THE MIRACLES BEGIN WITH MARRIAGE
January 20, 2019.
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

John has written his gospel for one purpose, he saysthat you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God. John writes to give evidence for the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the
Messiah and is the Son of God, that you may believe that, and that believing you may have life,
eternal life, in His name. We already know that from our experience in chapter 1 in the opening
eighteen verses that some call the prologue, John gives his own testimony that the Word, who
is Jesus Christ, is God, with God, created everything, is the Light, is the life,He is  “The Word,”
“became flesh and dwelt among us, then there is the testimony, by the greatest of all Old
Testament prophets John the Baptist,  he affirms that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of
God.And then starting in verse 38 verbal testimony from Andrew, Peter, John, Philip who are
Old Testament believers who were true worshipers of the true God, who give us first-hand
testimony that Jesus is in fact the Messiah, that He is the One spoken of by the Law and the
Prophets, that He is the Son of God, He is the King of Israel. All of those confessions are made in
that first chapter.
Now we come to chapter 2, we move from verbal testimony to testimony by the works of
Jesus.  He did that demonstrate and prove Jesus is God. He will do what no one but God can
do. And we see that in the very first miracle in chapter 2.Now in John’s book, he gives us eight
signs, eight miracles that Jesus did that are signs pointing to His deity. He turns water into wine
in chapter 2. He heals a dying man in chapter 4. He cures a paralyzed man in chapter 5. He
creates food for thousands of people in chapter 6. He walks on water at the end of chapter
6. He gives sight to the blind in chapter 9. He raises a man dead for days in chapter 11. He
creates a meal in chapter 21, breakfast for His disciples. And then the culminating miracle
beyond the eight, He is raised from the dead. So those are the miracle signs that John
records. And I would just remind you that in chapter 20, verse 30, it says this: “Therefore many
other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this
book.”  And then in chapter 21, verse 25, the last verse in the gospel of John, John writes “there
were also many other things which Jesus did which if they were written in detail, I suppose that
even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”
So, we’re going to start His public ministry, and we’re going to be following that till we get to
the end of chapter 12. And it all begins with a supernatural miracle. Let me read it to you
starting in verse 1, chapter 2. “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the
mother of Jesus was there and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When
the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to
her, ‘Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said
to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’ There is no human way to explain Jesus’
miracle of changing water into wine.Verse 1 says, “On the third day there was a wedding in

Cana of Galilee.”  What that tells us is that from the time that John the Baptist said “Behold the
Lamb of God” and turned his disciples away from him to follow Jesus--those five men to follow
Jesus--from that day to this day everything happens in a week.
The fact that our Lord did His first miracle at a wedding emphasizes the sanctity of that
covenant. He starts his mission with the focus on the family life. Weddings matters. Public
reception if great sacrament matters. The ceremony matters with the witnessing of our friends
and family. For us Catholics People are not married who just live together. People are married
who make public covenant before God and before people. Marriage is a condition of life
designed by God, ordained by God, and authenticated in an open, public covenant. It is the
highest and noblest and best of all human relationships. No other human relationship is as
wonderful as marriage. these days people may have different opinion about the sacrament of
marriage, but the God’s intention of instituting this sacrament of marriage will never change.
Whenever there is a funeral here in our church of someone who lived 60 years or 70 years of
married life, until they die I always speak about the beauty and the sanctity of marriage as a
message to their children or anyone who have come to join for the funeral service. Any society
that fails to honor marriage as a covenant, open covenant between a man and a woman for
life, in which children are reared and cared for; any society that diminishes marriage, that fails
to honor marriage, is corrupt, is doomed to chaos. Our Lord honored marriage by attending and
doing His first miracle at a wedding.
Someone may think you do not know the difficulties that I went through with my marriage,
why I am divorced or remarried. But I am sure you entered that marriage to live together
forever in good times and in bad in health and sickness. Let us pray for all married couples the
god Lord may help them to overcome their problems they are facing. Let us also pray for 4 girls
from our parish recently engaged that Lord may bless them abundantly.
Dear brothers and sisters, the mother of Jesus, who said to Him, “They have no wine.” She
certainly knew what was going on. She is our heavenly mother she knows our needs, she can
intercede to her son to bless our families with His Grace.

