time studies that make you wonder if you will ever get your degree. Scolding by a parent or teacher or coach. Even a boring homily! Yes, sometimes the unpleasant things, and painful things in life seem as if they will never end. Where does God fit into all of this? Anywhere? Nowhere?

“Fill the jars with water.”

Dear friends, we just heard the story of the Wedding at Cana. This is one of those stories that is rich in meaning. On one level, it is simply about Jesus’ power, his compassion, his authority unfolding in full view ----- a manifestation of his identity as God’s Son. In fact, in the early Church three biblical “events” were all celebrated on the exact same day --- the Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Wedding Feast at Cana. The Church saw in all three a “revealing” of Jesus to the world!

Preachers will sometimes use this day to say something about Mary or say something about how Jesus always defies expectations or say something about how wedding feasts in the bible are often allegories of the unfailing love that God has for us. All inspirational stuff.

Yet, what really struck me this time when I was reflecting on this passage was the whole idea of Jesus not wanting the joy to end, not wanting the celebration to end, not wanting all the good will and hospitality to fade into the night. Jesus wanted the party to go on --- in fact he wanted the party to even be better than before. In the simplest terms, Jesus stepped in (at Mary’s request in this case) and the whole situation was better for it. Jesus got involved and reversed the course of events.

Yet, we know that in our own lives it’s not one continuous party. Sometimes things go the right way. Other times they go wrong. Someone succeeds and another fails. Someone’s heart soars. Someone’s heart breaks. Someone gets healed. Someone dies. Where is the celebration in all of that?

Well, the things God promises us are often not what we think he is promising or are not what we want him to promise. The things of God are richer, deeper, more meaningful and eternal. God’s generosity to us is an abundance of the things he knows truly make a difference (such as the gifts of the Spirit we heard Paul talk about in today’s Second Reading). In other words, the celebration God wants to last forever is an openness to His grace --- an openness that allows God to fill us to the brim with every good thing, not our own terms but on His terms. The presence of God’s very life within us cannot be undermined or diminished by anything going on around us --- good or bad. Their efficacy does not depend on external things.

Last call? Never! There is no such thing when we let God be God. When we surrender to God’s will, true joy, true peace, true hope will dominate the landscape of our lives.

Finally, Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr, the civil rights giant whose holiday we are celebrating next week once observed that life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’ Let us remember that positive involvement in the life of others should both be our duty and our vocation.

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17 th Sunday of the Year C Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13 Have you ever had conversations with people who have expressed a distaste for many of the beliefs and practices of organized religion ? Sometimes these criticisms come from people who have had “bad” religious experiences in their own families or have seen what they feel is an ugly side of faith. I understand that. Some others have been hurt and disappointed by the common failings and faults of some of the faithful in the pews. Many others have been particularly crushed by the serious sins of Church leadership. Yet, there are others who simply are trying to be intellectually honest --- people who have truly wrestled with some of the big questions of life and faith and have been relatively unsatisfied with the “answers” religion provides. They “want” to believe at some level but just find too many obstacles. And sometimes that “obstacle” is the image of God presented to them. One particular element of Christianity that I hear criticized so often is the way we seem to ask God for things over and over again. Many people assert that they just, don’t understand why it needs to be this way! They argue: God knows everything. God knows exactly what we need (and want). So why do we need to ask? God has infinite power . There are no limits to what he can do. We don’t have to try to get his “attention” because he is “busy” elsewhere. So why do we need to ask? God is immutable --- which means, unchanging and unchangeable . That means we kind of diminish God if we think we can somehow “ change” his mind. So why bother to pray if God has already written the script? Well, today, in both our First Reading and Gospel passage, we hear examples illustrating the power of pleading with God. In the story from Genesis, we see Abraham “bartering” with God --- seeing if he can somehow get the best “deal” possible. Apparently, Abraham is wise enough to not ask for everything all at once, as if he’s using his charm to coax God’s mercy out of him. God goes along with each of his requests. And in the Gospel passage from Luke --- Jesus tells a story about a man banging on his friend’s door at midnight trying to get some bread for an unexpected guest. The friend initially refuses, but then gets worn down from the persistence of the man and gives in. After relating that story, Jesus utters these “famous” words, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” So, what gives? Do we have to “beg” God to get his blessings or does God actually withhold good things from us until we “wear him down”? Do we have to be expert negotiators, or charmers? Dear friends, an authentic spiritual life is about none of those things. It’s about a relationship supported, strengthened and transformed in part by a holy conversation --- what we call the divine conversation. This is a conversation that has no beginning and no ending, but rather is one that has been continual from the very dawn of time --- a sacred conversation which enables channels of grace to remain open within every single person --- a kind of listening and speaking that helps each of us remain open to an outpouring of God’s life which has the power to change absolutely everything. And so, we bring our needs to our God because we believe he loves us more than we can imagine, because we trust in his wisdom and power, because we need to put into words the deepest longings of our hearts. And maybe most importantly --- we ask, seek, and knock simply because it opens us up to every good thing God wants for us (and from us). Prayer encourages dependence on God and today’s parable shows us perseverance. We do not “keep knocking” because God isn’t aware of our needs but, rather, because we need to remain constantly aware of our daily need for him – our daily bread. Whenever we turn to God in prayer, we put our minds and hearts in contact with the very source of life and truth. And that refreshes the human soul, just as rebooting your computer refreshes the software that makes the computer run. When stress, discouragement, and frustration start to clog our circuits, we don't need to jack up the voltage by working more hours or by distracting ourselves with even more exciting entertainment; no, we need to reboot, we need to pray with perseverance. When you pray say” “Behold, I am your servant, do with and in and through me according to your will” In happy moments, seek God, in hard moments praise God, in quiet moments, trust God, in every moment, thank God. Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

Homily - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time