Prayer
O God of salvation, the people in whom you delight hasten with joy to the wedding feast. Forsaken no more, we bear a new name; desolate no longer, we taste your new wine. Make us your faithful stewards, ready to do whatever Jesus tells us and eager to share with others the wine he provides. We ask this through Christ, with whom you have raised us up in baptism, the Lord who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
From Prayers for Sunday and Seasons, Year C, Peter J. Scagnelli, LTP, 1992.
In like manner also is what the clouds pour forth changed into wine by the doing of the same Lord. But we do not wonder at the latter, because it happens every year: it has lost its marvellousness by its constant recurrence."
From Augustine's Tractates on John: Tractate VIII (2:1-4)
As we move into ordinary time, that time between the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, we have in the Gospel of John Jesus' first miracle at the wedding at Cana. We are going to see great things through the Gospel of John and we know that we will see and come to believe in even greater things after his resurrection. Remember, in John 1:50 – Jesus’ words to Nathanael: "You will see greater things than these." Yet seeing and believing are only part of the work of John's Gospel. John also hopes to draw us closer to Jesus, to love him, and to abide in him.
We begin our passage today with these words: "On the third day..." (v1) Theologically Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the image through whom all creation flows, and comes to be. Jesus is the incarnation of God and inaugurates in all the Gospels a new creation time. Here it is very possible that John is tying this theme to the creation story and its seven days. The "third day" is the third day after the first followers were called: Philip and Nathanael. So we have the evolving creation story renewing the world with the calling of new disciples and now a recreation miracle is about to take place. The world is being remade in Jesus' ministry.
The setting is of course a “wedding." (It was most likely a Wednesday. If you are curious- the Mishnah (Kethuboth 1) says that the wedding of a virgin is to occur on that day. R. Brown, The Gospel of John, 98). What is perhaps more interesting is that in the prophetic tradition of Jesus' own time, one of the images of the fulfillment of God's work, the coming of God's reign, and the recreation, was a wedding feast. ( Isaiah 54:4; 62:4-5, Matthew 22:2-14; 25:1ff; Mark 2:19). Heaven and earth are married in Jesus; just as man and God are married in Christ.
So it is that Jesus' first miracle is to take place at a wedding feast in Cana, just about 15 km outside of Nazareth, and Mom is in charge. It is possible that Mary's concern regarding the shortage of wine comes from the relationship with the families being married. Some might say that Mary is persistent, maybe to the point of frustration, because Jesus uses a word not customarily appropriate for a son to his mother. I believe this is a common misunderstanding and stems from the English translation. Interestingly, it is the same word he uses when addressing the Samaritan Woman and Mary Magdalene. Scholars remind us that this was actually a polite way for a man to address a woman at the time of Jesus and that it is attested to in other Greek literature of the day. So, as a preacher don't be lulled into a side argument on Jesus' frustration with his mother.
This very much changes the English reading of the text and allows us to see that it is not Mary's involvement in Jesus' ministry that is important but rather the revelation of Jesus' mission. His response in verse 4 is: “My hour has not yet come" or "Has my hour not yet come?” Both readings are okay, and help us to understand that the work of Jesus in and throughout John's Gospel is seen as the work of Glorifying God most of all. The revelation of who he is and what he is about is already charted in the heavens and will be revealed in the few short years to come. At the same time it is clear that in this small episode as upon the cross Jesus is focused on the nature of his ministry: all that he does is to glorify God. This helps me to understand that both in the seemingly trivial things of life and in the great episodes the Christian, walking the way of Jesus, has the opportunity to glorify God.
Mary of course is assuming that Jesus will do something to correct the situation (v. 5). See also 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1. So she says, "Do what he tells you."
There have been and will continue to be tons of paper expended on the ideas around the numbers given: six stone jars, and fifteen to twenty gallons. While the material they are made of (stone) may refer to Lev 11:29-38, the meaning of the numbers seems to miss the idea: a lot of water was turned into wine. A LOT OF WATER WAS TURNED INTO WINE; this is the point. Some scholars further want to de-mystify the event by changing the amount or offering the idea that only the water drawn out was turned into wine. Again, this misses the point that Jesus turns a huge amount of water into wine quite miraculously.
This lesson was Friday, January 15, 2010's morning prayer New Testament reading, and a number of people in the office were struck by who the first witness of the miracle is and who proclaims the meaning of the miracle: the steward. The steward is the first to draw the wine from the containers, the first to taste the bounty of God, the first to see and experience the miracle. In fact while those guests of the wedding party will enjoy the results - only the servants note that what has happened in miraculous.
