You will all agree with me that out of all the WORDS known to humans, there is nothing more powerful than the WORD OF GOD. Even Philosophy with its unending questions can never be compared to the Word of God. Some scripture commentators even suggest that if one takes all the prominent speakers from all ages and compare what they have said to what God has said, one will discover that their words are just as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.

Today’s gospel sees Jesus begin his mission. Now, for the first time, Jesus can go public, and we begin to discover the power of God at the wedding feast at Cana. AT this wedding, Mary, the mother of Jesus was invited, as well as Jesus himself and his disciples. As the wedding feast went on, the wine ran out. Mary went out of her way to intercede with Jesus and Jesus performed what John tells us was His very first miracle.

Today we reflect on Jesus' baptism. For some time now we have been talking and celebrating Jesus as an infant. Today we begin celebrating Him as an adult. This we begin with His first public appearance as an adult, his baptism by John the Baptist in the river Jordan.

Epiphany means manifestation. We celebrate therefore the manifestation of our Lord Jesus to the whole world. After being made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem, he is revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore him. In fact, the Christian tradition sees the Magi as the first fruits of the Gentiles; to whom Christ the Savior of the world was revealed to and that makes today our Christmas.

For some few weeks now you must have seen many depictions of the Holy Family. Perhaps you saw Jesus, Mary and Joseph on Christmas cards, or perhaps in Crib scenes, or perhaps you were as lucky enough as l was to see them in action at a Nativity play here in Lake Havasu. Each depiction whilst telling the same essential story, conveys something slightly different, putting the accent on a different aspect of a story at times dangerously familiar. There’s variety, too, in the many beautiful paintings of the Holy Family, depicting in almost every conceivable geographic, climatic, racial, economic, and cultural setting. It is almost as if the Holy Family carry a kind of ‘everyman’ quality, as it were; standing outside of time.

The gospel account is about two pregnant women: Elizabeth and Mary. These were remarkable women. Remarkable in the sense that under ordinary circumstances they would not have been pregnant. One was a virgin; the other was beyond, way beyond childbearing. These two great women understood the miracle of conception and birth. To add to the unexplainable mystery, they both bore within their wombs mysterious babies. One bore the Christ, God's only begotten Son; the other bore John the Baptist. Both of them were full of joy for themselves and for each other despite their age differences. Indeed God was at work within them!

In the church’s Latin days, the third Sunday of Advent is always called "Gaudete Sunday”, and its message is comfort and joy (gaudete means rejoice). We are urged not to worry, for the Lord is near. Yes, don't worry be happy! With St. Paul, “There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving”. We need not wait until after God has granted our requests before saying thanks. Even as we ask, we should already be grateful.

Advent is a hopeful season. Hope is such an important Christian virtue, something deeper than simple optimism of temperament. We can feel cheerfully optimistic about all kinds of things, but, strictly speaking, the true object of hope is union with God. We are hopeful because we believe in a God who can bring life out of death, light out of darkness. It is above all in dark times that we need hope. And we pray for hope and help for those going through dark days at the present time, for people insecure in their jobs or their health or their home life, and even more for those who have been displaced as refugees.

Today we begin a new liturgical year. Jesus said to us 27 times in the Gospel, “Follow me!” and each liturgical year we do just that, tracing his footsteps along the route of salvation history, trying to become more and more like him whom we’re following. The New Liturgical year also begins with ADVENT, a special time of waiting and hoping, of renewing our trust in God’s merciful love and care, and of reflecting on the several comings (advents), of Christ into our lives. Besides his first coming at his birth, we are asked to reflect on Christ’s coming as the risen Lord at Easter, in the Sacraments (especially the Eucharist), in our everyday lives, at the moment of death, and at the end of human history (the second coming).

The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive strength and divinity, wisdom and power and honour: to him be glory and power forever and ever! Indeed Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, “Who was, who is and who is to come”. We began the liturgical year with Him and today we solemnly end it with this special Feast of Him as the Universal King of kings and Lord of lords, and next Sunday we begin a new one with the first Sunday of Advent.

As we already know, the return of Jesus Christ is to be the most phenomenal event in all human history. It will be the most amazing and spectacular event ever to be witnessed by the eyes of man. Its importance cannot be overstressed, for when Christ returns, both the blessings and the judgment of God will fall upon the earth. Genuine believers will be blessed and unbelievers will suffer the wrath of God. This is our faith and hope!

"In God We Trust", as we know is the official motto of the United States of America. It was adopted as the nation's motto in 1956 as a replacement or alternative to the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum pluribus, which was adopted when the Great Seal of the United States was created and adopted in 1782. History records that it was Reverend Mark R. Watkinson of 'Ridleyville', Pennsylvania, (pastor of Prospect Hill Baptist Church in present-day Prospect Park, Pennsylvania) in a letter dated November 13, 1861, that first petitioned the Treasury Department to add a statement recognizing "Almighty God in some form on our coins" in order to "relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism".

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, the opening word, “Shema”, means “listen”; it also has the sense of “obey”. It's a Jewish prayer, the SHEMA. This prayer is a daily reminder not only of the covenant obligations but also of the privilege from which those obligations flow. As people of God, it's a call each day to listen and obey.

The Pontifical Biblical Commission in its 1993 document, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, picked up this motif, describing the local Christian community as one “which knows that it is addressed by God (cf. John 6:45), a community that listens eagerly to the Word with faith, love and docility".