A MARRIAGE FEAST
Introduction
When two young people set out together on the adventure of married life, they affirm that they believe in each other, in love, in life, in the future, and hopefully, in God who will support them. This is the message God speaks to us today. He has committed himself to us, his people, in a covenant bond of love, as lasting and as beautiful as marriage, when his Son, Jesus, became one of us. In him, he has given himself to us forever, for better and for worse, accepting that his Son laid down his life for us so that we might live. He continues to change the drabness and failures of our existence into plenty of wine and joy. And the best wine will be kept for the end, for eternal happiness.
1 Jn 5:14-21
My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours. For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is “fatal,” leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that. Everything we do wrong is sin, but not all sin is fatal. We know that none of the God-born makes a practice of sin—fatal sin. The God-born are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.
Jn 2:1-11
Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus’ mother told him, “They’re just about out of wine.” Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.” She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim. “Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,” Jesus said, and they did. When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!” This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
Prayer
Faithful and loving God,
your Son, Jesus, shared with ordinary people
the joy of their marriage feast.
Set for us the table and pour for us
the delightful wine of your covenant,
bring us close to you and to one another,
and warm our hearts with your own love.
Make our lives become a feast,
an unending song of joy and praise,
to you, our living God,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reflection:
1 John 5: 14-21
Pray with confidence to the Father
Prayer is the theme of today’s first reading. John sets down the basic principle of prayer – The basis of our prayer is the simple fact that God listens to our prayers. John declares his confidence in the Father who listens to all our prayers in today’s opening sentence: Through him we are confident that whatever we ask according to his will, he will grant us. With God we have freedom of speech and he is always listening. But, at the same time, prayer is not an attempt to bribe God to change his plans according to our desires and plans!
And this is the second basis of prayer: it must be made in accordance with the will of God. Obedience to God’s will and remaining in Christ are pre-conditions for prayer. The Gospel of John tells us that “If we abide in him and his words abide in us, ask whatever we need, and it will be done for us (John 15:7). The third principle of prayer according to John is to pray always in the name of Jesus and he will do it.
Today’s passage also deals with the importance of intercessory prayers. Prayer must never be selfish; it must never be concentrated entirely upon our own selves and our own problems and our own needs. John calls for special attention on the prayer of intercession for the brethren in need of the prayers of the community. We are called to pray for others.
Letters of St. Paul and St. James stress the need for intercessory prayers for others. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25) and Timothy he says that “prayer must be made for all people.” Letter of St. James states that, if a man is sick, he ought to call the elders, and the elders should pray over him (James 5:14).
There are many reasons why we attend the daily Mass and indeed one of the reasons is, we pray not only for ourselves, but also for others who are in great need. Blessed Mother is an excellent example for us. In the Gospel, she is so confident that Jesus will respond to her observation that the wine had run short. Her instruction to the waiters was “to do whatever Jesus told them.”
We are called to imitate the Blessed Mother at the marriage feast of Cana. We should be concerned about others and raise those concerns before God in prayer with confidence.
Video available on youtube: Pray with confidence to the Father