In this God is glorified. The greater glory of resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit following the crucifixion are foretold and we see a theme that will serve as a road map through this gospel. Perhaps a foretaste even of the Eucharistic feast. God's work in Jesus Christ will be seen, experienced, testified to, and born witness to, by those who serve him and serve with him. The intimacy of relationship between the steward who is drawn towards the Christ in this miracle is a paradigm for those not unlike ourselves who experience the miracles of Jesus and are even now drawn to him.
This story of Jesus' first miracle is dense and filled with theological themes and ideas about Jesus and his ministry. As I reflect on the passage I am reminded of the theological work of Clement of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Cyprian. Each one of them sees in this miracle a tie between water and wine in this story and other symbols in the Johanine Gospel like water, light and food for God's providence in Jesus -- the gift of salvation.
Having said all of this, the themes that ultimately stand out for me are:
Some Thoughts on I Corinthians 12:1-11
"In the midst of divisions, especially denominationally in my own church (ELCA), how do we talk about Christian unity?"
Commentary, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Karoline Lewis, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
"Paul is suggesting that focus on spiritual gifts can amount to nothing more than being carried away and can achieve exactly the opposite of what Jesus stands for (in effect, cursing him, rather than acclaiming him)."
"First Thoughts on Passages on Year C Epistle Passages in the Lectionary,"Epiphany 2, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
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| Wedding at Cana, Paul Veronese, Louvre, Paris |
From Prayers for Sunday and Seasons, Year C, Peter J. Scagnelli, LTP, 1992.
Some Thoughts on John 2:1-11
In like manner also is what the clouds pour forth changed into wine by the doing of the same Lord. But we do not wonder at the latter, because it happens every year: it has lost its marvellousness by its constant recurrence."
From Augustine's Tractates on John: Tractate VIII (2:1-4)
"As John himself says in John 20:31, his goal in writing down this sign is not that we should be amazed, or even that we should believe in Jesus. Rather his goal is that we should bond with Jesus / abide in Jesus - and receive for ourselves the life that is in Jesus."
Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, John 2:1-11, David Ewart, 2013.
"It is more than poignant that the mother of Jesus brackets his life, surrounds Jesus’ earthly ministry. She is at the beginning of his career and watches him die. She is the nurturing force when he is the Word made flesh, a shared parenthood with God, the father.
Commentary, John 2:1-11, Karoline Lewis, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2013.
"And so it was also, we hope, with the bride and groom at Cana and with every bride and groom-that the love they bear one another and the joy they take in one another may help them grow in love for this whole troubled world where their final joy lies, and that the children we pray for them may open them to the knowledge that all men are their children even as we are their children and as they also are ours."
"The Wedding at Cana,""Marriage," Frederick Buechner, Buechner Blog.
Oremus Online NRSV Gospel Text"It is more than poignant that the mother of Jesus brackets his life, surrounds Jesus’ earthly ministry. She is at the beginning of his career and watches him die. She is the nurturing force when he is the Word made flesh, a shared parenthood with God, the father.
Commentary, John 2:1-11, Karoline Lewis, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2013.
"And so it was also, we hope, with the bride and groom at Cana and with every bride and groom-that the love they bear one another and the joy they take in one another may help them grow in love for this whole troubled world where their final joy lies, and that the children we pray for them may open them to the knowledge that all men are their children even as we are their children and as they also are ours."
"The Wedding at Cana,""Marriage," Frederick Buechner, Buechner Blog.
As we move into ordinary time, that time between the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, we have in the Gospel of John Jesus' first miracle at the wedding at Cana. We are going to see great things through the Gospel of John and we know that we will see and come to believe in even greater things after his resurrection. Remember, in John 1:50 – Jesus’ words to Nathanael: "You will see greater things than these." Yet seeing and believing are only part of the work of John's Gospel. John also hopes to draw us closer to Jesus, to love him, and to abide in him.
We begin our passage today with these words: "On the third day..." (v1) Theologically Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the image through whom all creation flows, and comes to be. Jesus is the incarnation of God and inaugurates in all the Gospels a new creation time. Here it is very possible that John is tying this theme to the creation story and its seven days. The "third day" is the third day after the first followers were called: Philip and Nathanael. So we have the evolving creation story renewing the world with the calling of new disciples and now a recreation miracle is about to take place. The world is being remade in Jesus' ministry.
The setting is of course a “wedding." (It was most likely a Wednesday. If you are curious- the Mishnah (Kethuboth 1) says that the wedding of a virgin is to occur on that day. R. Brown, The Gospel of John, 98). What is perhaps more interesting is that in the prophetic tradition of Jesus' own time, one of the images of the fulfillment of God's work, the coming of God's reign, and the recreation, was a wedding feast. ( Isaiah 54:4; 62:4-5, Matthew 22:2-14; 25:1ff; Mark 2:19). Heaven and earth are married in Jesus; just as man and God are married in Christ.
