2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isa 62:1-5
1 Cor 12:4-11
Jn 2:1-11
“Do whatever he tells you.”
Such simple words spoken by our Immaculate Mother. Although simple, those words hold so much meaning and depth.
As parents, we expect our children to do whatever we tell them because we know best (most of the time). As a child, I was never altogether obedient, thinking my parents didn’t know nor understand. (It was only when I got older that I saw the wisdom of my parents — but that’s another story). Yet as a parent, I expect my children to pay attention to what I say and often become offended if they have an opinion of their own — something called pride gets in the way of reason.
Our Blessed Mother, she is a daughter of the Heavenly Father, and a mother to our Lord. She is both daughter and mother to the Holy Trinity. This is a mystery that deserves a discussion that is beyond the scope of this simple reflection. What is important here is her response. First, her response during the Annunciation, and then here, in the beginning of Jesus’ public life.
What do I mean? As a daughter to the Heavenly Father, she accepted her role in His plans without any resistance because she loved God, loved His Will, and trusted Him completely, not counting the cost to her personally – her fiat.
As a mother to our Lord, she did not command Him to do her bidding, nor insisted she knew best; but she made a simple observation and simply trusted Jesus. She did not get offended nor angry because as a parent, she knew better and deserved respect. Instead, she acted with perfect humility and asked others to ‘do whatever he tells you’.
Why do we need to marvel at this? Because of her perfect humility and obedience.
In world view, humility and obedience are negatively associated with weakness and lack of self-identity. In the truest sense of the word, humility is understanding that we cannot do anything without God — we would not even exist if it was not for Him. And obedience means to hear, to trust, and to surrender. In relation to God, it simply means that we surrender to God and His will. By surrendering, we offer ourselves to Him, give Him access and dominion over all parts of us — the good, the bad, the brokenness, the joys. In giving God dominion over us, it means we trust Him completely without reservation. In doing so, we are not alone during difficult or challenging times — God is with us through it all and we can rest in that knowledge.
If we understand this, we see the wisdom of our beloved Mother Mary; how she wants to share this joy with us by inviting us to humility and obedience.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to heed the call of Mother Mary, Your beloved Mother and ours; to listen to her calling us to surrender to You, to be obedient and offer all that we are, all that we have to You.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us a light to the world in Mother Mary, who leads by example and leads us by the hand to Your Beloved Son.
OXYGEN 
Leave a Reply