HUMILITY, COMMITMENT, AND IDENTIFICATION
January 13, 2019
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

Today we're going to look at an event that made it into all four Gospels - the author of each Gospel found this event so inspiring and important that it was included. It narrates the inauguration of Jesus into ministry.  It begins the launch sequence of Jesus toward His eventual crucifixion. That makes it really powerful to think about. We have two key figures here: Jesus and His cousin, John the Baptist. John's ministry was to prepare the way for the Messiah. His message was simple and straightforward: "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" (Matthew 3:2). When people repented, he baptized them.

The Jewish people were looking for a deliverer to make things right in their country. They were a people whose land was occupied by an oppressive foreign government, and they longed for freedom. But it was more than that. It was a people whose relationship with God had grown cold. God had chosen their forefather Abraham to be the patriarch of His people hundreds of years before. Like many relationships, it started out strong but through the years complacency set in. Familiarity breeds contempt, they say. Israel started taking God for granted. When the Israelites repented and the relationship was restored. And then the cycle began anew. John the Baptist came along during a down cycle of Israel's relationship with God.

And because God had always provided a deliverer in the past, people like Moses and David, there was great anticipation for the next manifestation of the deliverer. John, as the preparer of the Way, says what has to be said, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" First of all Jesus’ was a baptism of commitment. This launched Jesus' ministry that would eventually lead to the Cross. He knew where He was headed. For three and a half years, Jesus did His thing and it ended with Crucifixion. This inauguration began that process. It was a commitment to God's plan and you and me. Secondly Jesus' was a baptism of identification: He affirmed John's ministry and identity with the people He'd come to save. Thirdly Jesus’ was a baptism of humility. If you'll recall, amidst the protestations of John the Baptist, Jesus explained why He has come for baptism. Matthew 3:15, Jesus answered him, "Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him [to be baptized]. Jesus humbled Himself to do what God asks - it's obedience to God. Jesus does this because God requires it.

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus took this step of obedience to show us the way - to identify with those of us who do need to repent and turn back. Humility, commitment, and identification: that's really what baptism is all about. But what does that mean for me and you? But there's so much more to following Jesus! There are incredible benefits to following Jesus: God's unmerited favor - grace, forgiveness for all our sins, and purpose in life. Those are powerful benefits to following the Lord. It pays to follow Christ. But following Christ is more than benefits; it also entails responsibility. For those who went to John for baptism it was about humility, commitment and identification. Jesus' baptism was about humility, commitment and identification. There's a little confusion about baptism and salvation, sometimes when I ask someone about their faith they'll say, "Well, I was baptized when I was an infant." Being baptized when you're infant or when you’re seven is okay, but Scripture doesn't teach that baptism saves you. So let us remember that it is first of all a great commitment and responsibility.

Do you remember what happened when Jesus came out of the water? Matthew 3:16-18,” After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!” Humble obedience and commitment to God and identification with God always lead to our affirmation by the Lord. Jesus will say about you and me that you are my beloved son or you are my beloved daughter.

SCOURING THE SHIRE
January 6, 2019.
Deacon Dennis Walters

I  am a shameless devotee of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. While I like the movie version, I love the book. Frankly, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read and re-read it. On the surface, it’s a captivating adventure story of elves, wizards, dwarves, and men banding together to defeat the demon Sauron and his forces by destroying the One Ring that gives his evil its power. But beneath the surface, the trilogy is full of Christian imagery; for example, Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo each go willingly into suffering, death, and resurrection as Christ-figures.

Two aspects of the trilogy bear especially on today’s feast of Epiphany. One is that, from the outset, the protagonists of the story know that they can’t avoid engaging Sauron, nor can they defeat him with grand strategies and large armies winning heroic battles. There are plenty of these, of course; but the effort to defeat the enemy proceeds — and ultimately succeeds — through ordinary, insignificant people armed only with hope and determination. Likewise, God’s plan to defeat Satan and accomplish the salvation of humankind works slowly and almost unnoticed throughout history. The other is that the story of the Ring doesn’t end with Sauron’s defeat and the coronation of the victorious king. It ends afterward with a mopping-up operation, when the battle-hardened hobbits return to their Shire to find that it has been taken over by the traitorous wizard Saruman and they must clean it up. That, too, is how God’s actual plan works.