So it is that Jesus' first miracle is to take place at a wedding feast in Cana, just about 15 km outside of Nazareth, and Mom is in charge. It is possible that Mary's concern regarding the shortage of wine comes from the relationship with the families being married. Some might say that Mary is persistent, maybe to the point of frustration, because Jesus uses a word not customarily appropriate for a son to his mother. I believe this is a common misunderstanding and stems from the English translation. Interestingly, it is the same word he uses when addressing the Samaritan Woman and Mary Magdalene. Scholars remind us that this was actually a polite way for a man to address a woman at the time of Jesus and that it is attested to in other Greek literature of the day. So, as a preacher don't be lulled into a side argument on Jesus' frustration with his mother.
This very much changes the English reading of the text and allows us to see that it is not Mary's involvement in Jesus' ministry that is important but rather the revelation of Jesus' mission. His response in verse 4 is: “My hour has not yet come" or "Has my hour not yet come?” Both readings are okay, and help us to understand that the work of Jesus in and throughout John's Gospel is seen as the work of Glorifying God most of all. The revelation of who he is and what he is about is already charted in the heavens and will be revealed in the few short years to come. At the same time it is clear that in this small episode as upon the cross Jesus is focused on the nature of his ministry: all that he does is to glorify God. This helps me to understand that both in the seemingly trivial things of life and in the great episodes the Christian, walking the way of Jesus, has the opportunity to glorify God.
Mary of course is assuming that Jesus will do something to correct the situation (v. 5). See also 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1. So she says, "Do what he tells you."
There have been and will continue to be tons of paper expended on the ideas around the numbers given: six stone jars, and fifteen to twenty gallons. While the material they are made of (stone) may refer to Lev 11:29-38, the meaning of the numbers seems to miss the idea: a lot of water was turned into wine. A LOT OF WATER WAS TURNED INTO WINE; this is the point. Some scholars further want to de-mystify the event by changing the amount or offering the idea that only the water drawn out was turned into wine. Again, this misses the point that Jesus turns a huge amount of water into wine quite miraculously.
This lesson was Friday, January 15, 2010's morning prayer New Testament reading, and a number of people in the office were struck by who the first witness of the miracle is and who proclaims the meaning of the miracle: the steward. The steward is the first to draw the wine from the containers, the first to taste the bounty of God, the first to see and experience the miracle. In fact while those guests of the wedding party will enjoy the results - only the servants note that what has happened in miraculous.
In this God is glorified. The greater glory of resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit following the crucifixion are foretold and we see a theme that will serve as a road map through this gospel. Perhaps a foretaste even of the Eucharistic feast. God's work in Jesus Christ will be seen, experienced, testified to, and born witness to, by those who serve him and serve with him. The intimacy of relationship between the steward who is drawn towards the Christ in this miracle is a paradigm for those not unlike ourselves who experience the miracles of Jesus and are even now drawn to him.
This story of Jesus' first miracle is dense and filled with theological themes and ideas about Jesus and his ministry. As I reflect on the passage I am reminded of the theological work of Clement of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Cyprian. Each one of them sees in this miracle a tie between water and wine in this story and other symbols in the Johanine Gospel like water, light and food for God's providence in Jesus -- the gift of salvation.
Having said all of this, the themes that ultimately stand out for me are:
1. The charge as followers of Jesus to glorify God in the least and greatest of occasions along life's journey.
2. To embrace the call of others, the invitation to minister on behalf of Christ. To be stewards of the good wine.
3. The expectation of the miraculous. To see God's hand at work in the world around us.
4. To be witnesses, like the steward who tastes and sees, and proclaims the goodness and bounty and providence of God.
Some Thoughts on I Corinthians 12:1-11
"In the midst of divisions, especially denominationally in my own church (ELCA), how do we talk about Christian unity?"
Commentary, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Karoline Lewis, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
"Paul is suggesting that focus on spiritual gifts can amount to nothing more than being carried away and can achieve exactly the opposite of what Jesus stands for (in effect, cursing him, rather than acclaiming him)."
"First Thoughts on Passages on Year C Epistle Passages in the Lectionary,"Epiphany 2, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
"This text provides a powerful opportunity to share the profound impact racism has had on the idea of diversity amidst unity, labeling it as something deviant or unachievable. Such thinking has undermined America?s ability to become the global salad bowl (not melting pot) it alleges to be."
