The Gospel readings across the New Year is full of evocative pinings for the reflective, contemplative believer, to ponder, reflect, and discern deeply.

 

Heb1:1-2

At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.

Luke 2:16-21

The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

 

Gospel
Luke 2:36-40

There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

But perhaps the most dramatic statement about the fidelity of Mary is recounted by a Reflection on the miracle of the Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-11) by the priests at Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Picayune, MS.

 

The “hour” (Jn 2:4) is used throughout John’s Gospel as a reference to Jesus’ passion. Therefore Jesus understands that his acquiescence to his mother’s request is an event that will ultimately lead to his passion and death. Can we conclude that in his human nature Jesus was unaware that it was the Father’s will to begin his public mission with this miracle until his mother made her request? That’s a matter of speculation. It is evident; however, in Jesus’ reply that Mary understood Jesus would resolve the crisis of the wine shortage. She said to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). These are the last words spoken by Mary in Sacred Scripture. This is advice that resonates with us at the distance of 2,000 years, because we are also God’s servants. The response of the servants to Jesus’ request to “fill the jars with water” (Jn 2:7) is a model of obedience: “And they filled them to the brim” (Jn 2:7). At this point Jesus changed somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of water into wine!

The Wedding Feast at Cana (Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Picayune, MS http://www.scborromeo.org ; http://www.totustuus.com)

 

(Lumix GX85; Home, in the North Garden at Dawn on New Year’s Day 2018)
(Nikon D40; Simple Feast at Liming National Park, Yunnan, China, 2009)