Gifts are given primarily for others
Rev. Marcel E. Okwara, CSsR
Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Sunday, January 20, 2013
St. Gerard Majella Church

In his gospel, St. John mentions Mary, the mother of Jesus twice: at the wedding feast at Cana, which is the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus and at the crucifixion, the end of it. This means that Mary was with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to the end of it. She did not just play a passive role of being the mother of Jesus; she was  actively involved with her Son's redemptive work. Today's gospel is the story of the wedding feast at Cana. At this wedding, Mary was in attendance. Jesus and his disciples were also there. Halfway into the feast, the newly wedded couple encountered a problem. The wine ran out! The wine finished! As soon as Mary heard about it she went straight to her Son: "Son, they have no more wine!" In total respect and love for his mother, Jesus performed what John says was his very first miracle.

Now, if this was Jesus' first miracle, how did Mary know that Jesus could do it? I know that good mothers know their children better than anyone else.  They know the talents and potentialities of their children. There are many people who have gone on to accomplish great things in life because their mothers believed in them and encouraged them.

But did Mary know all those thirty years she lived with Jesus that she was living with a miracle worker and yet never asked him to multiply her bread, turn the water on the dining table into wine, or double her money to make ends meet? How come she never asked Jesus to use his miraculous power to help her out but she was quick to ask him to use it and help others? Consider this, if you have a child who has a miraculous power to double money for others, won't you ask him to double yours at home too? After all, it is said that charity begins at home. But for Mary and Jesus the needs of others come first before theirs.

Let's consider Jesus' forty days fasting. Remember, after the excruciating fast in the desert Jesus was very hungry, the devil tried to exploit the situation by suggesting that he turn some stones into bread and eat, but he did not do it. Yet when he sensed that the crowd of people who listened to his message all day were hungry, he multiplied bread and fish and fed them. What is Mary and Jesus teaching us through their actions?  They teach us that God's gifts to us are not primarily meant for our personal benefit but for the service of others. This explains what St Paul tells us in the second reading that "to each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good," (1 Corinthians 12:6) not for personal profit.

Dearest beloved, today is a good day to ask ourselves: "What gifts has God given me? Am I using these gifts mainly for my own personal profit or for the service of others in the community?" Remember, concern for others is the beginning of miracles.