HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – JANUARY 7th
Strong Faith Expressed Through the Finest Wine of Love:
Optional Memorial of St. André Bessette
(1 Jn 5:14-21; Ps 149; Jn 2:1-12)
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St. John, once again, is unique among the gospel writers with his emphasis on mystery, mysticism, sign and symbolism. Today, both readings invite us to place our faith in Jesus as the Son of God, as eternal life, and as the Messiah.
Mary is the prime example of that strong faith in Jesus, with her intercessory prayer to him on behalf of the couple whose marriage is being celebrated, and whose embarrassment she sets out to prevent.
When Jesus retorts that it is not his hour (referring to his passion and death on the cross, which is the ultimate sign or revelation of God’s love for humanity), she simply turns to the servants with the advice to do whatever he tells them. That advice of Mary’s to the servants, is also great advice for us as well – to do whatever Jesus wants us to do.
St. John, in the first reading, is himself an example of that same strong faith in Jesus. He stresses that Jesus is the Son of God, the source of eternal life, and that our prayer according to his will, brings forth a positive response from him. We can take a cue from Step 11 of the A.A. program which invites us to pray “only for the knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry it out.”
John then inserts a stark reminder the “the whole world is under the power of the evil one.” The lack of wine at the wedding is just a subtle hint of that dark power at work, trying to mess up even the loveliest of occasions, a wedding. We are all too aware of how the evil one is at work in our world – with war, violence, broken families, strained relationships, hurtful behavior, injustice, amorality, erosion of traditional values, addiction, crime and fear spoiling life for so many.
Tabernacle by Fr. Al Hubenig OMI, Star of the North
A fitting symbol of the reality that Satan is at work in our world is the tabernacle of mosaics made by the late Fr. Al Hubenig OMI, picturing a lamb holding a victorious standard with blood pouring out of its chest, standing over a skeleton that is swinging a sword. The message is clear – the Lamb of God is victorious over Satan who is already defeated, but does not know it yet, so he still rages on with his battle against humanity until the end of time.
The good news is that Jesus, through this first of his revelatory signs shared by St. John, reveals the power of his love to overcome evil and transform the inert, lifeless jars of water for the Jewish rites of ritual washing, into the finest of wines. Unlike Satan, we know the whole story – that Satan is already defeated. We who believe in Jesus as Son of God and the Messiah who has come to redeem and sanctify the world, can already begin to enjoy the very life of the Trinity in heaven, here on earth – symbolized by the wedding feast.
As The Word Among Us puts it, this event assured the disciples that Jesus truly was the Messiah Andrew had claimed him to be, and that his love was extravagant and generous, someone who gave his people only the the best – like the finest wine he gave this newlywed couple.
As dramatic as it was, this miracle was just the beginning of the disciples’ journey of faith in the Lord. And just as it happened for them, God wants our faith in God to continue to change and grow as we spend time in relationship with God. Jesus wants to convince us more and more deeply that love is at the heart of his mission – a love even stronger than the love between a husband and wife on their wedding day.
We might be like the disciples in today’s passage, just starting our journey of faith. Or maybe we have been following Jesus for a long time. Either way, know that God has more that God wants to give us: more love, more grace, more revelations, more intimacy with Jesus, more of everything. There is no end to Jesus’ ability to draw us closer to him, and to draw out of us the finest of wines.
St Andre Bessette
Today the church honors someone who in his own simple way lived out the message of today’s liturgy, Saint André Bessette. Known to millions simply as Brother André, Alfred Bessette was orphaned by the age of 12, unschooled, small and sickly. In 1870 he joined the Congregation of the Holy Cross. For the next 40 years, he was porter at Collège Notre-Dame on Queen Mary Road in Montreal, where he excelled at hospitality. In the course of his duties, he welcomed the sick and afflicted, and it was his habit to pray with them through the intercession of Saint Joseph. He gained a reputation throughout the city and, as he was credited with extraordinary favours and with healings, more and more people came to the college to seek out the ‘Miracle Man of Montreal’.
Possessed of a deep love for Saint Joseph, Brother André erected a statue of the saint on the mountain across from the college. That led to Saint Joseph’s Oratory which welcomes more than two million visitors each year. Canonized on October 17, 2010, Saint André Bessette is the patron of family caregivers in Canada.
The Eucharist is our wedding banquet with the Lord, a foretaste of that eternal banquet we will all share in someday with St. André. May it empower us to place our faith more fully in him, and to deepen our sharing in the eternal life that he already offers us, no matter what darkness the evil one is trying to impose on the world around us.
