Second Sunday Epiphany
RCL Year C The Collect 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. The Collect The central image is shining light: “Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: “illumined by your Word” “may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory” The imagery comes from the OT readings especially for RCL Year A Isaiah 49:1-7 "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.“ Old Testament 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. Old Testament Isaiah 62:1-5 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. Isaiah Background The prophet Isaiah was active from 742 BC – perhaps as late as 687 B.C. During this time the Northern Kingdom was annexed to the Assyrian empire and Judah lived uneasily in its shadow as a tributary. Last week our reading was from Chapter 42 a part of the ‘Babylonian Chapters.’ Babylon fell in 539 and Cyrus allowed the Israelites to return in 537 BC two years later.[1] This week’s reading is a part of “Third Isaiah.” This section is made up of Chapters 56-66. The Post Restoration Oracles. The issue is now rebuilding more than returning. Note The speaker’s prospective is hard to place from the reading alone. Is this the voice God or the prophet, or someone else? From the rest of the chapter, it seems to be some one speaking or preaching about God’s plan and love for Zion. The footnotes indicate that this is a poem, which seems more appropriate. A poetic meditation rather than words spoken from a pulpit. Note The new name to be given denotes a change in status such as Abram to Abraham or Jacob's name being changed to Israel. The status change is from unclaimed female to bride and from “forsaken” to claimed. The image? The images evoked by the reading have two aspects. The first is that God will raise up His people. The second is that the elevation of God’s people will be very public – the nations shall see, name change, and a large and very public wedding celebration. Lectionary Tie The Gospel tells us of the first miracle at the wedding in Cana. The reading uses the image of a wedding celebration. Psalm 36:5-10 Dixit injustus
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, * and your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep; *
you save both man and beast, O LORD. 7 How priceless is your love, O God! *
your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:5-10 Dixit injustus
8 They feast upon the abundance of your house; * you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the well of life, *
and in your light we see light. 10 Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *
and your favor to those who are true of heart. Psalm 36 This is entitled “Human Wickedness and Divine Goodness” The Psalm begins “Transgression speaks to the Wicked….” The Wicked are further described – they plot mischief while on their beds…. Our reading concerns the Divine goodness part. Epistle
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. Epistle
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 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. Corinthians - Orientation There are two Letters of Paul to the Corinthians, this is the First. Written in the middle of the first century it presents a vivid picture of the actual life and problems of a particular local church at the middle of the first century. From both letters to the Corinthians we learn that Paul's subsequent relations with this church were not always good. This letter is generally concerned with doctrinal and ethical problems that were facing the Corinthian church, including the issue for today’s reading, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This reading is about the famous Seven Gifts of the Spirit! Notes The reading addresses certain highly emotional practices that were also used by pagan cults. Ecstasy alone does not prove that one is led by the Holy Spirit - confession of Jesus as Lord is the criterion. The real test of gifts as to whether they come from God is that they contribute to the common good and edify the community. We have two Concepts to deal with! The Holy Spirit And The Seven Gifts of the Spirit The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit as we know it, was developed much later and there is not very much specific information about the Holy Spirit in the NT. Both Luke and John name Jesus as the deliverer of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples. Luke in Acts says it was 50 days after Easter and John that it was on the evening of Easter. Jesus is identified as the permanent bearer of the Holy Spirit and the one who will dispense the gift of the Holy Spirit to others. John states that the gift of the Spirit could not be bestowed before Jesus was glorified. John contains the “Paraclete” [Advocate] sayings the only formal statements about the Spirit. HOLY SPIRIT AND GIFTS The notion of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, was later developed in Christian liturgical tradition, and was based on Isaiah 11.2 These gifts termed ‘charismata’, are found at various places in the New Testament including today’s reading and Romans 12.6-8. From Isaiah Isaiah Isaiah 11:2 2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. The Septuagint added ‘piety’ after knowledge to reach seven. Romans Romans 12:6-8 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. The Seven [?] Gifts of the Spirit Corinthians List: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. [Could to be ten – seven if you combine wisdom/knowledge and tongues] Romans List: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, generosity, diligence, and cheerfulness. [Seven – Good] Isaiah List: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear and [The Septuagint added] ‘piety’. [Seven – Good] But the lists aren’t the same. . . . Okay - Gifts Wisdom, Knowledge/understanding Faith/Fear Healing Miracles Prophecy Discernment of