January 17: Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 96 or 96:1-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
At the wedding in Cana when Jesus’ mother expressed her concern to him that the guests had run out of wine, at first he turned a deaf ear to her concern. “My hour is not yet come,” he said. Jesus’ remark reminds me of something my (almost-adult) son might say to me when he doesn’t want to do something I want him to do!
Now prior to this John the Baptist “saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on [Jesus].” This was reason enough for John to affirm that Jesus was, indeed, the Messiah. Before the wedding feast in Cana Jesus had also been busy calling some of his disciples to come follow him. He had beckoned Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathaniel to come see exactly what Jesus’ ministry was about.
So Jesus had been publicly affirmed by John, a renowned holy man, that Jesus was indeed God’s Chosen One. And Jesus had been busy gathering together a group of like-minded men to join him in his work. I get the sense from John’s gospel that prior to the wedding in Cana, Jesus had been in the process of “gearing up” to perform his life’s work. As John the Baptist had mentioned, Jesus had received the Spirit of God, and he had formed a community of like-minded individuals to help him fulfill his mission here on earth.
But when his mother encouraged him, albeit indirectly, to use his power to help some friends out on their special day, he resisted. Why?
Maybe Jesus, not unlike many of us, balked at using his spiritual gifts. Even though he had been publicly affirmed as being God’s Chosen One, even though he had gathered a group of people to help him in his ministry, when “push came to shove”, he wasn’t ready to use his gifts. Not at first. It took some indirect persuasion from his mother (“Do whatever he tells you,” Mary said to the servants at the wedding) to convince him to utilize his power.
How many of us resist using our gifts, even though we might be filled with the Spirit, even though we might have been affirmed by others. How many of us make excuses like “I’m not ready”, “I’m too busy”, “I’m not the right person, “I’m unworthy”?
And all the while, our good and gracious God waits: patiently, lovingly, and without condemnation, until we can get our act together enough to say Yes to whatever it is that God is asking of us. God will never give up on us. God just keeps on issuing forth the invitation to us.
“Come follow me.” Can we stop resisting long enough to listen, and respond? Jesus did.