Commentary, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Janet Floyd, Esq., The African American Lectionary, 2010.
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A number of scholars believe that this portion of Corinthians is in answer to a question about the spiritual gifts. It is perhaps a response to a group of people who believe they are special because they have been given specific gifts.
Paul says the Spirit gives many gifts. And, not everyone gets the same gifts. People get many different and various kinds of gifts. They all are to be at work in the kingdom of God doing a variety of services. Together these gifts make up the one body of Christ and act on his mission in the world. They are not something to be boasted in personally.
Somehow, though we have gotten into the place of believing perhaps we need the gifts our neighbor has. Perhaps we covet other's spiritual gifts. Perhaps we are rarely satisfied with the ones given to us. That is certainly our scenario. As Brené Brown says, "We steal worth from others."
Another part of the reality in which we live is that people feel they are not given gifts. Perhaps we feel left out of the gift giving Spirit's work. I believe people in our culture today more often feel worthless and powerless.
Let's face it: there are probably some communities that need to hear Paul's message directly - "don't brag about your gifts." However, in today's western culture I think most communities need to hear that God has gifted them for the purpose of kingdom building.
Paul reminds us, as he does elsewhere, God's grace is sufficient. His gifts are sufficient and they are particular and unique to us as individuals. We are sufficient with God's gifts and grace to do his work in the world.
So, perhaps today's lesson gives us the opportunity to "boast" in the gifts of others used for God's kingdom work; and to seek to better understand our own so that we might put them to good use for the sake of the Gospel proclamation - whether it be in word or deed.
Some Thoughts on Isaiah 62:1-5
So where are we in the story of Isaiah? It turns out that Persia has now overcome Babylon. In doing so they are allowing some of the people of Israel to return to the land around Jerusalem. This is not all the people and it is not all of Jerusalem. The people arrive and are confronted (we know from other texts) with the remnant left behind and a land depleted of resources. The people are probably more than a little disheartened because things have not turned out the way that they thought.
Now, this passage is attached to this lectionary because of its connection with the theme and metaphor of marriage. This is an interesting choice because the parallel is there. Certainly, John understood Jesus in the great paradigmatic revelation of bridegroom. This is an eschatological tradition linked to Isaiah chapter 25:6-8; chapters 40-55, the passage we have today. It is also present in the imagery of Hosea and Jeremiah chapters 2-4. Explicitly though the messianic and eschatological connection to Jesus as a bridegroom is believed to be rooted in his own teaching, storytelling, and the narrative of the Gospel authors.
However, of note is something quite different expressed by Richard Hays in his book Echos of the Scripture in the Gospels. Here we see a deeper connection with Matthew's Gospel. Matthew is picking up on the message of salvation for the people of Israel. God as savior in Zechariah 9:9 and in Isaiah 62 is the theme here linked to our passage. See Matthew 21:5...Jesus comes to the daughter of Zion in his triumphal entry. Hays suggests the revelation here is of Jesus as Israel's savior. A savior that comes not for violent victory (note that Matthew strikes the image from Zechariah and leaves out any suggestion of a man taking a woman which is implied in our passage). Matthew instead suggests that the groom undoes the stereotypical persona of might and instead comes humble and gentle. (See Hays, Echoes, 152-153. This archetype is new...a different bridegroom...a different taking of Israel. In this case the taking of Israel is one of service.
As Rowan Williams suggests this is a "reorganization of religious language." (Ibid, 187.)
Commentary, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Janet Floyd, Esq., The African American Lectionary, 2010.
Paul says the Spirit gives many gifts. And, not everyone gets the same gifts. People get many different and various kinds of gifts. They all are to be at work in the kingdom of God doing a variety of services. Together these gifts make up the one body of Christ and act on his mission in the world. They are not something to be boasted in personally.
Somehow, though we have gotten into the place of believing perhaps we need the gifts our neighbor has. Perhaps we covet other's spiritual gifts. Perhaps we are rarely satisfied with the ones given to us. That is certainly our scenario. As Brené Brown says, "We steal worth from others."
Another part of the reality in which we live is that people feel they are not given gifts. Perhaps we feel left out of the gift giving Spirit's work. I believe people in our culture today more often feel worthless and powerless.
Let's face it: there are probably some communities that need to hear Paul's message directly - "don't brag about your gifts." However, in today's western culture I think most communities need to hear that God has gifted them for the purpose of kingdom building.
Paul reminds us, as he does elsewhere, God's grace is sufficient. His gifts are sufficient and they are particular and unique to us as individuals. We are sufficient with God's gifts and grace to do his work in the world.
