Facets

facets

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time

Fr. Peter Robinson

Preached: January 19, 2025

– All of us are familiar with jewels, with gem stones
  • In fact, many people here right now are wearing a piece of jewellery of some sort a gem in it
– Those gems are so beautiful because of something called facets
  • Facets are the tiny, little faces that have been cut into the gem
– An expert gem cutter has added those facets to improve the gem’s appearance
  • The facets allow the stone to reflect light better
– Technically, we can say that the facets optimize the stone’s optical performance
  • And each of the different types of facets has its own function
– Now, I would like you to think of our Gospel Reading today (from John 2) as a jewel
  • As a gem with multiple facets
– Together, those facets of our story allow the beauty of today’s Reading to shine forth
  • To shine out for us — 2000 years later
I. Facet 1 > we have the original wedding itself
– If you do an online search (Bing AI), you will discover that, in an ancient Jewish wedding, there was the:
    1.  Betrothal — formally, the couple was considered legally married but did not live together
    2. Marriage Contract — this legally binding document outlined the groom’s responsibilities towards the bride
    3.  Bridal Price — the groom’s family paid a sum of money (or its equivalent) to the bride’s family (which was returned to her if the marriage failed)
    4.  Wedding Feast —  this could last up to seven days
    5.  Procession — the bride would be escorted to the groom’s home on the final evening of the feast, with torches and great fanfare
    6.  Consummation — the couple would then live together as husband and wife
II. Facet 2 > we all know today’s story, right?
– Near the end of this particular wedding feast, the wine runs out
  • The family of the bride is horrified, and someone tells Mary
  • She brings their problem to Jesus — who solves it (with a miracle)
– But notice Mary’s command to the worried family, pointing at Jesus
  • “Do whatever he tells you”
– Do you realize that this is the last time that Mary speaks in the New Testament?
  • We see her again, but she never speaks again

– Her last words in the Bible? “Do whatever he [Jesus] tells you”

III. Facet 3 > that ancient wedding serves as a sign (as St. John calls it) of that final wedding feast of God and his people

– What will eternity be like, with God and the countless saints of heaven?
– John compares it to the most delightful wedding banquet you have ever known
  • It will mean joy, belonging, delight … beyond imagination
IV. Facet 4 > did you know that, in Jewish thought, water was a symbol of God’ Law?
  • In an arid land, water was the sign of life and was precious

– Just so, the Law of God is precious to us, and it gives life

– Jesus not only transforms water into award-winning wine
  • (Bear in mind, there would have been over 400 litres of wine in Jesus’ miracle)
– Jesus also transforms the water of the OT Law into the wine of the New Covenant, into the NT
– This means that, in just a few minutes, we will taste the heavenly banquet in the Liturgy of the Eucharist
  • We will dine upon Christ himself
  • Rather than wine, he will offer us his very blood
– That is, his life force — which has defeated sin, and death, and hell … forever
– What a beautiful jewel today’s story is!
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