Joyful Moments are God’s Gifts

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

January 19, 2025 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

John 2:1-11

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Most of us are familiar with John’s account of the wedding feast at Cana. It’s one of those times during the life of Jesus where we can draw many lessons. For instance, it points to a positive view of marriage, which the Church eventually listed among its sacraments. It highlights the importance of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the ministry of Jesus.

 

But here I want to stress the inherent value of joy and celebration in our lives. It appears that Jesus himself enjoyed a good party. He even arranged for the celebration to continue after the beverage supply had run out. He even arranged that the wine he supplied was better than the original offering. He wanted everyone at the feast to be happy and have a good time. Especially the bride and groom. Yes, there are times when life is difficult and trying.  But there are also good times. When they arrive be sure to enjoy them. And be thankful for them.

 

Pope Francis has often criticized Christians who take an overly dim view of life. He is thinking of those who wear overly serious looks and rarely smile, much less laugh. People who image that having a good even boisterous time is somehow antithetical to being a good person, a faithful follower of Jesus. If you are organizing a party or celebration, you want people to come who can share in the joy. Many of the pope’s writings have the word joy in their title.

 

Over the years I have taught courses and given many lectures on what we theologians call “the theology of play.” Some followers of Jesus, I believe, don’t consider moments of play (if they even have them) as gifts from God. To them I say that there is abundant Jewish and Christian literature on appreciating and enjoying times when we are not hard at work, but simply enjoying a joyful and happy moment as one of God’s gifts. These moments are sometimes called “a foretaste of heaven.”

 

One of my favorite spiritual writers is the Jesuit priest and scientist, Teilhard de Chardin, now deceased. He once wrote the following: “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” Now think back to the wedding feast at Cana. There was the possibility that once the wine acquired for the feast had run out, the joyfulness of the feast would suddenly diminish. Mary, the mother of Jesus, imagined this might happen so when she noticed the empty wine jars, she went to Jesus and requested he do something about it. At first, he seemed reluctant to do anything, but like a good mother, she persisted. So, like a good son he did what his mother asked. And we know the rest of the story.

David M. Thomas, PhD   


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