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I heard a joke recently – based on a true story! – about a zoo that was planning for its grand opening. Pre-sale tickets were skyrocketing as the zoo was promoting its most famous resident, a gorilla who could paint.

Three days before the zoo opened, the gorilla croaked. 

Scrambling for ideas, the general manager decided to hire a teenager to put on a gorilla suit and sit in the gorilla’s pen.

Hours after the grand opening, the boy started becoming hot and bored inside his gorilla suit, so he stood up and started walking around his pen.

Instantly, the crowds were delighted to see this supposedly famous gorilla on the move. Maybe he would paint!

Inspired by their reaction, they boy decided to put on a show for them. Running across his pen, he lunged for a low-lying branch, missed completely, and landed in the lion’s den next door.

Frozen with fear, he remained crouched in the corner as the lion slowly walked over to him, sniffed his fur, and started breathing down his neck.

With a burst of adrenaline, the boy started banging his chest, crying out, “Help! Help! I’m not a gorilla! I’m a man! … I’m not a gorilla! I’m a man!”

Then the lion whispered in his ear, “Stop screaming or we’ll both lose our jobs!”

***

Until that moment, the lion and the gorilla had everyone fooled, because there was more to their appearance than met the eye.

***

In a similar way, there’s more to Jesus than meets the eye. 

He’s no ordinary human being; he’s God in the flesh.

But for the last 30 years, he’s lived quietly as a humble carpenter in the tight-knit town of Nazareth. 

Only now is Jesus beginning to reveal his full identity.

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Last week, for example, we heard about the start of his public ministry. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana, causing people to see that he has some extraordinary power – they just don’t know why.

Today he tells us. 

Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus says:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to the let the oppressed go free.”

For the final three years of his life, some one thousand days, Jesus will perform miracle after miracle – healing the sick, casting out demons, and forgiving those in need of mercy.

Jesus will help people to overcome their burdens and move forward with their lives.

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Like Jesus, we’re all called to lift the burdens of others.

Just this week, for example, I was teaching up the hill at our parish school. And I asked students in first grade, “How has another student helped you?”

“He picked up my pencil,” one student said. “She helps me spell long words,” another said. “She makes me feel better when I’m sad,” another replied.

Even in first grade, our children have their share of burdens – a dropped pencil, trouble with spelling, a bad morning at home – but they know they can look to a friend for a helping hand.

They, too, can find someone to lift their burden, just as Jesus did.

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What burden do I need lifted?

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And how might we help lift the burdens of those around us?

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Just as Jesus was “anointed” with the Holy Spirit, so we’ve been anointed with that same Spirit in baptism.

It’s our mission as Christians, then, to follow in the footsteps of Christ and bring hope to the poor, healing to the sick, and love to all we meet.

We are more than we appear.

We are the hands and feet of Christ, which means we’re called to lift the burdens of those around us — even if that means picking up a pencil or spelling a long word.

Let’s be Jesus for one another.

***

Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born…and the day you know why.”

***

Though Jesus already knows why he was born, today he begins sharing that reason with others.

Imagine being at that wedding, watching Jesus turn six stone jars, about 150 gallons, full of water into wine. That must have made him quite popular!

I can only imagine how many future brides and grooms were adding him to their guest list.

While this new – and superior – stock of wine won the crowds that night, this was a much bigger deal for Jesus. 

The cat is out of the bag, so to speak. 

From this day forward, he will no longer be known as just a young man from Nazareth; he’ll be talked about as a miracle worker and, eventually, the Son of God.

As it says in the Gospel, “the disciples began to believe in him.”

But there’s a really long road ahead for Jesus. 

Over the next three years, the final one-thousand days of his life, Jesus will reveal to the world why he was born – to bring joy, hope, and, above all, eternal life to anyone who believes.

The wedding at Cana is just the beginning. 

Stay tuned.

***

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born…and the day you know why.”  

Like Jesus, there is a reason why we were born. God has a purpose for our lives, which we often discover gradually, over years of prayer and experience.

Perhaps the best way to find that purpose is to follow our hearts, trusting that the Lord uses our talents, our dreams, and our desires to lead us forward.

For many of us, that purpose is found in the context of marriage and family.

My mother, for example, often told me that her deepest desire in life was to be a mom. Perhaps many of you feel the same – you’re deepest desire is to be a mom, a dad, a spouse.

Others may be pulled towards priesthood, religious life, or another form of service.

Regardless, there is a purpose for our lives, a reason for each day.

Have we discovered our divine purpose? Or are we still searching?

And if we have, how faithful are we to that call?

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Just as God has a purpose for our lives so he has one for our spouse, our children, our grandchildren, and our friends.

The Gospel invites us to support them in their discernment, too. 

Just look at Mary.

She is the only other person on earth who knows why Jesus is here. Before he performs that miracle at Cana, she already has faith in him as the Son of God.

“They have no wine,” she says. Mary urges Jesus to reveal his power, to perform a miracle and begin his ministry.

***

But keep in mind, once he does this, Mary’s world will be turned upside down. Jesus will no longer be found at safely home with her, laughing at the dinner table or doing the dishes afterwards. 

Rather, he’ll be journeying throughout the region healing the sick, casting out demons, and challenging the religious authorities of his day by speaking of mercy and forgiveness.

Mary knows this journey will be dangerous, but she knows it’s the reason why Jesus was born. In fact, so much of her own purpose is caught up in him.

So with these four simple words – they have no wine – Mary gives Jesus her blessing.

As difficult as it may be, she’s ready to let go and share her son with the world.

***

How supportive are we of others, in particular of our children? Do we try to create their futures for them?

Or, like Mary and Jesus, do we allow them the freedom to follow their hearts and discover their mission from God?

Mary reminds us today that supporting our children may not always be easy. But they’ll only be happy if they follow their heart.

***

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born…and the day you know why.”

May Jesus, who followed his heart throughout his life – always with the love and support of his mother – lead us forward on our journeys. Amen. 

When I was a student in college, I’d occasionally have “take home” – or written – exams. 

As soon as the professor shared the questions for the exam, I’d rush to the library to be the first to check out all of the necessary books.

Sometimes it felt like I was carrying ten – even a dozen – books in my arms and book bag as I hurried back to my room.

But the weight of those books didn’t bother me at all; it was minimal compared to the reward they offered. Without them, I simply couldn’t complete my exams.

***

In a similar way, God has given us 10 commandments, or rules, on how to live our lives. 

But Jesus takes these commandments and compresses them into a single word: LOVE.

Love your God…love your neighbor…. even, love yourself.

As Saint John says in our first reading, “In this way, we know that we are children of God, when…we obey his commandments.”

Like a carrying a set of books home to take an exam, the reward for spending our lives loving our God and our neighbor as our self is always greater than the effort it takes.