"Do whatever He tells you" - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary time Homily by Deacon Ted

Do whatever he tells you.

When I read that, I had a flashback.

to my freshman year of high school wood shop class.

Now I worked with my dad over the years and we built things and we cut wood and we hammered and we nailed and I thought that was what wood shop would be.

But the teacher who was teaching woodshop was more of a furniture maker.

He was more of a very precise and detailed kind of guy.

So I walk into class and I look around the room and there's on display around the shop beautiful works of woodwork.

Things that are joined together, chess boards, plaques, trays with fancy carvings.

And I cool, that must be what the teacher made.

And he says no, that's what the students are making and here is your first project.

And it's a very intricate plaque that has like 15 pieces of wood in it of different grain and different colors.

And it's carved out and it's routed and the whole thing is smooth and shines in light.

Well.

The closest I've ever gotten to something like that was putting a shim under something I just built so it wouldn't be wobbly.

And it just so happened I got called a couple weeks later down to my consular's office where I had a reserved chair in his office.

He says, how's class is going?

And so I informed him that Woodshop was going to be a challenge and I need to change classes.

And he says, why?

I said, because the guy's detail oriented.

I'm not detail oriented.

He really wants me to do it right.

And I can't do that, so I need to change.

And he said, get this, ready?

Do whatever he tells you.

And so, okay, I go back to class and I'm listening and the teacher's talking and he's a very personable guy and I'm having a problem and he comes over and he says, may I show you

how to do this?

And he shows me, and suddenly the mystery disappeared.

And I was able to start putting things together.

And yeah, it was hard, but I was getting somewhere.

And I'd even stayed after class just to work on it a little bit more.

And in the end, with his help, I made this beautiful plaque which I still have today.

It's my pride and joy.

Fast steps behind to Galway to Cana.

And they're at this wedding and Mary the mother of Jesus just finds out that they're running out of wine and that would be a catastrophe for the wedding.

And so she says, Jesus, they ran out of wine.

Jesus being the good son says, woman, it's not my problem.

My time, my hour has not yet come.

Now...

Imagine Mary and what she's thinking at that time.

Here's Mary saying, God just told me that this is something that you need to do.

You have 12 disciples here.

How you got them in the door, I don't know.

But you brought 12 friends, not a plus one, to a wedding.

And they're going to be with you for rest of your life.

And you're going to teach them, and you're going to demonstrate to them how to live the words that you tell them.

And they're going to do that with you.

And then, based upon what you did and said, they're going to carry your message to the ends of the earth.

And Mary knows this.

And Mary looks at Jesus and she could have called him outside to tell him that but she didn't have time and she didn't know what else to say.

So she says, do whatever he tells you.

The result.

Jesus turns water into wine.

Not just any wine, but really fine wine.

And oh by the way, six stone jugs, 20 to 30 gallons, I calculated that out, it's like 3,000 glasses.

I wish I was at that wedding

What Jesus touches, what Jesus does, what Jesus says comes out in abundance and greatness.

And so I ask you to do whatever he tells you.

What does he tell you?

Just one thing called the Beatitudes highlights some of the messaging that he gives.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

They will be called the children of God.

And blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Not only did Jesus say these words, not only did tell us, you and I, these things, but then in his life he demonstrated how to live them in kindness, in mercy, in sorrow,

empathizing with the poor, those who are mourning.

And eventually, he becomes persecuted for his sake of righteousness.

and the Kingdom of Heaven is here.

So, today's message, simple.

Do whatever he tells you.

My shop teacher, I did what he told me, what he showed me, and I can't believe the result that came out.

I could have never expected it.

Jesus and the bridegroom, he could have never expected that not only the wine didn't run out, but it was the finest wine that anybody had ever seen.

You and I, can you imagine what awaits us if we do whatever he tells us and follow his example?

Only something spectacular could be the result.