Our first reading from Isaiah Chapter 60 is the prophet’s call for Jerusalem to “rise, shine, for your light has come!” It’s a call for her to rejoice, because she has now become a center of light
— the presence of God — to which all the nations dwelling in darkness are attracted. How does Isaiah say that happened? For an answer, we look back at Chapter 59.

There, we see a four-step process. First, God’s wrath is poured out on His enemies, sometimes repeatedly and in everincreasing severity; sinful nations must experience the consequences of their ways in hopes that they come to their senses and repent. Second, those Gentiles who do repent learn that God’s offer of salvation applies to them, an offer they accept in faith. Third, the Redeemer comes to Zion to save the repentant sons of Jacob (the Jews). Fourth, redemption inaugurates an everlasting covenant, in which God pours out His Spirit on His people, who now include Gentiles.

Chapter 60 of Isaiah, then, is an invitation for Jerusalem to rise up with joy. Her light has come. That light is Jesus, the light which the darkness has not overcome (Jn. 1:9), the true light of the world (Jn.8:12), come into the world as its light (Jn. 12:46). As that light shines, Israel’s lost sons and daughters return, some even carried in the arms of Gentile nurses. Jerusalem — the New Jerusalem, the Church, alight with the glory of the Lord — attracts everyone to herself, as a lamp in the dark draws all living things to it.

isThe prophet reveals the four-step process by which God saves His people. But it proceeds unnoticed, almost hidden. Sometimes, grand strategies and large armies engaged in heroic battles are involved; the Old Testament contains some very violent episodes. But in real life the process of salvation history unfolds gradually over long eras of time, slowly materializing through patriarchs; escaped slaves; covenants made and expanded; kings and their dynasties; and periods of exile and return. It’s only fully manifested when a Galilean carpenter goes into the dark of death and emerges from it again. Then follows the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that Isaiah promised. It sounds like a complete victory.

Tolkien’s point, though, was that on this earth victory is not final. One would think that after 2000 years the whole world would have seen the salvation of our God — but no. Most of the world either has never heard about it, or has heard but rejected it. The Evil One, that defeated wizard; is tireless in spreading the rumor that salvation is a myth, that the real enemy of mankind is God. You and I are engaged in a spiritual and cultural battle we cannot avoid. The enemy won’t let us. Besides, our baptism places us in the ranks of those who have the mission of scouring the Shire.  

Epiphany means a manifestation, a showing forth. In the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the message that salvation has arrived has been manifested, and through the Holy Spirit salvation was made a living reality in the Church and her saints. That was then. This is now. Today, salvation is manifested in our world to the extent that we live lives of holiness. But salvation is not something we can hoard for ourselves. It needs to be manifested to others. Most of us are ordinary, insignificant people armed only with the weapons of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. Even so, we are the ones who have to scour the Shire — have to show the world that salvation is real and has come. Jesus’ Epiphany continues through us.

LOOK TO THE HOLY FAMILY
December 30, 2018
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It is the perfect picture of a family where the father, mother and children live in a loving, respectful family. It is a setting what we promote as the will of God. But the will of God does not rest just in the ideal. While we promote the unity of the family centered in Christ, we also seek the grace of God to work in all the troubled and imperfect situations in our world. God is with the broken family, the single parent, and the family blended from situations of divorce. In verses 39-52, the end of chapter 2, the only incident ever recorded in the first thirty years of Jesus' life and the only words that Jesus is ever recorded to have said in those thirty years.  And it all happens at the age of twelve. By the time He reached twelve He knew exactly who He was and He knew exactly why He came. We have been told by Simeon that this is the one whom the prophets promised would be a light to the Gentiles as well as bring glory to Israel. And Anna's testimony that this was the one who would bring redemption to Jerusalem. Verse 40 covers birth to twelve and tells us, "The child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him." Then verses 41-51 cover an incident that happened when He was twelve.

