(Jer.1:4-5,17-19;   Ps.71:1-6,15,17;   1Cor.12:31-13:13;   Lk.4:21-30)

“I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”

When God calls Jeremiah to prophesy “against Judah’s kings and princes, against its priests and people,” He tells him to “gird [his] loins” and commands: “Be not crushed on their account.”  For though his people “will fight against” him, they shall “not prevail over” him.  The Lord makes Jeremiah “a fruitful city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass” able to stand against attacks of any in “the whole land”; He preserves His prophet’s life despite any danger or threat.

In our gospel Jesus is likewise protected by God from any harm His people would inflict upon Him.  Here in the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus is called to prophesy against the faithlessness of the people; and though before He spoke His harsh word of truth they had “all spoke[n] highly of Him,” now “filled with fury” they drive Him “out of the town, and lead Him to the brow of the hill… to hurl Him down headlong.”  But the deliverance promised Jeremiah and sung of so beautifully by our psalmist is with the Lord’s only Son as it had been with His prophet, and “Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.”  Though they would not accept the deliverance He brings, He is delivered from them.

“O my God, [you] rescue me from the hand of the wicked”; you indeed are “my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety.”  O Lord, “let me never be put to shame,” but “in your justice rescue me, and deliver me.”  For you are “my rock and my fortress,” “my hope” who never fails to save.  May I walk through all the difficulties of this world, all the darkness of sin and temptation and suffering, with you at my side, therefore with nothing to fear.  Make me strong as your prophet, as your Son, for my life is in your Hand.

Brothers and sisters, soon all persecution will pass away with all the imperfect trappings of this desolate earth, and only God’s love will remain.  Let us be as He who “endures all things”; let us be of love.  And nothing of this world shall touch us as we pass through its midst, shielded by the Word of God, guarded by His eminent love.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Speaking of God" from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

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O LORD, blessed are the lowly ones,

for they shall be with you in Heaven.

     YHWH, make us your lowly servants that we might be blessed as your Son, blessed to be called your children. For you look upon the lowly and the poor with mercy; those who are bowed down you raise up. Help us always to be humble before you and make our boast only in your love.

     Your Son has come to call the weak of this world, those who are despised for their humility, those who seem certain to be cast aside for their lack of wealth and power in this life. But to shame the wise, to break the pride of those who are rich in their own eyes, you have chosen, O LORD, to bless the meek of the land with all graces – even your kingdom you give to us.

     And so, what care we for the persecution we must suffer for the sake of your Name? We thirst only for your presence and so do not mourn the passing of this vain world but only that we cannot come more quickly to your side. O let our heart be clean as your only Son’s, that we might look upon you, O LORD our God!

(1Jn.5:14-21;   Ps.149:1-6,9;   Jn.2:1-12)

“He hears us whenever we ask for anything according to His will.” 

In our gospel, the waiters come to Mary; their misfortune is witnessed by her compassionate heart: “They have no more wine,” she tells her Son.  She knows what she is saying, she knows what she is asking… and Jesus knows, too.  And though He seems not prepared to answer her concern (you see, our concern is her concern, and she makes it His), yet she says to the servants standing by the words which perhaps best exemplify the Mother’s relationship to the Son – “Do whatever He tells you.”

Has Jesus a choice now?  Can He rebuff her request to “reveal His glory”?  It is a miracle she asks for the benefit of those in need, and the Lord cannot turn her down.  Do you see this?  Do you understand the significance of this scene, here at the very inception of Jesus’ ministry, especially those who doubt our Blessed Mother’s intercessory power with her Lord, her Son?  And do you think the power for finding answer to prayer with her beloved Jesus, the Son of God, is somehow shortened in ensuing days?  Does death conquer it?  Is she no longer the blessed of all generations?  Has this blessed generation come to an end?

“We know that He hears us whenever we ask” and that “what we have asked Him for is ours.”  This is our confidence in God’s compassion and love.  And we know too that the Blessed Mother stands beside our Lord and prepares the prayers we would offer Him, putting them into the words, the Spirit, we cannot express.  If we give them all to her, they will all be made effective, and we will taste of “the choice wine” which has been kept in store for us until these latter days.

Through this miracle at Cana “His disciples believed in Him.”  Here He offers them a sign of His divinity – here they find “discernment to recognize the One who is true... the true God and eternal life.”  And so the wedding feast truly begins.  And so we “praise His name in the festive dance” and “sing praise to Him with timbrel and harp.”  “The children of Zion rejoice in their king,” for He has answered their deepest prayer: here in our midst is the Son of God.

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O LORD, reveal yourself to us in your Son;

hear our petition. 

     YHWH, your Son has come and given us the grace to recognize Him. And so we have confidence to approach Him with our petitions, especially through His Blessed Mother. And we know that our petitions shall thus be granted and we shall sing praise to you in the assembly of all the faithful in your holy kingdom.

     From sin take us all, dear LORD, from that which holds us to this world. Your glory alone may we seek, the eternal life we find in your only Son. He is true, He is God, and if we are in Him we may rejoice in you. Increase our faith in Him this day; let our eyes not be blinded to His miraculous presence.

     O let us taste the water become wine! and the wine become the blood of your Son. Let us be inebriated with this fruit of the choicest Vine whose time has come and celebrate your glory in our midst. For by His flesh and by His blood we are wed to you, O God, and for what greater cause could we dance and sing? All sin He takes from us that life in you we may know.