Spirits Tongues, and The interpretation of Tongues Ministry Teaching Exhortation Generosity Diligence Cheerfulness Counsel Might, and [The Septuagint added] ‘piety’. So there may be 18 Gifts. Could be 16 if you combine wisdom/knowledge/understanding and tongues . Could be 15 if you drop Piety, it was a mistake in interpretation anyway. Some other Gifts Judges 3:10 The Spirit of the Lord came on a character named Othniel and he went to war and defeated a King. Numbers 11:24-29 Where Moses has some of his spirit taken by the Lord and placed on 70 of the elders of the people to ease the burden of leadership. So, you can add war and tribal administration to the list. Or perhaps these are all God’s unique gift to each of us of what is needed at the time for ourselves or others? Confused? Join the Club Next time some one tells you they know all about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. . . . Gospel 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. Gospel John 2:1-11 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. The Fourth Gospel The FG is composed of layer upon layer of symbolism and the section from the open to the first miracle at Cana is no exception. From the opening the FG uses a ‘casual dating’ through to four days. On the third day (2:1) is the wedding at Cana. The miracle is that Jesus transforms a natural substance [water] into a new creation [wine]. The use of the ‘third day’ prefigures the resurrection Jesus appears in a new form – just as at Cana. The water is turned into wine the symbol for the blood and the symbol for the Eucharist. The FG uses seven signs, as proof of His divine status. The reason and effect of this miracle on those present was, as indicated in the reading is that “His disciples believed.” Context The FG of John uses a different timeline than the Synoptic Gospels. In John Jesus leaves the wedding and travels to Capernaum and then to Jerusalem for Passover the first of several trips. In this visit he ‘cleanses the Temple’ In the synoptic Gospels there is only one visit to Jerusalem at the end. Miracles Biblical miracles are not to be seen as violations of natural law. The authors of the Bible believed in the direct action of God (or gods) in history. Throughout the Bible, therefore, miracles are presented as a means by which God discloses and fulfills his purpose in the world, especially on behalf of his people and for the redemption of those who respond in faith to his activity in their behalf. Miracles In the Hebrew Bible, several types of miracle are reported: Confirmatory miracles, through which God shows his choice and support of certain individuals or groups. Examples are the direct visions of God that are granted to Abraham, Judgmental, as in the plagues that befall the Egyptians until the release of the Israelites (Exodus 8-12) Divine act of Deliverance of individuals, as when Daniel and his friends are preserved from the fiery furnace Miracles New Testament, Similar types of miracles The miracle is central to the earliest understanding of who Jesus is and his role in the inauguration of God's rule in the world. Jesus is asked by the followers of John the Baptist to explain who he is, he replies by pointing to his miracles of healing and exorcisms Miracles in the modern eras Miracles were first questioned with the rise of science in the 17th and 18th centuries as we started to regard the world as a closed system, subject to the law of nature and to exclude all interference from a higher power. In the 18th century miracles were explained by some as facts that were within the realm of natural law, but misrepresented by credulous NT contemporaries. Others held to the traditional view that miracles are possible and in fact probable if God is in fact the supreme first cause. Modern science has developed to the point that we have moved further away from a hard and fast determinism, and there may be some reconciliation between Christian Tradition and science. Protestant mainline orthodoxy confines miracles to those stated in scripture. Catholic orthodoxy sees miracles that continue such as the cures at Lourdes France. English Miniaturist,
The Marriage at Cana,
Queen Mary Psalter, c. 1310
Illumination on parchment,
11 x 7 in.
British Museum, London
The bride, the groom (St Architriclin?), Mary and Jesus, with a boy playing a rebec and a maid offering a cup of the miraculous wine
Giotto, Scenes from the Life of Christ: Marriage at Cana, 1304-06
Fresco, 6 ½ x 6 ft
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua Marten de Vos, The Marriage at Cana, 1596-97
Oil on panel, 8 ¾ x 7 ¾ ft
O.-L. Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp The wedding reception is set in an attractive Renaissance interior with a table full of fine food and expensive crockery, and festively dressed guests. Three lute-players and a young singer play from a gallery. Most of the guests look like 16th-century westerners. The three crowns above the bride and her immediate neighbors were a customary feature of weddings in de Vos's time. He tried, nevertheless, to evoke a somewhat Oriental, biblical atmosphere - several guests wear turbans, the bridegroom has a laurel crown and some of the servants' costumes are vaguely Roman. The large wine-jugs in the foreground have an especially classical appearance. Jesus and his mother stand out because of their simple, 'biblical' clothes. The guests are sure to include several senior members of the Tavern-Keepers' Guild. Paolo Veronese, The Marriage at Cana, 1563
Oil on canvas, 22 x 32 ½ ft
Musée du Louvre, Paris This immense canvas was executed for the refectory of the convent of San Giorgio Maggiore at Venice. It was removed in 1799 and taken to the Louvre. The picture portrays a sumptuous imaginary palace with about a hundred and thirty guests, portraits of celebrities of the period, of Veronese himself and of his friends dressed in richly colored costumes.