If you go back to Exodus 23:17, Exodus 34:22-23, and Deuteronomy 16:16, you find there is instruction there as to the Jews maintaining their attendance and their involvement in certain feasts that God ordained for Israel. There were three main feasts held every year. There was the feast called Passover,  one called Pentecost,  and the feast of Tabernacles.  Passover was a one-day feast that happened on the fifteenth of Nisan at the beginning of the Jewish calendar year.  Attached directly to the Passover was a seven-day feast called the feast of unleavened bread. Fifty days later was the feast of Pentecost, the feast of the first fruits when they celebrated harvest. Later on in our fall, came the feast of Tabernacles, which would celebrate the wanderings in the wilderness when they lived in tents and God provided manna for them.

Joseph and Mary lived eighty miles north of Jerusalem in the town of Nazareth, which was sort of on the border of Gentile lands. It was traditionally required for men to go, even at the time of Jesus, but not so much for the women. And so, typically not all women would go to Passover. In fact, for a woman to go to Passover, according to Jewish tradition, was to demonstrate on her part a rather unusual spiritual devotion, a rather unusual interest in the things of God, a devotion to God and to His Word and to obedience. How interesting that verse 41 says, "His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year." And here again, Luke reminds us of the devout character of the faith of Joseph and Mary. They were true worshipers of the living God. They went every year to Passover. 

As a tradition you find it in the Mishna, the codification of Jewish tradition,  at the end of the meal a son asks a question of his father, typically the oldest son. In this case Jesus would have looked at Joseph after the meal was complete and ask it. And still to this very day, Jewish sons ask this question at Passover. The question is: Why is this night different from all others? That question then gave the father, Joseph, the opportunity to repeat the amazing story of the Passover in Egypt.

At thirteen, Jewish boys were considered to be obligated to the law of God themselves. They passed from under parental authority and were accountable to the law of God themselves, at thirteen. That is why after Jesus’ time, not during Jesus’ time, after Jesus’ time, an official ceremony developed known as ‘bar mitzvah’ meaning son of the law, or son of the commandment, that at thirteen a son was responsible to the law of God. According to the Talmud, fathers brought their sons as they approach thirteen for this kind of experience and instruction. And so, Joseph is right on target. He's doing what the tradition required. He's taking his twelve-year-old son to expose him to this. So from the human side, Jesus could not have had more devout and godly parents to influence Him than Joseph and Mary.

Then it says in verse 43, "The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem and His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan. They went a day's journey before they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances and when they didn't find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him." His lingering was not disobedience. His lingering was not irresponsibility. There's no hint of that. His lingering wasn't even the fault of His parents. They had never known Him to do anything but exactly what He should have done. He was the perfect son. Jesus was moving from responsibility to an earthly parent to a responsibility to God. And that's why He says in verse 49, “I have to be in My Father's house." He is sending a major message to His parents that a transition is taking place, that they're not going to have parental oversight over this child, but that God His Father is going to determine His life and what He does. He also knew that His Father was the one in charge of His life, that He belonged with the people of God in the temple of God, the place of God.  He was, moving through that massive crowd as a twelve-year-old, realizing nobody knows who I am, the crowd has no clue that this is God in human flesh, that this child is looking at them with the mind of God, that this child is watching the priests and the sacrifice and seeing it as the eternal God of the universe sees and understands it. He is here the young learner listening to the teachers and communicating with them. Someday He will also ask questions of teachers again. But He will ask them questions that only He can answer. And as you go through the Gospel of Luke and the other Gospels, you'll find other times when Jesus asks questions to the religious leaders, but He always asks questions that they can't answer and then He answers them Himself.  And in so doing He uses this traditional methodology to literally cut through the hypocrisy and pierce to the heart of their apostate religious establishment. But He isn't going to do that for another eighteen years until he is baptized and begins his public ministry.

Dear brothers and sisters there are lot of beautiful messages in this Gospel passage on this feast day. First Joseph and Mary were faithful to their religion, they were true worshippers. Second, they raised their Child according to their traditions, took Him to the temple in Jerusalem according to their customs. At least these 2 things should help us to make an examination of conscience in order to improve our relationship with God and our children’s relationship with God.