Homily for January 20, 2008 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
I want to have a little fun with the images in the Gospel today. I've always wondered, how were they a sign that revealed Christ's glory? I mean, so he made water into wine. Big deal! Is that an occasion to believe in him? I think how you frame things makes all the difference in the world. So, I want to invite you today to maybe let this Gospel frame your experience of God and to let that experience of God frame your whole experience of life.
Imagine that you're at a wedding. Con-temporize it: You're at a wedding, and they run out of beer, and suddenly an abundance of the best beer you've ever tasted appears. What does it say to you about God and about life?
“You're important enough to get the best.”
“God provides in all things.”
“Weddings are important celebrations, and you can let your guard down and celebrate.”
Okay. (Comment: I am struck by how these responses “moralize” the story rather than enter into it. Instead of just opening up to the surprise, joy and unexpectedness in the story, they made it a moral lesson. How hard it is for us to enter the experience without moralizing! To experience the real meaning, perhaps we just need to experience the moment in its full human dimension.)
By the way, this Gospel reminded me of a joke—not a joke; it has a point—about a church in Italy where a couple was having a wedding, and all the wedding reception halls were booked. So they asked the pastor if they could have the reception in church. And he said, "Okay, but no drinking and no dancing."
Well, he came back and they were drinking and dancing, and he was furious and about to shut it down when somebody said, "Wait a minute. Jesus was at the wedding feast at Cana, and they were drinking and dancing."
He said, "Yes, but the Blessed Sacrament wasn't there."
Okay. Any other things that that might say to you?
“In some areas you may have to run out before you can get replenished.”
I want to shift to St. Bridget of Ireland. In her life story, there is a story—I don't know if this really happened or not—but there's a story that she had a magical keg of beer that never ran empty, and she kept ten parishes supplied in beer for a year.
Wow! She once described heaven as a gigantic lake of beer from which we could all drink. What does that say to you?
Well, you know, biblically, weddings are always an image of God and God's presence. The wedding is always a symbol of God's closeness to us, of God dwelling in our midst. The wedding is a symbol of God's faithfulness, and rich feasts with abundant wine are always a symbol of the new age that God is going to bring in.
So, if you remember nothing else—well, let me ask you, what is your image of God from which you operate most of the time? I won't ask you to answer. I've met many people who have an image of God as very stern, very judging, very punishing.
Let this Scripture shape your image of God. When you think of God, think of a wedding feast with an abundance of rich wine and choice food, and an abundance of celebration and dancing. Does that make sense? That's what God is like. And that's the revelation of God's presence.
If you were thoroughly seeped in those Scriptures, then you would see in the sudden appearance at the end of a wedding the best wine you ever tasted. When you thought it had all run out, you would see the presence of God and be moved to wonder. So let that image shape your image of God.
By the way, that's true not only in Jewish poetry and Christian imagery. The Sufi poets’ (who are Muslim) image of God is the tavern, and the tavern is where God dwells. Their image of sanctity is drunkenness, being drunk on the wine of the beloved. And it's just, that image of celebration runs throughout our image of God.
What if that image shaped your experience of life and it became the frame through which you looked at life? I just want to suggest that, if you did, then you might grow in a sensitivity to the signs around us that lead us to celebrate, and our hearts might be more open to symbols of joy and celebration in our life. That's what God calls us to.
Sometimes I think the frame through which we interpret life is very narrow and constricts our experience. Sometimes it broadens us. Let's just pray as we celebrate that our experience of life and of God be broad, and pray that when we think of God, we think of a rich celebration with an abundance of food and wine. Or, if St.Bridget makes you happier, think of her image of God and of heaven.
Imagine that you're at a wedding. Con-temporize it: You're at a wedding, and they run out of beer, and suddenly an abundance of the best beer you've ever tasted appears. What does it say to you about God and about life?
“You're important enough to get the best.”
“God provides in all things.”
“Weddings are important celebrations, and you can let your guard down and celebrate.”
Okay. (Comment: I am struck by how these responses “moralize” the story rather than enter into it. Instead of just opening up to the surprise, joy and unexpectedness in the story, they made it a moral lesson. How hard it is for us to enter the experience without moralizing! To experience the real meaning, perhaps we just need to experience the moment in its full human dimension.)
By the way, this Gospel reminded me of a joke—not a joke; it has a point—about a church in Italy where a couple was having a wedding, and all the wedding reception halls were booked. So they asked the pastor if they could have the reception in church. And he said, "Okay, but no drinking and no dancing."
Well, he came back and they were drinking and dancing, and he was furious and about to shut it down when somebody said, "Wait a minute. Jesus was at the wedding feast at Cana, and they were drinking and dancing."
He said, "Yes, but the Blessed Sacrament wasn't there."
Okay. Any other things that that might say to you?
“In some areas you may have to run out before you can get replenished.”
I want to shift to St. Bridget of Ireland. In her life story, there is a story—I don't know if this really happened or not—but there's a story that she had a magical keg of beer that never ran empty, and she kept ten parishes supplied in beer for a year.
Wow! She once described heaven as a gigantic lake of beer from which we could all drink. What does that say to you?
Well, you know, biblically, weddings are always an image of God and God's presence. The wedding is always a symbol of God's closeness to us, of God dwelling in our midst. The wedding is a symbol of God's faithfulness, and rich feasts with abundant wine are always a symbol of the new age that God is going to bring in.
So, if you remember nothing else—well, let me ask you, what is your image of God from which you operate most of the time? I won't ask you to answer. I've met many people who have an image of God as very stern, very judging, very punishing.
Let this Scripture shape your image of God. When you think of God, think of a wedding feast with an abundance of rich wine and choice food, and an abundance of celebration and dancing. Does that make sense? That's what God is like. And that's the revelation of God's presence.
If you were thoroughly seeped in those Scriptures, then you would see in the sudden appearance at the end of a wedding the best wine you ever tasted. When you thought it had all run out, you would see the presence of God and be moved to wonder. So let that image shape your image of God.
By the way, that's true not only in Jewish poetry and Christian imagery. The Sufi poets’ (who are Muslim) image of God is the tavern, and the tavern is where God dwells. Their image of sanctity is drunkenness, being drunk on the wine of the beloved. And it's just, that image of celebration runs throughout our image of God.
What if that image shaped your experience of life and it became the frame through which you looked at life? I just want to suggest that, if you did, then you might grow in a sensitivity to the signs around us that lead us to celebrate, and our hearts might be more open to symbols of joy and celebration in our life. That's what God calls us to.
Sometimes I think the frame through which we interpret life is very narrow and constricts our experience. Sometimes it broadens us. Let's just pray as we celebrate that our experience of life and of God be broad, and pray that when we think of God, we think of a rich celebration with an abundance of food and wine. Or, if St.Bridget makes you happier, think of her image of God and of heaven.
Labels: Homilies
posted by Fr. Larry Voelker at
10:32 AM
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