2nd Sunday after Epiphany 19 Jan 2014 Sermon

2nd Sunday after Epiphany 19.1.14 Joy and Sorrow

Holy Mass can be ‘said’, ‘offered’, ‘celebrated’ – different terms can be used.

It is a question of what is being emphasized. To say the Mass is celebrated is to focus more on the joyful aspects of the Mass – that Christ is risen, that we can go to heaven, that God is watching over us etc.

To say the Mass is offered is to focus more on the sacrificial nature of the Mass, that in each Mass we are present at Calvary, re-living His saving love for us.

We could satisfy both points of view by saying that the Mass is first and foremost a sacrifice, but a sacrifice which leads to joy.

The joy cannot be had without the sacrifice, so to that extent our joy is muted and there is a sombre element. But if the sacrifice is made then the joy is unbounded.

Eventually in the heavenly banquet we will have only joy and no note of sadness.

But while still in this earthly pilgrimage, this ‘valley of tears’, we cannot escape the ‘sacrifice’ factor. We must still do some more suffering before everything is fully in place.

There are shades of light and dark. The wedding feast of Cana brings out these different shades.

Wine is festive; a wedding is joyful; there is much to celebrate.

On the other hand Our Lord knew that when He worked this miracle He was setting in motion the process by which His enemies would eventually bring about His death.

There is both a joyful and a sorrowful aspect to this event.

And so at the Mass. In the Offertory of the Mass a little water is mingled with the wine to be offered.

This tiny bit of water represents humanity being joined with the divinity of Christ.

The water is absorbed in the wine and so our humanity is absorbed in the divinity of Christ, and we are greatly enriched in the process.

So far so good, a very joyful state of affairs.

But at the Consecration the wine turns into blood and this indicates that our joy is not complete until we have negotiated our own level of commitment required.

If this is a banquet it is one with a cloud hanging over it. Just as the Last Supper was a banquet but also had a sombre note. Jesus knew He would be betrayed and crucified the next day.

We have so much going for us but we know we still have to suffer certain things and we will face trial and temptation, being assailed by doubt, fear, worldliness etc.

Ideally we should have such a strong hold on the reasons for joy that we are not worried about the sufferings we must still encounter. This attitude we learn from the cheerfulness of the saints in their sufferings.

We need to deepen our degree of discipleship so that we believe the good things enough to be able to endure the bad things.

We need help at both levels.

Help to grasp more fully the joy of the Resurrection, Pentecost and all the truths of our faith; so that these truths take complete hold on us; that we be immersed in them.

Help to grasp the depth of suffering and sacrifice required for the will of God to be achieved.

So that we believe the good things enough to be able to endure the bad things.

We are happy enough to drink the festive cup; committed enough to drink the cup of suffering.

Each time we come to Mass, with all its shades of light and dark, the grace of God is acting on us and bringing us to a better understanding of all that is happening, and needs to happen.

The more we commit to the sacrifice the more joyful we become. The more joyful the more we can commit.