So, perhaps today's lesson gives us the opportunity to "boast" in the gifts of others used for God's kingdom work; and to seek to better understand our own so that we might put them to good use for the sake of the Gospel proclamation - whether it be in word or deed.
Some Thoughts on Isaiah 62:1-5
"I think this text, along with many other prophetic texts of the Hebrew Bible, announce a central truth about what it means to be a believer in any age of history; we Christians (and Jews and Muslims) cannot finally be cynical about the world given to us by God. To be a Christian and to be a cynic is nothing less than an oxymoron."
"New Names for Us," John C. Holbert, Opening the Old Testament, 2013.
"The metaphor of marriage between Yahweh and his people is one of the central images used in Scripture to portray God's redemptive, atoning purpose in relating to humanity."
"The Politics of Marrying God," Timothy F. Simpson, Political Theology, 2013.
"For once the lectionary for the day lists four texts, all of which have something in common. All 4 are visionary texts, loaded with symbols for fragile souls, freighted with more meaning than meets the eye. Each of the 4 pictures makes its own emphasis: here our vision of God, there God's view of us, here the Church's vision of Jesus glorified, there our vision of "the common good." In every case it's theological imagination at work as if our very lives depend on it."
Environmental & earth-centered reflections, Rev. John Gibbs, from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental Stewardship Commission.
"New Names for Us," John C. Holbert, Opening the Old Testament, 2013.
"The metaphor of marriage between Yahweh and his people is one of the central images used in Scripture to portray God's redemptive, atoning purpose in relating to humanity."
"The Politics of Marrying God," Timothy F. Simpson, Political Theology, 2013.
"For once the lectionary for the day lists four texts, all of which have something in common. All 4 are visionary texts, loaded with symbols for fragile souls, freighted with more meaning than meets the eye. Each of the 4 pictures makes its own emphasis: here our vision of God, there God's view of us, here the Church's vision of Jesus glorified, there our vision of "the common good." In every case it's theological imagination at work as if our very lives depend on it."
Environmental & earth-centered reflections, Rev. John Gibbs, from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental Stewardship Commission.
So where are we in the story of Isaiah? It turns out that Persia has now overcome Babylon. In doing so they are allowing some of the people of Israel to return to the land around Jerusalem. This is not all the people and it is not all of Jerusalem. The people arrive and are confronted (we know from other texts) with the remnant left behind and a land depleted of resources. The people are probably more than a little disheartened because things have not turned out the way that they thought.
Here steps in the prophet to remind them that in this new world, context, and time the new Jerusalem is going to be a lot different than the old one! It will be be built up in stone and relationship by people outside the Jewish family - foreigners. And, yet, the people will find a new and renewed faith. They will in the end not keep silent but rejoice because the prophet and the people of Israel are people of the land.
They are married to it. They are one together. No matter what history comes, no matter who becomes part of the family, no matter what comes in the great sweep of conquering armies...the people are the people of Israel, the people of a land.
The image of marriage here is important for us to parse out. The prophet speaks of how a young man marries a young woman. God as the builder of people and creator of land is the bridegroom. And the people of Israel are to be married to the groom. The people of Israel are the bride. In the same way as a groom rejoices over a bride so too God rejoices over the people.
Now, this passage is attached to this lectionary because of its connection with the theme and metaphor of marriage. This is an interesting choice because the parallel is there. Certainly, John understood Jesus in the great paradigmatic revelation of bridegroom. This is an eschatological tradition linked to Isaiah chapter 25:6-8; chapters 40-55, the passage we have today. It is also present in the imagery of Hosea and Jeremiah chapters 2-4. Explicitly though the messianic and eschatological connection to Jesus as a bridegroom is believed to be rooted in his own teaching, storytelling, and the narrative of the Gospel authors.
However, of note is something quite different expressed by Richard Hays in his book Echos of the Scripture in the Gospels. Here we see a deeper connection with Matthew's Gospel. Matthew is picking up on the message of salvation for the people of Israel. God as savior in Zechariah 9:9 and in Isaiah 62 is the theme here linked to our passage. See Matthew 21:5...Jesus comes to the daughter of Zion in his triumphal entry. Hays suggests the revelation here is of Jesus as Israel's savior. A savior that comes not for violent victory (note that Matthew strikes the image from Zechariah and leaves out any suggestion of a man taking a woman which is implied in our passage). Matthew instead suggests that the groom undoes the stereotypical persona of might and instead comes humble and gentle. (See Hays, Echoes, 152-153. This archetype is new...a different bridegroom...a different taking of Israel. In this case the taking of Israel is one of service.
As Rowan Williams suggests this is a "reorganization of religious language." (Ibid, 187.)
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