The Second Sunday after the Epiphany - 20 January 2013
Isaiah
62:1-5
Psalm
36:5-10
I
Corinthians 12:1-11
Saint
John 2:1-11
Background: Ordinary Time
Following the Baptism of
Our Lord (the Sunday following the Epiphany of Our Lord – 6 January) the Church
enters one of two periods of Ordinary Time or the Tempus per annum, “time through the year”. Thus this period follows the first of
the great Cycles – the Christmas Cycle, and the other follows the Easter Cycle
(after Pentecost). Since the
Easter Cycle depends on the date of Easter, which is determined by the Lunar
Calendar, the first period of Ordinary Time may end from the fourth week up
until the ninth week following the Christmas Cycle. Thus the Second Sunday after Pentecost begins with Proper 4,
the previous propers having been used in either a lengthy or smaller period of
Sundays following the Epiphany of Our Lord. The Eastern Church also has periods of Ordinary Time,
although not called such. These
periods mark the end of Christmastide (which is followed by Pre-Great Lent) and
of Eastertide and the Apostles’ Fast.
Isaiah 62:1-5
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
It is not clear here who is singing this
song. Perhaps it is God who kept
silence in the face of Israel’s complaint immediately following the first
return. Isaiah 42:14 states it clearly,
“For a long time I have kept silent, I have said nothing,
holding myself back; now I cry out like a woman in labor, gasping and panting.”
Perhaps it is God’s very
word at this time that is the vindication
that shines out like the dawn.
These references to light and torches may refer to the Feast of
Tabernacles. Here the prophet
moves beyond the notion of Jerusalem as the seat of the Davidid kings to a
vision of Jerusalem as the Seat of God.
Even more so is God envisioned as the spouse of the city. Thus the names “Forsaken” and
“Desolate” are replaced by “My-Delight-is-in-Her” and “Married.” The scene is of an adulterous spouse
being restored to a position of splendor and honor in the household.
Breaking
open Isaiah:
1.
How are
Isaiah’s references to marriage disturbing and challenging?
2.
What are your
feelings about a God who is so intimately related to you?
3.
Why would God
keep silence?
Psalm 36:5-10 Dixit injustus
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, *
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep; *
you save both man and beast, O LORD.
How priceless is your love, O God! *
your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
They feast upon the abundance of your house; *
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the well of life, *
and in your light we see light.
Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *
and your favor to those who are true of heart.
The psalm is a spot-on commentary to the ideas of
the first reading. The initial
verses (1-4) comment on the mischievous heart as the personification of Crime
makes a speech to the wicked. With
verse five we hear God’s response to the unfaithfulness and wickedness
introduced by “Crime”. Here the poet
asks us to witness God’s faithfulness, justice, and kindness. All those accused by “Crime” are
subjected to the “great abyss” of God’s judgment, and yet all are rescued. The joy that follows this great
forgiveness is sensual in its import.
“They feast”, “you give them drink”, and “how priceless is your love”
clue us into the reaction the people have to the Lord who forgives. In a stunning phrase that gives us
pause to look back to creation, the psalmist proclaims, “For with you is the fountain of light, (Alter’s translation – BCP:
“the well of life”). In your light we shall see light.” In
God’s forgiveness and loving-kindness the poet sees a feast of grace.
Breaking
open Psalm 36
1.
How might
God’s justice and judgment be compared to a “great abyss” or a “great deep”?
2.
Has God’s
forgiveness of you ever surprised you?
How?
3.
Why does the
poet use the themes of feasting here?
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you
to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led
astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that
no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!"
and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are
varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To
each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is
given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance
of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit,
to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of
miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another
various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these
are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually
just as the Spirit chooses.
With this reading we begin a lectio continua in the First Letter to the Corinthians and an
exploration of spiritual gifts.
Paul and his readers do not live in a time bereft of prophets and
spiritual leaders. Thus he first
equips them with a test of the spirits, so that they might know to whom they
ought listen. Then in a classic
Pauline list he provides all the gifts that come from the Spirit who allows us
to proclaim, “Jesus is Lord.” Though the gifts are diverse they are driven from
a single source – the Spirit. They
are matched not only to the need of the Church (the community of believers) but
also to the individual “as the Spirit chooses.” There is a clue in this list as
to the utility of these gifts.
Paul announces that these gifts are given for “the common good.” They are to be manifest in the reality
of the common life in Christ.
Breaking
open I Corinthians:
1.
What
spiritual gifts do you possess?
2.
How do you
use them?
3.
What
spiritual gifts do you need?
St. John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother
of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the
wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They
have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to
you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants,
"Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water
jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty
gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they
filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take
it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the
water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the
servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and
said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior
wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until
now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and
revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Normally in this period of Ordinary Time there are
enough Sundays to explore the manifestation of Jesus as the Christ. The readings from the Gospels open up
who and what Jesus is. On this
Sunday we hear the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana. Here we witness, along with the
disciples who have only heard John the Baptist’s claims about Jesus, the
reality of the “signs” that John wishes to translate for us. It begins on the “third day”, two days
following the call of Philip and Nathanael, and seven days from the beginning
of the ministry. It is a symbolic
day of creation, a new beginning and a new message for humankind. It begins fittingly in an obscure
village in Galilee. Here John
introduces us to Jesus mother, whom he calls by name – Mary. When Jesus calls her “Woman” we have a
clue as to John’s purpose. If this
is the new creation, then Mary is symbolically the new Eve. All is to change. What will come, the “new” wine, the
wonderful nature and taste of this new wine, and the feast itself serve as
symbols of the messianic banquet, and indeed to the relationship of God and
God’s people made manifest in the wedding itself (see comments on the first
reading). This will be the first
of many signs. We are tempted with
this sign to only understand its utility for the moment. John, however, is ready to lead us in a
progression of signs, which as a whole give us a vision far beyond the filled
cup of a wedding feast. Now it is
not John who is indicating who Jesus is, but rather life itself. The disciples observe and then believe.
Breaking
open the Gospel:
- Do you hear violence in John’s preaching?
- How is the experience with Jesus different?
- How often do you enter into things with prayer.
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday.
Almighty God, whose Son our
Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people,
illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's
glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and
reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2013
Michael T. Hiller
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