The Mother of Jesus was there.

Homily for April 30, 2018.

“When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” John 2:3-5.

As the month of April comes to an end today, we celebrate a Feast that perfectly sets us in the mood for devotion to Mary given that the month of May is Mary’s Month. Today, we celebrate the feast of Mary Our Lady; Mother of Africa.

Our Gospel passage today captures that familiar scene of the Wedding Feast at Cana which basically forms the basis of our devotion to Mary. The role Mary played in actualizing the success of that wedding when they ran out of wine even when Jesus did not intend to work a miracle was truly inspirational.

First, she understood the problem at hand. Mothers have a way of sensing problems even before they become pronounced. They have a way of checking out the tiny little details, they know how to think ahead and make plans where and when necessary. This we see play out excellently in Mary.

Secondly, Mary gave a very important instruction to the servants at the wedding which was perfectly instrumental to the working of the miracle. Her instruction may well be considered as her Gospel. It is an instruction that remains valid for us today: “Do whatever He tells you.” All we need to be successful in life is to trust God enough and just obey his words and what we want will be granted to us.

Thirdly, after the miracle, we do not hear anything from Mary again. She seemed to just disappear into the background. No one gave a vote of thanks to her or mentioned her name as the one who moved Jesus to perform the miracle. Life just went on in the party as usual. This tells us a lot about Mary’s personality; her humility and poverty of spirit. She always considered herself as God’s handmaid, she was never haughty or rude.

When we pray the rosary, miracles do happen but who gets the credit? God. Mary is always comfortable with her background role. She intercedes, she makes things happen and we do not worship her. She does not need our respect even, because, God has already given her the greatest honour any created being can get by making her his mother. There is nothing that we can do to take away or reduce this honour.

We are not told whether Mary was related to the couple but I guess, if that was so, John the beloved who wrote this Gospel would have pointed it out. We believe that for Mary to have cared enough for this couple to ensure Jesus works this miracle, she would also care for us to ensure Jesus answers our prayers.

Our first reading points out the fact that Mary the mother of Jesus was present among the company of the disciples in the upper room where they devoted themselves to prayer. Mary was with them on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church. She was there at the beginning and she remains with us today.

Today we celebrate the fact that Mary intercedes for the whole of Africa as a mother. We know that Mary has some affinity with Africa because this continent acted as a shelter and a safe haven when the life of Jesus was under threat from Herod. There have been so many recorded apparitions in Africa to again prove the point that this continent remains dear to Mary’s heart; one of which took place at Aokpe here in Nigeria.

At a time like ours when our continent is faced with turmoil of various sorts and proportions, when our leaders generally are negative examples of bad leadership, at a time when our continent is beset with the worst economic conditions in the world despite our rich natural and human resources, we need our Mother Mary’s intercession more than ever. We have run out of wine in Africa; people are dying; Christians are being persecuted; there is fear and insecurity, we need to return to our rosaries, we need Mary’s intercession.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may your mother pray for us. Amen.

Happy Month End. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of Our Lady, Mother of Africa. Bible Study: Acts 1:12-14 and John 2:1-11).