January 2022

Today’s liturgy tells us about reading the Book of God’s Word at the assembly of faithful. This is a gathering of the Israelites with a living Word, which in the case of first reading is announced by Ezra, while in the Gospel, Jesus Christ himself develops a scroll of the book and reads it to everyone. Today, however, let us pay attention to something very important: the book is read for everyone, and not privately whether to the small group of “initiates”. The word is directed not only “to me”, but even more “to us”. God wants to not only save a single man, but also to strengthen His Church in unity. The same – the answer to God’s Word is not just a private matter, but it is to pursue yourself in communication with those whom God put me next to me. 

Also, this refers today’s second reading about members of the body, so that everyone in the Church can feel as an important part, regardless of age, education or position. Every man in whose heart God sows His Word is important, not because of his values, but precisely because he is a part of the body, as in today’s reminder of St. Paul on the nature of the Church as a compound organism. So let’s take today’s Word of God from the mouth of Jesus himself, but not only as a private person, but as members of His body – the Church. Let us do it for the greater God’s glory and also for ourselves, because united through the Word we feel that more unites us than divides, and that we really create one Body.

Did Jesus in Cana at Galilee want to fascinate and to “buy” first disciples with His extraordinary talents, to enjoy people with an unexpected delivery of good wine, and by the way to create a good taste to us? Certainly not! Jesus never abused His power to make tricks or to make His life easier. His miracles had always a character of “signs”: they expressed something, and they taught something, and not only make a sensation. It was the first Jesus’ miracle, so it had a program’s character and announced later events.

Mary encouraging servants to obey Jesus indicates that in the work of salvation it is necessary to trust Jesus. Servants could not understand the command, and even could recognize it as a whim of a moody guest and simply ignore the request. And yet they subordinated and brought hundred liters of water from the wells. It probably cost a lot of effort. If they refused, Jesus could not make a miracle, at least not in this way. He wanted to teach us that God needs human cooperation in the work of salvation, that He doesn’t do it without our participation. And what is most important belongs to God, but the effort of man within the limits of human opportunities and competences is necessary.

Above all, it is about the effort of faith. The faith is born in the long process of recognizing God, experiencing His action and power, in the spiritual closeness between God and man. The mature faith must be a personal relationship between man and God, not just a formality or performing certain gestures and duties. Only trust and obedience to God is a breakthrough from which we can say that someone really believed, that is he/she entered the path of the mature faith. And trust and obedience works in life: through actions, decisions, attitude, way of thinking and proceedings. And only then God will be able to change us internally – like a water into wine.