God’s constant desire is for us to be increasingly happy … we cooperate with God’s desire whenever we use our talents to improve life for others

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God’s constant desire is for us to be increasingly happy … we cooperate with God’s desire whenever we use our talents to improve life for others

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 19, 2025

The Gospel and First Reading speak clearly of happiness and God’s desire and works to help people to be happy.  This is Ordinary Time.  God is saying something like this: I will never walk away from you, my desire is to lead you to places and situations where you will be happy.

Starting with: “About Zion I will not be silent, about Jerusalem I will not grow weary,…” Ending with: “and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you.

Jerusalem refers to Heaven on earth.  And, so, God’s desire is to lead us into Heaven on earth AND Heaven above.  Perhaps, as an opening challenge, we can say: if we are not happy is it because we’ve not followed God’s invitations, “instructions” and guideposts along the way?

This is encouraging to us as we begin our “ordinary” lives this year: so that, whatever happens, good or bad, remember that God is not happy to leave us unhappy.  Another question is: do we respond to the opportunities placed before us to receive help from, or give help to, others?

If true, then, instead of cursing God for my unhappiness, I should be cursing myself for taking a “wrong turn” along the road and begin thanking God for another chance.

But which sign post did we miss?  In the first part of the Gospel, we hear that Jesus initially refused, and was a reluctant helper.  Is this true of us?  Circumstances and pressure from the right people in our lives are necessary to move us out of our comfort zones and begin to live.  As eagles often push the eaglets out of the nest when they are ready to fly but do not leave.

In the second part of the Gospel, the Steward said, “People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now.”  Wine symbolises happiness.  What does this tell us?

Perhaps that even when our wine runs out, that if we remain faithful to living the life that Christ has taught us, life and happiness will return and be even better.  This does not mean that difficulties will not come but that, with faith, we trust that happiness and peace will return.  And faithfulness to Christ means living with and for community, where we encounter the Spirit.

When we reflect on the 2nd Reading, we can see that by allowing the Spirit to work through us to help others, it causes us to experience inner-joy (which is sometimes more helpful to understand as: deep meaning for life, and contentment with what I am doing).

Psychologically, the younger we are, the more we must feel needed and useful.  This is critical for younger men especially and, hence, the importance for us to be allowed, or empowered, to achieve significant things in our lives: using our gifts.  Women tend to be initiated by the birth of a child who automatically demands their sacrifice and love.

  1. parents who don’t push their children to contribute around the house or the life of the family (as appropriate for their age, eg. farm, small business, etc.), may contribute to future mental health challenges for them. Happiness is connected with service to others.

As we grow older in life assuming that, in our younger years, we have achieved significant things that benefit both ourselves and others, we no longer require to feel “needed” by others as much, because we can see the fruit of our hands, and have made our world a better place.  This frees us to empower others without a need to control or be the centre of attention.

However, when we don’t use our gifts and talents to benefit others, we create a lot of mental health challenges for ourselves.  A humorous picture came to me recently showing a lady carrying a plate of food to the next door neighbour.  The old man thought she was bringing him a plate of food, but the lady said: “my internet was down, and I thought you would like to know what I’m eating tonight.”  She then went home with that same food!

The Spirit was at work in the lady by creating the food, but she did not allow the Spirit go out from her to help others.  Therefore, she went home outwardly with a full plate, but inwardly “empty.”  However, if she had prepared for two people and given one plate to the neighbour, she would have gone home outwardly and inwardly “full”.

Please, let us not go home and say: well that’s Mass over for another weekOur Mass is just beginning: filled with the Eucharist, we are invited to allow the Spirit to work through us to use our gifts for the good of ourselves and create new opportunities for others to be empowered.

In the process, we create inner joy for ourselves having a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives.  “My friend, there is no wine”: may God help us to become wine-makers for others.

By Gerard Conlan, OMI